Can You Really Separate Artists/Author/Musicians/Actors From Their Works?

[RAMROD 109,351]

This line is often said whenever there are rather controversial persona doing or saying some unpopular things. Some even are plain out rude or mean or hateful.

But does people can really separate them from their works though? Or is that just an excuse to keep supporting them in ride or die manner without making it seem obvious that they enable their faves (although they really do)?

By keep buying products, attending shows, or streaming music, or watching the movies these problematic personas are doing, doesn't people keep helping them to gain influence and money that they can use to keep doing all the problematic stuffs?

What do you think?

[Chesescake 3,998]

Who need to separate them when you got leak websites as your bestie 

Like yeah gurl keep popping those craps and Imma popping your sh!ts on d**** and s****** 

[Charmz 4,156]

Yes. I tend to separate the art and the artist. 

Me enjoying a book (in my case, Harry Potter and Mists of Avalon come to mind) has no bearing on holding the artist accountable for whatever wrong they’re responsible for. I still condone their horrible behavior, but can still enjoy a Harry Potter movie or book now and then.

Big picture for me is - life is short, and interesting - art can help you cope, escape, imagine, motivate, anger, feel. 

There are so many everyday products/brands that we consume and support that we have NO clue what type of people work for them, yet we still buy it. 

I’m self aware in that I know I’m a person of little influence in society, and that me enjoying a book written when I was a child won’t change much in the grand scheme of life.

That being said, I’d be open to hear viewpoints of fans of artists like R. Kelley (I wasn’t a fan even before all the horrible stuff came out, so he doesn’t get my money either way) - do they still stream his music? If you do, enjoy. You listening to a song you enjoy won’t change his horrible actions. Whether or not you feel empathetically connected to his actions through the art itself is completely up to the consumer of the art.

 

 

 

[ALGAYDO 32,499]

It’s hard for me because a lot of these artist insist on their art being “who that are” or them “expressing who they are” so naturally, their work would be a manifestation of themselves. When it’s artists like Britney (I love her, don’t come for me) who are more “entertainers” than they are actual “artist,” its a lot easier to separate them from their work. 
 

 

[Charmz 4,156]

2 minutes ago, ALGAYDO said:

It’s hard for me because a lot of these artist insist on their art being “who that are” or them “expressing who they are” so naturally, their work would be a manifestation of themselves. When it’s artists like Britney (I love her, don’t come for me) who are more “entertainers” than they are actual “artist,” its a lot easier to separate them from their work. 
 

 

I agree - and I think when an artists says “that’s who they are” you have to understand how complex that is.

If I write a poem about quitting my job and moving to Hawaii, does that mean I hate my work and daydream about beaches and palm trees ALL the time? No, it’s a small part of an emotion I’ve chosen to express through a poem.

 

Thanks for adding to the discussion!!

[Rat Boy 43,483]

I try not to separate the art from the artist. However, as time goes by I realise that most things we do (e.g. products why buy, where we shop, what movies/books we consume etc.) can't always be done in 100% ethical ways. If everything we did had to be 100% ethical I don't think there would be anything to do and enjoy.

[hELXIG 42,966]

Yes but no. Sometimes but not always. It's complicated and depends on each individual situation

[hELXIG 42,966]

20 minutes ago, Rat Boy said:

I try not to separate the art from the artist. However, as time goes by I realise that most things we do (e.g. products why buy, where we shop, what movies/books we consume etc.) can't always be done in 100% ethical ways. If everything we did had to be 100% ethical I don't think there would be anything to do and enjoy.

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism. In order to simply live our lives or enjoy entertainment we have to support unethical business because that's how the entire system is set up that we live within. We can (and should) try our best, but we can never be 100% perfect

[ALGAYDO 32,499]

1 minute ago, Helxig said:

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism

That’s true, but we all live under capitalism so like what we gonna do now 

[hELXIG 42,966]

4 minutes ago, ALGAYDO said:

That’s true, but we all live under capitalism so like what we gonna do now 

Our best!

When you look at the amount of pollution caused by HUGE companies and businesses and how much the average persons recycling actually does, it's just a drop in the bucket. It's easy to feel completely hopeless. But we have to all keep trying. And also forgive ourselves sometimes for supporting the bad guys. Just try not to, and if you have to then allow yourself to not feel bad, because it's not your fault you were born into this world, and you can't control them

[Guest]

I do it often

[nATAH 48,806]

piracy is a great skill to learn tbh

[hELXIG 42,966]

58 minutes ago, NATAH said:

piracy is a great skill to learn tbh

This. Stop hate-watching on streaming services and in theatres! Pirate those ones. It's ethical I promise

[berlinforme 5,300]

It's always an individual decision and really depends on what that person did and how much they themselves overshadow their work. But generally I'm fine with separating as long as I can consume their media without having to pay for it. No royalties to *ssholes. 

[Future Lovers 6,901]

For me, it's dependent upon the situation. Some artists I can't, some I can.