In this Salon article (http://www.salon.com/2011/06/07/bad_people_great_books/) , the “bad” lives of “great” authors are discussed, including those of T.S. Elliot (anti-semite), Ezra Pound (Fascist), and Charles Dickens (cruel to his wife) – and what the implications are for their writings and our appreciation thereof:
“Still, there’s much to be said for getting past this form of hero worship. Bad eggs like Naipaul aside, most writers, like most people, are a mixture of the reprehensible and the admirable. Our own personal lives require that we learn to love people flaws and all. When you idealize someone, you can’t truly know him or her, and that makes real, adult love impossible.
Most people begin figuring out how to do this in their teens. It’s not an easy transition. Suddenly, every bad quality in our parents — people who were like gods to us as children — becomes a glaring, intolerable betrayal. They must be repudiated! We don’t realize until years later that this is the first step on the long road to seeing our parents as they really are and forgiving them for being human.
Similarly, needing to believe that your favorite author lived in an exemplary way, embodying all the virtues of his best work, is an adolescent desire, passionate but ultimately unfair. Learning the truth is disillusioning at first, but enlightening in the end. Part of the sadly underrated process of growing up is realizing that people, the world and life are no less beautiful and amazing for being imperfect.”
Struggled with this myself and thank you for bringing it to the front. Read this article a while back and made me look at it this way :In February, New Republic culture critic Josephine Livingstone took this approach in making a Barthesian argument for a feminist reading of Woody Allen’s films. “I consider Woody Allen and Roman Polanski’s movies gifts, to me and to the culture — even when they’re bad — and I’m never giving them back,” she said. “I don’t want Allen and Polanski to have control over their own legacies or even over their own works. If they don’t get to dictate how I interpret their films, then they don’t get to control anything about the film industry. We, the viewers, do.”
Really interesting article. What do you think about opinions rather than actions? Should JK Rowlings views stop people liking Harry Potter? Should Gina Carano's impact enjoyment of the Mandalorian? We don't adore people's art if they have opinions we agree with so why does what someone thinks mean we can't enjoy something they create.
There are songs we no longer play in the Catholic Church. Because the composer caused sexual abuse to many women. We wouldn’t want the many victims to be in a sacred place, here the songs of her abuser.
Great, thought provoking article, Erik. I grew up listening to my dad’s Bill Cosby Himself record (yes, I said record), laughing hysterically at comedy bits that I can practically recite word for word. Should these memories and laughs with my dad, which I cherish, be tarnished because of the horrid, diabolical man Cosby turned out to be? When I listen to these bits today I most definitely look at them through a different colored lens, but part of me will always want to listen to them as I did all those years ago with my dad. No simple task indeed.
I touted American Beauty as my favorite film and he as my favorite actor for years and years. The Usual Suspects is also very high on my list largely because of his performance. But now I either 1) Go with The Matrix as my fave or 2) stick with American Beauty with a Kevin Spacey caveat, but that's just awkward.
I recall an article discussing Michael Jackson and how his legacy should affect purveyors of his music and the point made was that the two are inseparable. Is because the victims were children? Does it/ should it make a difference when victims are children? As with most of this I come down in the "I'm not sure" for fear of either taking it too seriously or not seriously enough with the added burden of being *perceived* as taking it too seriously or not seriously enough. But who is the ultimate determiner of that?
In this Salon article (http://www.salon.com/2011/06/07/bad_people_great_books/) , the “bad” lives of “great” authors are discussed, including those of T.S. Elliot (anti-semite), Ezra Pound (Fascist), and Charles Dickens (cruel to his wife) – and what the implications are for their writings and our appreciation thereof:
“Still, there’s much to be said for getting past this form of hero worship. Bad eggs like Naipaul aside, most writers, like most people, are a mixture of the reprehensible and the admirable. Our own personal lives require that we learn to love people flaws and all. When you idealize someone, you can’t truly know him or her, and that makes real, adult love impossible.
Most people begin figuring out how to do this in their teens. It’s not an easy transition. Suddenly, every bad quality in our parents — people who were like gods to us as children — becomes a glaring, intolerable betrayal. They must be repudiated! We don’t realize until years later that this is the first step on the long road to seeing our parents as they really are and forgiving them for being human.
Similarly, needing to believe that your favorite author lived in an exemplary way, embodying all the virtues of his best work, is an adolescent desire, passionate but ultimately unfair. Learning the truth is disillusioning at first, but enlightening in the end. Part of the sadly underrated process of growing up is realizing that people, the world and life are no less beautiful and amazing for being imperfect.”
Excellent piece -we all struggle with this.
Struggled with this myself and thank you for bringing it to the front. Read this article a while back and made me look at it this way :In February, New Republic culture critic Josephine Livingstone took this approach in making a Barthesian argument for a feminist reading of Woody Allen’s films. “I consider Woody Allen and Roman Polanski’s movies gifts, to me and to the culture — even when they’re bad — and I’m never giving them back,” she said. “I don’t want Allen and Polanski to have control over their own legacies or even over their own works. If they don’t get to dictate how I interpret their films, then they don’t get to control anything about the film industry. We, the viewers, do.”
Really interesting article. What do you think about opinions rather than actions? Should JK Rowlings views stop people liking Harry Potter? Should Gina Carano's impact enjoyment of the Mandalorian? We don't adore people's art if they have opinions we agree with so why does what someone thinks mean we can't enjoy something they create.
There are songs we no longer play in the Catholic Church. Because the composer caused sexual abuse to many women. We wouldn’t want the many victims to be in a sacred place, here the songs of her abuser.
Great post. Very interesting and thought-provoking thanks. Also really interesting and thoughtful comments on here too.
Great, thought provoking article, Erik. I grew up listening to my dad’s Bill Cosby Himself record (yes, I said record), laughing hysterically at comedy bits that I can practically recite word for word. Should these memories and laughs with my dad, which I cherish, be tarnished because of the horrid, diabolical man Cosby turned out to be? When I listen to these bits today I most definitely look at them through a different colored lens, but part of me will always want to listen to them as I did all those years ago with my dad. No simple task indeed.
I find myself at this juncture with Kevin Spacey.
I touted American Beauty as my favorite film and he as my favorite actor for years and years. The Usual Suspects is also very high on my list largely because of his performance. But now I either 1) Go with The Matrix as my fave or 2) stick with American Beauty with a Kevin Spacey caveat, but that's just awkward.
I recall an article discussing Michael Jackson and how his legacy should affect purveyors of his music and the point made was that the two are inseparable. Is because the victims were children? Does it/ should it make a difference when victims are children? As with most of this I come down in the "I'm not sure" for fear of either taking it too seriously or not seriously enough with the added burden of being *perceived* as taking it too seriously or not seriously enough. But who is the ultimate determiner of that?
Great thought-provoking post.