If we disrespect the baker, should we “cancel” the bread along with the maker?
If an artist is a Bad Person, then must we “not enjoy” their arts and entertainment? An undergraduate, Athena Scalzi, recently on her blog, Whatever, wondered this, along with expressing concern for the innocent cast and crew who would lose out if we “cancel” their movie merely because of just one bad person.
Judging by 127 comments, there is no consensus on what “we should all do;” only consensus that “we may each do” what seems right for us as individuals. Athena herself has no answers. Nor do I, but I do have vanity. In that spirit I have improved my comments, all the better to quote them here, with interstitials.
The context is me and the others being skeptical of the “should” factor of that new self-righteous abstraction called “cancel culture.”
QUOTE The term “sepia effect” refers to when an actor’s previous movies or off screen life bleeds into the film one is watching. My remedy is to be “in the moment” pretending the film is real. I never squint to see lighting or props or stunt people. I mean, why?
As for wanting to know if people are Bad, for me that’s like wanting to know how the sausage is made. I have no desire to be an accidental vegetarian.
Abstractions are tricky. Take Political Correctness. I’m confident that when the film Mississippi Burning came out people praised it for being so Politically Correct, for how the white innocent filmmakers did not “speak for” Persons of Colour.
As you know, PC means steps of reasoning to certain conclusions: blue can’t speak for red; to portray is to “speak for;” to portray an individual is to “speak for” their entire group… And yet, right now, we could justifiably pop out the PC, slot in a replacement abstraction, and and say, “The whites should have included a PoC story line.” It’s tricky. Because I have seen “thought-fashions” change I find it best not to snap-on arrogance to my outrage.
UNQUOTE
I remember the days of long hair when we arrogantly claimed the “older generation” was stupider than us. “Don’t trust anyone over 30!” How gratifying. We might nobly be against sexual chauvinism, but—chrono-chauvinism towards Great-Grandmother? Sure, that’s OK. Because it feels good. Like blank-ism…forgetting that blank lives matter.
QUOTE Another abstraction is the seven year Statute of Limitations.
The Guardians of the Galaxy director got in big trouble for a tweet that was over seven years old. Even though all the cast vouched for him being a non-bigot, he was nevertheless removed from starting the next film. It took a long time for the producers to restore him to making the franchise. No doubt the tweet was dug up by some damned demonic digital archivist. I ask you: What human would ever deign to dig back that far? Whenever you read “it has recently come to light that…” you are reading a demon’s work.
I fondly respect our ancestors “seven years” belief: Their belief freed them for redemption. UNQUOTE
Myself, I find it hard to be a fanboy. But I could fake it around others, for fun; for I understand the impulse.
QUOTE I can think of two household actor names, with one or both being Oscar winners: One name was rude to a Canadian teenage actor, one was rude to a Canadian transgender. (Female to male) What to do? Both names I might totally avoid at a party, who knows? Yet I’m sure I would still see their films.
In contrast, there are reports of Peter Capaldi, a Doctor Who my age, being nice to folks, so him I would talk to in a tourist bar… but never as a fanboy. Maybe I wouldn’t let on that I knew who he was. Maybe not until the end when I pulled out my souvenir Tardis wallet to pay.
UNQUOTE
Trivia: Capaldi and I are older than most fans. We each own the very first Doctor Who Annual, and we remember when the TV end credits did not list “the doctor” but rather “Doctor Who.”
QUOTE An episode of the 1960’s animated The Lone Ranger ended with a close up of him saying, “No man may be both judge and jury.” Because it was a kid’s show, he didn’t add “and executioner.” I guess “cancelling,” as with condemning Johnny Depp as Bad before his trial has even half concluded, is a form of figurative execution. How embarrassing, when newer court revelations have now painted him as Good. How unworthy, to arrogantly believe in social media simply because outrage feels so grand.
Sometimes, maybe, there’s a raging fire and we must scurry to judge, although, off hand, I can’t remember any such fires—but at other times? The well-mannered civilized thing is to be patient, to “wait and see” what the verdict is.
UNQUOTE
Like my fellow commenters, I have no firm answers for our current fashion of “cancel culture.” But at least I know to check my intention: Am I acting like mutton dressed as lamb? Wearing youthful robes of arrogance, glee and outrage? Surely at my age, wearing robes old and faded, it’s more fitting to be questioning and humble.
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Sean Crawford vanity loves your comments here
West of the city of Strathmore
October 2020
Note: Athena’s father a) recently covered the topic, and b) covered it back in 2014. See link.
Update: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro spoke on the topic, reported by the BBC, at the end of February 2021 (Link)
