by Amelia Chong
2020 has given us a lot of canceling and boycotting, like a lot of it. From J.K. Rowling to the late-night host Jimmy Fallon, this year has been nothing short of piping hot tea and cancel parties. It goes without saying that there are valid reasons as to why these celebrities received massive backlash among communities, and this is especially evident if you have been keeping a constant lookout for Twitter trends.
On the 4th of September, the day of which the controversial live-action Mulan was released on Disney+, #BoycottMulan rose quickly on Twitter trends as Liu Yifei who played Mulan stated that she is supportive of the Hong Kong police. As covered in an earlier issue, there was a massive uproar and disappointment, and rightfully so.
The primary cause of backlash, especially towards celebrities, is almost always because they do not support certain movements (most commonly those that are tied with social justice) or are in any way against it. I would like to preface this article by clarifying I am not sharing my stances on any movements, rather, I just want to highlight an underlying conflict when it comes to these issues and art forms. In fact, this applies to many other names ranging from artists, composers, and filmmakers.
Pablo Picasso was an incredible artist, as almost all curators and art majors would agree. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century art, and the art movements that occurred over this period. It comes as no surprise that many contemporary artists look up to him. However, Picasso was also an incredibly terrible person when it came to love. He had a total of 7 lovers—the number wasn’t an issue—many of whom were ill-treated to the extent where some ended up mad and two committing suicide. Besides, Picasso was extremely misogynistic. His work reeks of toxic masculinity, yet the art world continues to hold him in high regard.
This is simply one of many artists who are/were terrible people outside of their work, which has prompted many to ponder:
What do we do if we love the art made by terrible people? Does that make us terrible as well?
Is there a way I can appreciate their works without it haunting my conscience?
Or do I have to cut it out of my life completely?
One common way of dealing with this would be to disassociate the art from the artist. Postmodernists argue that the audience wields power over the interpretation of a work and therefore, it does not matter what the artist intended for the piece to convey. No need for historical context, no guilty conscience, right? I would argue, however, that this is disrespectful toward the artist as you are removing the essence of the work itself by subtracting the context. I believe that unless that artist explicitly mentions that their work is up to interpretation, it would be disrespectful to not extrapolate the legitimate message that is meant to be sent.
There are instances where creators have spoken up about how much they disliked their work being interpreted in ways that were not intended. For instance, J. R. R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings. Many have taken this bestselling trilogy and allegorized themes and plots within them by linking them to topics such as war and even Christianity. Tolkein has come forward before and expressed how much he dislikes his work being allegorized. As the author himself puts it:
“I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history – true or feigned– with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.”
The question remains: what can we do to resolve this conflict between what we like and our moral values?
Art Class for Drawing Lines
It is clear that artists and celebrities are no different from all of us—we are all flawed creatures. However, we sometimes forget that and subconsciously hold the famed to a much higher standard in terms of conduct. Granted, it seems like the more terrible one is, the more artistic and famous they are (I mean this in the context of well-established names from older times such as the artist Leonardo Da Vinci and composer Richard Wagner); but this just shows us how humanity still has many wrinkles to iron out. This is also another reason why we should not decontextualize art; we can learn so much more even if the original intent of the work itself disagrees with what we hold today. Plus, the piece reflects the artist as a person; thus, it would be meaningless if the two were separated.
The problem arises, however, in a more contemporary context whereby the artist themselves are still alive today and when the issues they are involved in are sensitive topics. How, then, do we draw those lines in a modern context?
I come bearing an incredibly simple solution: if you cannot accept the work without it having a hold on your conscience, just walk away and ignore it. And when I say ignore it, I do not mean be ignorant to it. Speak up about it, bring awareness to it; but do not go so far as to being hateful. I have seen those who can see past these celebrities’ flaws, yet acknowledging it is a problematic stance to take being associated with harsh brands like “racist”, “ableist”, “homophobic” and the list goes on. Just because these people can see past these flaws, doesn’t mean that they stand with them. Just because you disagree with someone, doesn’t give you the right to throw hateful terms and comments in their faces. No more ‘expose threads’; no more ‘cancel parties’. We are so much more mature than that.
It is difficult to not do more than just bring light to flaws we find with certain people, what more the celebrities and artists we admire and have subconsciously placed on a pedestal?
The next time an artist takes a stance that you disagree with, think twice before stirring up a storm in the comments. In this time of isolation, words hurt more than you think even if it is just a couple of pixels on a screen.