"Reality" in present day media dominated America IS distorted. By painting what you feel/see, you give others a chance to see what you do. It takes courage and integrity to tell the truth (as you see it) in any media. I spent several years trying to write a novel about evil and couldn't do it. My bad guy just kept turning funny & forgivable. The book turned out O.K. ("Wild, Hard, Sweet"), but it was a personal failure. I couldn't face evil deeply enough to portray and come to understand it.
When a society is sick, it hemorrhages artists, most of whom don't have any idea why they make what they make. They do it out of faith and an inner necessity. Individually they may have a hard time; collectively, they find ways forward.