I was driving
around today doing seasonal errands, and on the radio they were
doing a seasonal tribute to someone they called one of the “greatest singers of
his generation”, Bing Crosby. Christmas and Bing Crosby are synonymous, right?
What about
in the year of #MeToo? Bing Crosby was well known for abusing his children, and
driving his first wife to alcoholism. But still he’s celebrated for being the
sound of Christmas. Do we just turn a blind eye because tis the season?
This is
something that’s been discussed several times over the years, and I've seen no less than four articles over 2017 about this topic. What happens
when we find out that someone whose talent we treasure is an abhorrent human being?
Can we separate the person from the art? And even if we can, can we still
appreciate the art or does it leave a sour taste on the tongue?
One of my
favourite Christmas movies is Trading Places. It features Al Franken in a minor
yet plot-relevant character. Many of my favourite movies were produced by
Miramax. And The Usual Suspects is a masterpiece of film. But will I be able to watch any of these ever again without that cloying feeling at the back of my mind?
I have to
admit that every time I hear Ride of the
Valkyries, my stomach does a flip flop. I mean, it’s a stunning work.
Wagner is a genius composer. He also held severe anti-Semitic views which
caused his music to be the soundtrack for Hitler and the Nazis in Germany. When Wagner's works are performed these days, programmers seem to overlook this history, but is that because they are
trying to make people appreciate the music for what it is without it being tainted by the racist history attached to Wagner?
It’s one
thing when works are in the public domain, but when the works of an artist
continue to earn revenue, either through first-run sales or royalties, what
then? Do we continue to play songs by Michael Jackson? Should we continue to
attend first-run movies produced by the Weinstein Company or watch them on Netflix? Boycotts work in the here and now, but thanks to the internet (and those of us with net neutrality) we’ve learned that nothing ever really goes away.
So in twenty years from now, will The Usual
Suspects be studied in film classes, revered for its genius, with teachers
omitting to mention the histories of Bryan Singer and Kevin Spacey, so that
students can appreciate the film without bias? Can these films hope to find a new shelf life once a certain amount of time has passed?
I don’t
have an answer for any of this, and in all of the articles I've read and seen covering this same topic, it seems there is no clear answer. My own opinion is
that no matter how much we love the art, the art is a reflection of the person
who gives it to the world. If that person has a diseased soul and gets off
on carrying out abusive acts towards others, then the art itself is diseased
and rotten. While it may still be a work of genius, we who are the audience
would be remiss and foolish to think one can truly be separated from the other,
and we who are living through these times should not allow future generations
to forget the history behind the artists and the art.
Personally,
I have never thought of Bing Crosby as the “sound of Christmas” and while I was
listening to all of those singers reflecting on the genius that was Bing
Crosby today, I did throw up a little in my mouth.
Guess that’s
a feeling I’m going to have to get used to.
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