Anti flag has ruined their music for me and anything harry potter is repulsive after learning about who JK rowling is. So, yes I think I can’t seperate the art from the artist
Depends on the artist and depends on if they’re still living and/or making money off of their work. HP Lovecraft? Dead, so I don’t have any issues reading his work and still recognizing that he was a raging racist. Orson Scott Card? Still alive, so F him and his work. JK Rowling? F her and her work. Pirating their work would be a good way around it, but I don’t know that I even care that much to make the effort.
It’s tough when something that’s been a huge part of your life turns out to be made by an unlikeable person. Two big ones for me off the top of my head are Megadeth and Orson Scott Card. Music and novels that were big parts of my formative years. While I still have fond memories of their works in my life, I don’t go back and revisit them much from what I’ve learned about the people since then.
In an age where anyone can get their content out there, there are too many people doing equal quality creations without the baggage, so I’d rather just move on to new creators I can spread the word about than trying to defend someone who’s already seen success and tarnished it for themselves. It’s not enjoyable to have to defend someone questionable to anyone else, or to myself.
If supporting the art, supports the artist, who actively supports a bad cause, I do not. JKR and anything that furthers the anti-trans movement can go screw. If someone co-opts something, then it’s trickier, but I expect the original artist to help when they can and support them directly, like Marvel’s Punisher.
I do my best to avoid art from controversal figures, but more importantly I avoid financially supporting them. Sometimes that’s difficult, because they have been involved in so many things and that involvement isn’t always obvious, but I try.
One of the recent, easier examples is J.K. Rowling, whose stance as a self-proclaimed “TERF” has caused me to avoid her Harry Potter franchise except for the books and movies I already own (although I have still not had interest in those lately as a consequence of her stance). This is an easy case to avoid because it’s (usually) obvious what she benefits from and what she doesn’t, there is no guesswork or Googling. If it says “Harry Potter” in the title it is probably financially benefitting her
Full agree, also the sins of the artist can sour the art in my mind. The art and the artist aren’t the same but they are linked. Understanding that is an important tool for media consumption. It doesn’t define what the art says, but it provides a lens through which to see it, and that lens may reveal ugly sides. Lovecraft’s xenophobia for example shows that it’s not just the horrors of a thassalophobe in New England afraid of what all could be beyond perception, but also a fear of that which is different and what you don’t understand as written by a xenophobic racist.
I mainly separate her and the work she’s connected to now because she has so much money that I feel it doesn’t really matter if she gets more from the franchise anymore. She’s a multibillionaire. She can keep contributing to whatever hate funds she wants to and still end up with more money at the end of the year because of her investments.
That’s a reasonable take, for sure, and it makes a lot of sense.
However, it is a bit of a rationalization to explain to yourself why you support her. It is analogous to not voting because you don’t think you’ll sway the election, that your vote doesn’t matter, in the sense that if enough people do it it does begin to have an impact.
Also, it isn’t about not giving her a lavish lifestyle, it is more about sending a message that her brand of hate isn’t welcome or tolerated. While she will make millions off of investments, if she sees that her bottom line was hurt because of her words she may, ideally, re-think them. Perhaps reflect on them, in a perfect world.
Admittedly, in reality she probably will only dig in deeper and feel victimized. But at least I’ll sleep better at night
In addition to this, money is power, money is speech. The more money she has, the more weight she has to throw behind her bigoted ideology.
Officially, yes, I separate them. In truth, there are some artists whose I’m less likely to enjoy once they did that thing they did.
Like, I don’t really want to see Kevin Spacey movies anymore. But I’ll still watch everything Mel Gibson does. I could make arguments for why that is (Gibson was drunk, moment of weakness, whatever), but it’s really just about how I feel. I could make similar arguments for the ones I don’t feel like watching anymore.
I do think we’re all kind of dirt-meat struggling through a confusing nightmare, and art is one way we rise above it. The best art is often made by broken people. Broken people don’t act right.
Oh man Kevin Spacey outing himself as a disgusting predatory piece of sh1t ruined his movies for me forever! American Beauty was one of my favorites as was The usual suspects. Now I can’t watch them anymore.
I have a hot take on this one. I actively try not to. I disagree with the concept itself.
When it comes to buying their art, why would I do that if I don’t like the artist, why would I support them that way?
When it comes to seeing their art as their ideas/ideology/etc, if I don’t like them I probably don’t exactly because I disagree with their ideas, so again it doesn’t make sense to me.I don’t research every book, movie, album before consuming, but yes, if it’s by someone I recognize and have moral/ethical problems with, I will avoid it.
Roman Polanski is the first that comes to mind. His movies are typically my jam, but I don’t spend money to see them.
It extends past traditional media for me. I didn’t just go quiet on Twitter when Musk took over, I deleted my account. I try to close accounts and delete data from other platforms when they enshittify.
I don’t research every book, movie, album before consuming, but yes, if it’s by someone I recognize and have moral/ethical problems with, I will avoid it.
Same. If i see shitty news/stories about someone, then ill likely stop supporting them to the best of my ability. Sometimes its unavoidable, sometimes its too much effort, sometimes its so entrenched its impossible to eliminate (like nestle, tho i try hard AF to avoid them).
If someone i know tells me why i shouldnt support someone/something then i will take that more to heart and actively research & avoid it. It obviously means enough to them to share their concerns, and id rather support my friends.
Good point on Nestle. Yes, start looking at corporate connections and it’s difficult to not support anything that traces back to healthcare-for-profit or the “military industrial complex” or massive polluters or slave/child labor users.
Young me would kick myself for thinking such communist thoughts, but it’s almost as if there’s no ethical consumption under our current system of capitalism.
Usually not.
Do I cherry pick? Depends on the severity.It depends… I wouldn’t want to watch Bill Cosby do standup but if he was in a movie I wanted to watch, I’d still watch it. So I think it depends on how close the art is to the artist.
The personal is political.
For me it’s materially based. Are they alive and profiting from my listening to them? Then I avoid it. Are they dead or is the money going somewhere not horrible? Fine I guess. Like imagine buying or supporting Nicki Minaj knowing she used that money to harass rape victims. You can seperate all the art you want, if you paid her you paid for that.
Woody Allen and his awful shameless disgusting behavior can go suck a bag of d1cks. He is so blatantly obvious and so nonchalant about the whole thing that it gives me the creeps. Plus I think he is overrated but I am no film connoisseur.
Yes. I’m very strict about it.
But as I said in another post recently, I’m also firmly against giving money to people or organizations which I know will use it to do further harm.
So I can enjoy Roman Polanski’s Pirates! on my secondhand Goodwill copy, but I won’t go see a movie of his in the cinema, for example.
Depends if they are alive still. If they are dead, I can separate them. But if you’re alive and still making bank and being a shit heal, why support them?
What if they’re in jail for life? Does that count as dead or alive?
For me, it depends on if they can profit from it, or if the money is going to a victim/victim’s family.
