Joe - the arts certainly are not superfuous, it is a basic function of our humanity.. our imagination..
Our urge to create, to ponder, to amuse, to entertain, to titilate, to thrill, to question...

To attempt to understand and explain the mysteries of reality and existence...
and have fun, even try to transcend the mundanity of the daily grind,
whilst making up stories, songs and pictures to share with each other...

That's how we can make something from nothing with our own minds and hands and will...

Anything from the dumbest common denominator tripe TV shows, to the most profound art, music, and writings..

Creative collective culure birthed from the human mind...

That's the artistic process how folks many thousands of years ago arrived at the big bumper fun books of religions
and carved stone and wood idols representing the lead characters within those books...

Similarly, now in the modern world we have the new cults of Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr Who, Marvel & DC, etc..
and all the spin off books and collectable plastic toy figurines...

Of course folks are also far more educated now than they were thousands of years ago,
and most accept that Luke Skywalker, Spock, and Superman are very vivid figments of the imagination, but not 'real'...