By Arwa Darukhanawalla
Is it possible and ethical to enjoy someone's work despite their views? Realistically, this can vary from person to person, based on their opinions, thought process, and open-mindedness. In my opinion, the ability to enjoy someone's craft is more achievable than it is ethical. It's not a crime to have differentiating views; we're only human. With that being said, every individual holds an unconscious bias, which will impact our ability to enjoy something. So, if an artist's beliefs don't align with (a part of) the public, their audience is likely to incline elsewhere.
For example, the fabled feud between Taylor Swift and Kanye West; West interrupted Swift's acceptance speech for best female video at the MTV Music Awards. Seven years later, West released a song called 'Famous', comprising vulgar lyrics about Swift. Both artists' fanbase sent backlash toward the other artist, respectively. However, there was widespread misinformation regarding whether or not Swift approved the lyrics, leading to a loss in their audience numbers. Other such actions by many people caused their audience to feel let down.
Furthermore, society is subconsciously judgemental, celebrating successes, however, profiting from someone's flaws. The rest of the world is the harshest critic to face. Today’s society has become dangerous; like a bomb, waiting to explode. The world is overflowing with issues, confusing people as to where they should stand. This chaos makes the public more vulnerable to the work put out by the artist. Making one mistake can cost someone their career. Towers of controversy surround not only the artist, but their audience as well. Those controversies decide the fate of the artist in terms of their career path, and society’s judgements pave the journey.
The word 'controversial' is controversial in itself. It is defined as a noun; ‘a prolonged public disagreement or a heated discussion.’ However, I think it is defined as an adjective too. We describe various situations and viewpoints to be ‘controversial’. For example, gun control, climate change, transgender rights, and race supremacy; these are a few of many delicate issues that are constantly being debated upon.
In conclusion, the artist's work will always be tied, tightly or loosely, to their personal views and experiences. Multiple people may have the same stream of thought, but it's impossible to understand a situation directly from their eyes. So, is it possible to separate the art from the artist? I’ve come to realise that it's not, because the art we see is born from someone else’s opinion, idea, or thought. It’s in our hands to choose whether or not we still support that artist, despite having ethical differences (situational based).
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