Home WebMail Thursday, October 31, 2024, 05:51 PM | Calgary | 2.1°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Posted: 2023-11-07T16:30:18Z | Updated: 2023-11-07T16:30:18Z
Maddie Abuyuan / HuffPost; Getty Images
The Art Versus The Artist Is A Personal Choice And Its Worth Reexamining

Once you learn something damning about a person attached to a movie, TV show or song you love, where does that love go?

By Candice Frederick | Published Nov. 7, 2023

This story is a part of our weeklong series on cancel culture.
Read the other stories here .

Maybe this has happened to you before. Youre enamored of some film youve seen and decide to post about it on social media. Something like: OMG, [XYZ] is soooo good. Its one of my all-time favorites. And while youre in mid-glow about it, someone sends you a full report on how shitty the director, actor or some other talent behind the project is as a person.

Its usually something to this effect: I used to love this movie too, but I found out that [XYZ] did [insert shitty behavior here] and now I cant even stomach it.

That is a totally fair stance for someone to have. It often has to do with whether the shitty persons behavior is triggering to them, whether it conflicts with their own social or political beliefs, or how much empathy they have for whomever the shitty person directly affected. Whatever the reason, its a personal choice, and they have every right to feel that way.

But any expectation that anyone else should also feel that way is a bit concerning and very hive mind. Each of us has our own relationship with a piece of art that we admire that can have little to do with a talents personality or conduct. It really is just about the art sometimes.

That can be a hard truth, especially in a culture that too often conflates a flawed or despicable character with the actual actor who portrays them. Doing so already strips down the wall between reality and fiction to the point where theyre one and the same.