ARTiculation: Does character affect artwork?

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: GARETH CATTERMOLE/GETTY IMAGES ENTERTAINMENT/THINKSTOCK
There's no question that Woody Allen is talented, but should we support him?

We’ve been seeing it a lot lately – stories emerging about individuals in the entertainment industry and their personal lives. We saw it when NFL player Ray Rice was caught being the aggressor in a domestic abuse case and when Michael Jackson left the country to escape the media in the height of the child molestation accusations.

It was only in February that Dylan Farrow, Woody Allen’s daughter, wrote an open letter claiming sexual misconduct. An admirer of Allen’s work, and the story having hit my area of interest so tenderly, for the first time I began to consider whether or not the seedy personal life of some of my favourite artists mattered to their body of work.

Should artwork be denounced because of the character behind it? Does it make the art any less beautiful?

Farrow opened her letter with “What’s your favorite Woody Allen movie? Before you answer…” and then detailed her story of Allen’s sexual abuse.

“Imagine she spends a lifetime stricken with nausea at the mention of his name,” she wrote. “Imagine a world that celebrates her tormentor… Now, what’s your favorite Woody Allen movie?”

After the letter was published, I remember being torn. It’s never okay to take advantage of a person, and if someone does, he/she should absolutely face consequences. But it doesn’t change the fact that the movie he made a year ago was shot brilliantly, that the man has talent.

When Magic in the Moonlight came out, I really wanted to see it but wasn’t sure I should.

I’m not here to bring down the gavel because really, none of us know what happened in many of these situations. But I do think it’s necessary to address our nation’s latest scandal, Jian Ghomeshi.

Just like anytime something like this surfaces, prominent figures in the same industry release statements about what they think happened, and Ghomeshi’s sexual abuse case is no exception as Canadians clamoured over their keyboards to get their opinion out.

Canadian musician Lights credited Ghomeshi as a major role in her rise to success. “He is passionate, as bright as they come, has incredible drive and vision, and is the hardest working man I know. A complete gentleman,” she wrote on Facebook.

Q is a really, really good show, and Ghomeshi played a large role in making it what it is. Just like Allen, he did his job well.

In the end, although I really wanted to go watch Allen’s new movie, I didn’t. For me, it boiled down to this: Although we have no idea if he actually did anything wrong, the thought of supporting an attacker outweighed my need to watch a film.

I never thought there’d come a day when anything trumped my vehement consumption of art, but that’s my line.

When we hear that Nike produces shoes in sweatshops, it’s easy to boycott them because they’re tucked away in a store.

The arts and entertainment industries are much more difficult to ignore in our society, so they are cause for a little more reflection. Having a questionable personal life doesn’t make their creativity and ingenuity less impressive. But it does make me re-evaluate how much value I put in watching, listening to their work.

Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.