Seperate the artist from the art

So with Polanski in the news and other things like it we are once again faced with a dilemma.  Do we boycott the art, because the artist did bad things?  Well Polanski made alot of movies, that got lots of awards.  Should we dodge Rosemary's Baby because Polanski did bad stuff?  What about the Mommas and the Papas?  It just came out that John Phillips has an incestuous affair with his daughter for ten years.  Should I not enjoy Monday, Monday now?  Woody Allen has his own "unique" character flaws (too much of a headache to go into here), does that mean that I should never watch Sleeper again? 

No, it does not.  There is art, and there is the artist.  Hemingway committed suicide, but his books are considered great.  Just because the artist may be a nut job wacko child molester, doesn't mean that the art isn't beautiful.  Now I am not advocating we all go buy movies by perverts, but don't avoid them either.  The works they have created are part of the human experience now and they do allow someone who has hurt many to contribute, in a positive way, to the world.

So, I am still going to enjoy listening to my music from the Mamas and the Papas, and I will watch Bananas, and keep my mind open to enjoy the art that exists.  I will not support these nuts just because they make good art.  They need to pay for their crimes just like anyone else, but I will enjoy what they have made, I will just watch it when it is on cable, I don't think I will buy the DVDs (that does send a buck or two back to them).

-Uncle Walter

Comments

[The Wife]

Justify it however you want, but if you buy, watch, or otherwise support the artist's work, you're ultimately supporting them. You're increasing their fame and popularity. You're allowing them to get recognition that they do not deserve.

While I may abhor Nestle's practices, boycotting them will only hurt me, unfortunately. But boycotting a movie or production produced by a criminal isn't hard. Nothing Woody Allen will ever create (or has created in the past) will ever give me enjoyment -- it will simply leave a bad taste in my mouth.

And there's a HUGE difference between someone committing suicide because they are troubled, and a man who drugs and rapes a child. The two aren't even close.