Claire Dederer investigates the ethical conflict of consuming art created by people who have committed immoral or criminal acts. She analyzes the lives and legacies of figures like Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, and Joni Mitchell to determine if a creator’s biography can be disentangled from their artistic output. The text moves beyond the simple question of cancel culture, focusing instead on the subjective process of the audience's experience. Dederer examines the concept of the genius as a monster and questions why society often excuses the cruelty of male artists while scrutinizing the domestic choices of women.
The book serves readers who find their enjoyment of a favorite film or novel disrupted by the artist’s real-world behavior. It targets individuals looking for a philosophical framework to navigate their own guilt and fandom in the modern age. Instead of providing a moral checklist of who to boycott, the chapters offer a meditation on the permanence of great art and the impossibility of being a perfectly ethical consumer. Readers finish with a better understanding of how their own emotions influence the way they value a masterpiece versus its maker.
- Published
- 2023
- Language
- EN
