Can You Separate The Art From The Artist?
Separating the art from the artist is something I've been thinking about a lot lately as I'm nearing the six-year anniversary of when I first read the Harry Potter series.
Like many others, those books found me at a difficult time and helped me pull through. For that reason I'll always be grateful to JK Rowling. Still, I'm struggling to reconcile my fandom of the Potterverse with the ignorant comments she continues to make about transgender people and the general tone-deafness to her queer fanbase.
Rowling joins the ranks of many other artists that in recent years have been exposed for unsavory opinions or behavior. And, like most things in life there is a lot gray when it comes to who gets a pass, who is made of Teflon and who’s career implodes.
I can’t seem to find my moral center when it comes to these situations, and maybe that’s because they run the gamut of criminal to the ideological.
For instance, I stopped eating at Chick-fil-A almost a decade ago because of its continued support of anti-LGBTQ initiatives, including conversion therapy, but I still order from Amazon despite reports on how it treats employees and the way it uses lobbying to skirt responsibility.
Michael Jackson, who spent years fighting sexual abuse with a minor charges, continues to find his way into my playlists while R. Kelly was removed.
After reading “Catch and Kill,” I’m struggling to enjoy one of my all-time favorite films, “Scream,” because it represents a situation where Weinstein used his power as a producer on the film to later victimize Rose McGowan. But I can still watch “American Beauty” and “Seven” despite Kevin Spacey’s predatory behavior.
Mel Gibson was one of my favorite actors of the 90s, but his continued anti-Semitic rants and physical abuse against partners has turned me away from “Mad Max,” “Ransom” and “Braveheart.” However, I can enjoy movies and shows featuring Kevin Hart and Tracy Morgan even after their history of using gay slurs.
I disagree with censorship, but I completely support disclaimers and education that outline the ways in which pieces of art — say “Gone with the Wind” or “Cruising” — are problematic. These are opportunities to examine the role, if any, these false or damaging portrayals of gender, racial and sexual stereotypes have today and to reassess the pedestal they have been placed upon.
Even after outlining these examples, I’m no closer in understanding how I triage my feelings and write off some people but not others. Possibly it’s the emotional connection I have to the work, or perhaps a “fool me once” attitude for first offenses and apologies.
Regardless, the past few years have shown me it is necessary to become more aware of what I consume and who is responsible for it — and to voice my opinion with my wallet.
