If you're like me, and you're an avid consumer of all media...you have probably run into this problem.
"Can I hate the artist and love the art?"
Whoa gee golly whiskers! The answers seems to be a simple, close/shut case : Yes. But, as human beings nothing ever get's a simple resounding no, unless you're trying to get Watchmen made into a live action flick (Oh SNAP! that already happened!)
bringing us to a good point: can consumers of an artist, really separate the artist from their art?
The question is complicated, and so we need to pull layers from it and look at it closely.
1) That artist just makes really good *fill in the blank*
Beck, Tom Cruise, and a host of other Hollywood-de-liters, are all "outed" when it comes to Scientology. If you don't agree with Scientology does that make "Loser," "Mission Impossible" unbearable to watch? What if you grew up watching/listening to it? What then?
Or in another case, Michael Jackson, while it was never proven that he molested children, the taint of the lawsuit followed Jackson to his death, and during his unstable career with the public overshadowed his music. And let's be real about the situation, "Thriller" was not a college-radio hit, it was one of the best videos EVER.
Personal example, I love Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life," but for the life (hahahaha excuse the pun) I can't get over allegations that he dropped the N-word during his younger years. My dislike of his using the word, does not change "Lust for Life," at all. The song is still great....which goes to the next point
2) If such and such is really a horrible person, how can I enjoy such media?
"Lust for Life" will technically be a killer song, because it's just awesome. As I mentioned earlier my dislike of the song will not change Iggy Pop nor will it change his views. Some people argue that, we should separate the artist from the art...but that's harder than one would imagine.
In the case of Roman Polanski, he is a 'great' director, who receives much critical acclaim even toted as a 'hero' in some circles. But, his personal life is not that damn great. Another example, the Rolling Stones are pretty cool for having music that pretty much dips into racism, sexism, isms.....and yet music magazines often point to them as being heroes. Every time I walk by a "Classic Rock" magazine in Borders, I feel a pinge of irritation when I see who is on the cover. Upon research, most of us will discover at some point that our favorite artists...more than likely are jerks. But the degree of jerkiness is not the same for everyone.
Lou Reed is a pain in the ass, but he donates time to music philanthropist organizations, does that pardon him?
What do we expect of our artists? do we expect too much?
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