It's embarrassing you need a book to tell you it's OK to like good art by bad people

In 2017, the essayist and critic Claire Dederer wrestled at length, in the pages of the Paris Review, with the question, “What do we do with the art of monstrous men?” How should we engage with the work of Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, and other disgraced geniuses? What are the rules? Are there any?

Dederer’s exploration of her relationship with her favorite artists helpfully illustrates the distinction between appreciation and fandom. She values the unsettling oeuvre of Polanski, the child rapist who gave us Knife in the Water, Rosemary’s Baby, and Chinatown. Of Allen, however, she is a card-carrying fan who feels that Allen stands in for her own aesthetic and temperament.

Do you vote? Watch sports? Drive a Volkswagen? Use products or medications tested on animals? Spend all day on a phone assembled by Chinese slaves in a factory festooned with suicide netting? Maybe worrying about your favorite artists isn’t a noble act of self-criticism. Maybe, just maybe, it’s a bit of misdirection or scapegoating, a means of pretending that you aren’t compromised down to the soles of your sweatshop sneakers.

Source: Entertainment Trends (entertainmenttrends.net)

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Johnny Depp honors Jeff Beck at tribute concert after controversial Cannes appearanceJohnny Depp paid tribute to the late musician Jeff Beck during a music performance. Depp's concert comes after his controversial appearance at the Cannes Film Festival.
Source: FoxNews - 🏆 9. / 87 Read more »

Johnny Depp Performs at Jeff Beck's Tribute Concert in LondonJohnny Depp didn't leave London without paying tribute to his longtime pal and late guitarist, Jeff Beck ... performing on the same stage they did a year ago, all in his honor.
Source: TMZ - 🏆 379. / 59 Read more »

Claire Holt Reveals She's Pregnant With Baby No. 3 at CannesThe 'Vampire Diaries' actress and her husband are already parents to a son and a daughter.
Source: etnow - 🏆 696. / 51 Read more »

Katherine Legge, Stefan Wilson involved in crash during practiceStefan Wilson is being transported to Methodist Hospital after a crash this afternoon during practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Katherine Legge. He was awake and alert.
Source: wrtv - 🏆 598. / 51 Read more »

Claire Danes' Baby Bump Album Before Welcoming 3rd Child With Hugh DancyClaire Danes announced in January that she and husband Hugh Dancy were expecting Baby No. 3 — see every time she showed off her baby bump
Source: usweekly - 🏆 390. / 55 Read more »

Graham Rahal gets Indy 500 ride after all, replacing injured Stefan Wilson - AutoblogGraham Rahal will keep his Indy 500 start streak intact after all, replacing injured Stefan Wilson on Tuesday after failing to qualify for his own team.
Source: therealautoblog - 🏆 528. / 51 Read more »