'Truth to Power': How System of a Down's Serj Tankian Tried to Change the World 'Truth to Power': How System of a Down's Serj Tankian Tried to Change the World By focusing on two sides of the singer - the artist and the activist - the film shows what musicians can be capable of if they believe in their message Kory Grow, provided by FacebookTwitterEmail The straw-man argument at the center of Truth to Power, a documentary about the art and activism of System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, is: “Can music change the world?” If you know anything about Tankian — or Fela Kuti, Pete Seeger, Billie Holiday, N.W.A, Ludwig van Beethoven, and on and on — the answer is self-evident. But once filmmaker Garin Hovannisian moves past this question and begins showing how Tankian and his bandmates have improved the status of their ancestral homeland, Armenia, the power of truth starts hitting its marks. The film is well-paced, tightly edited and engaging, and at times, it’s quite inspiring.