Cancel Culture is Impossible
Speaking broadly, artists are weirdos. If you are part of an industry in which your success is measured by how much attention you get, the edgy boundary pushers are the ones that tend to rise to the top. In my mind there are two types of edgy artists, the kind that recognize the absurdity of certain boundaries, and help push the overall social narrative in a more positive direction. The other kind seeks to either have no boundaries, or to pick and choose the boundaries based on their own, sometimes very twisted perception of reality.
“When he grows up to be a comic or actor he’ll be rewarded for never maturing for never understanding or learning that every day can’t be about him, there’s other people, you selfish asshole. I must be psychotic, I must be demented, to think that I’m worthy of all this attention”- Bo Burnham (Art Is Dead), In a self aware ballad about what it actually means to be an artist
However, art isn’t really about what the artist was thinking at the time, because no one but the artist and possibly the people closest to them can really understand what they were thinking about during the time they made said art. Art, at the end of the day, is about how you respond to it, what it reminds you about your own life, your own experiences and your own feelings. It is a genuinely exciting feeling to discover an artist whose mindset and experience really resonates with you, but what are you supposed to do when an artist that resonates with you really lets you down? I would argue you shouldn’t have to do anything.
If you’ve been following any sort of news during 2019, you know that R. Kelly and Michael Jackson have both been (justifiably) scrutinized over new revelations over accusations they have both faced since their heyday. The reality of the cases are horrifying. If you are to believe these accusers (which you really are), you will likely find yourself facing a moral conundrum facing countless music loving Americans right now; Do I continue listening to their music if I believe them to also be awful people? Now, I’m not saying you should continue listening to an accused molester or serial rapist if you don’t want to, if you’re pure disgust and hatred for their actions far overtakes any nostalgia or joy their song may give you, props to you, genuinely. However, and I don’t mean to sound like an ignorant insensitive jerk here, Thriller is really, really good, and I would have an incredibly hard time barring myself from ever listening to it ever again.
Judge: Do you think Michael Jackson is guilty of these charges brought against him?
Dave: Nah man, he made Thriller… Thriller
A Chappelle’s Show sketch pokes fun at the strong, subconscious opinion, held by many, that talent equals innocence
Now, why can’t I just keep myself from ever listening to that classic album ever again? It’s quite simple, I’ve loved that album since I was very young, and gained a new appreciation of it as a music-nerd teen with heightened sensory integration disorder. When I listen to that, water tight, 9 track album, and as far as the horrible things Michael Jackson likely did to those little boys go, it doesn’t even cross my mind once. I enjoy the art, it brings back memories of a simpler time, and just a general catharsis for the beautiful, shimmering production that that album brings to the table. I love the art, I don’t love the person, and you better believe there’s a difference.
Whenever art is created, it’s created upon some sort of medium, whether it be canvas, paper, vinyl etc. This allows it to live on until that medium in which it is immortalized, fades away itself, and even then sometimes it can be converted to a newer medium keeping it from dying, pretty much ever. While it is inarguable that the molestation that likely took place towards children like Wade Robson at the feet of the King of Pop has lasting, damaging effects, eventually those effects will wear away, and the music of Michael Jackson will live on. Don’t believe me? Take for example J.D. Salinger, accusations against Salinger mirror the accusations towards R. Kelly, both in that he was accused of having sexual relations with someone who was horribly underage, youngest being 14 for Salinger, and 12 for Kelly, and also in the way they both drop hints in their compositions that they were likely indulging in such behavior. However, I have never heard of any sort of large, influential, nationwide campaign to cancel J.D. Salinger, in fact some of his books are a required read for high schoolers all over the nation, because his art is just that good, and sometimes the twisted people who produce art hit the nail on the head, even if its inadvertent. Or how about poet T.S. Eliot, he was virtually a Nazi, but you don’t see any libraries and schools making garbage of The Waste Land, because it would be irresponsible to deprive curious minds of such solid art just because the person who made it was repugnant.
“It is only too true that a lot of artists are mentally ill — it’s a life which, to put it mildly, makes one an outsider. I’m all right when I completely immerse myself in work, but I’ll always remain half crazy.”-Vincent Van Gogh on the unstable nature of a great deal of artists, including himself; Van Gogh famously cut off his own ear
I cannot stress to you enough, that this does not mean you shouldn’t acknowledge that these formerly beloved artists were awful people, because you absolutely should. I’m just saying that art is meant to be judged by what it is, art. It is not meant to be judged by the artist who created it.
“Whether or not people continue to listen to Michael isn’t really my concern. If I have any hope, it’s just that we question in general who it is we’re worshipping and why, it’s beyond Michael.”- Wade Robson, one of Michael Jacksons alleged victims on whether or not he believes people should still listen to Jacksons music
I understand the desire to just cut out R. Kelly and Michael Jackson, I really do, their actions are indefensible and downright evil. But you can just cut them out, like they’re a crooked patch on some sort of personal pop culture quilt, you have to think of them more like a very large stain on said quilt, you could try to cut it off, but you will inevitably be left cold when you need to use it later.
