Ask Lemmy

I can appreciate art from any artist, but I will not patronize an artist that is trash.

Almost always. But I cannot with Michael Jackson and the singer from Lost Profits. They are just horrible imo.

If some person or company turns out to do shitty things or hold shitty values, I will stop giving them money wherever possible (easy for artists, less so if a shitty company is the only option for something). I won't generally throw away things I've already paid for or stop listening to a band or something, but they won't get future money from me.

I've learned it's a necessity. If the art itself is good, well done, promotes positive thinking, etc, it's easy to look past the personal failings of the creator. Like joss whedon. Or the Harry Potter author. Nobody's perfect, and if I get super puritan about stuff, I miss out on a lot of good content.

If the art itself is shitty, offensive, hateful, harmful... nope, I'm not gonna look past that.

Roman Polanski is tricky. Dude was a horrible human. I don't want to like his movies, but The Tenant is just so darned good.

Fuck Joss Whedon and his misogynistic, narcissistic ego.

But I still will watch Firefly, and Avengers.

I will not, however, pay any attention any of his future work.

People that claim to cut things out of their life completely once the creator does something they don’t agree with, or worse yet when they are only accused of doing something they don’t agree with, are simpletons. They simply do not understand how the world in general works if they think that mindset is scalable.

Almost nothing is black and white when it comes to people’s choices and actions. The world is full of grey area and if someone fails to acknowledge that then they are in for a very frustrating existence.

Yep, was scolded on reddit for "making a post about an antisemite" when I mentioned Mel Gibson in a list of some 10 odd other actors I liked (I even mentioned in the post that I was only refering to his acting, not his personal character). Guess by the internets rules, Mad Max is no longer a good movie?

If the artist is alive, absolutely not. And if they are dead, it really depends on context and how awful they were. An artist's beliefs leave their fingerprints all over their art. Also, if they are, say, a TERF, purchasing their art funds their bad behavior, making the consumer complicit in enabling them.

I actually like Hitler's paintings.

Yes. Bad people can still be good at things, right? You can admire what they are good at, without endorsing their bad behavior. This is a sweeping generalization, I know, but broken people often can do remarkable things because they are trying to fill a hole most of us just don't have. So if you will only listen to/look at the works of people you consider virtuous, you will be so limited.

Yes, especially as the same logic can apply to inventions, and then it just gets messy.

Depends. Usually I can separate them, nut for exampme on michael jackson I cant but think about his kiddie ticklings when I hear his music. Still good music though

I usually don't care. Any political views, racism, sexism and whatnot opinions like JK Rowling on trans I couldn't care less. But...

1. Gender based violence I'll will need to be really good for me to like.
2. Child molesters will give me an uncanny feeling.

Murder somehow ok though. I'll listen to Snoop Dogg and enjoy it to the fullest.

I'll still listen to the song or whatever media but won't promote them.

Anti flag has ruined their music for me and anything harry potter is repulsive after learning about who JK rowling is. So, yes I think I can't seperate the art from the artist

It depends. I think in this world it's impossible to purchase something without most of your money going into the bank account of a terrible human being. Buying a chocolate bar perpetuates child slavery. One could argue buying meat perpetuates climate change. I think it's a great example of cognitive dissonance if someone refuses to buy Harry Potter merchandise because JK Rowling is a terrible person, but then continues to buy Nestle products.

For me, I do my best to not buy anything at all. I live a minimalist lifestyle. If all of my purchases are going to cause some harm, I will purchase the minimum amount of items necessary.

I'm not consistent about anything I do, including this.

I do acknowledge that some of the creators I appreciate are awful people. I don't know if I would have picked up the art in the first place if I'd known then.

The art is a separate thing from the artist so I can typically treat them separately in my mind. A bad person can still be correct. A person who has done wrong can still make something beautiful.

It's cases of when the making of the art itself is what's problematic that I have a much more difficult time with because now it isn't separate. Kubrick's treatment of Shelley Duvall for e.g., Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. The creation of the art itself caused harm, not some separate unrelated thing the artist said or did.

I'm not going to avoid A Bug's Life, or even The Usual Suspects just because Kevin Spacey is in them. The Cosby Show was super important in breaking down stereotypes and improving race relations and is a great show. I'll watch Woody Allen movies, probably, if I get around to it.

Strict if the artist is alive. Much less so if they're dead. Much, much less so if they're dead, and so is everyone attached to them.

I try not to separate the art from its context, I feel I get a more shallow experience by doing so. But, how much context, how I seek it out, etc are all up in the air. So when talking about a piece I'll mention something of the context, the writer being living garbage is easy context to contrast/support against their work.

Ender's game being written by a bigot is interesting because of the contrast. H.P Lovecraft being a bigot is interesting because it is so obvious in the work.

My phone is made possible because children lose limbs mining the cobalt, just because I outsource the misery I cause doesn't mean I'm a good person.

That being said, I'm less likely to buy their merch or go to their shows. But damn, if you told me Michael Jackson was alive, in his prime and doing a show, I'd be there so goddamned fast.