FEATURE:
“Bad Religion Run Amuck”
IN THIS PHOTO: Nick Cave/PHOTO CREDIT: David Barajas
Is It Time to End Cancel Culture?
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AMONG all the most fun and upbeat…
IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa
features I have been writing, I wanted to include some more series subjects. One phrase that many of us are familiar with is ‘cancel culture’. This is when people on the Internet and in the media call for an artist (or famous person) to be cancelled – or be wiped off the map – because of something they have said or done. There seems to be no real justification for this sort of reaction, except for the fact that this person might have offended a few people. It seems that, every month, an artist is threatened with being cancelled as, according to some, they have stepped out of line and that is that. Dua Lipa is someone who has been threatened with this a couple of times this year alone. Recently, her Greater Albania map tweet drew condemnation from many, and I remember seeing the hashtag #Canceldualipa shared widely. Earlier in the year, as this article outlines, Dua Lipa was in the firing line:
“After the Grammys, several of the attendees made their way to a strip club to celebrate. A video posted online depicted Dua Lipa making it rain on some strippers. For some reason, people got offended over this and decided to cancel Dua Lipa.
I truly do not understand what people took issue with. The most surprising part of this is that Dua Lipa was the only person canceled even though there were others with her. Is it because she’s a woman? This does not make much sense. She was even tipping the dancers. Given that this is their job and how they make money, she was actually doing a good thing. Spread the wealth, of course.
This is just the latest in a long string of people being canceled. This might also be a good contender for the dumbest reason anyone has ever been canceled.
Cancel culture speaks to bigger issues within our greater culture. Instead of just canceling people we disagree with, shouldn’t we be opening up a discussion? The entire world seems to be divided now more than ever. The UK is leaving the EU, Trump is nearing the end of the impeachment trial, and Australia is burning while the world just gazes on.
Where is the justice in simply deciding that someone is canceled? Do people not deserve a chance to defend themselves before the sentencing? Sometimes people are canceled over a picture or tweet taken out of context; should they not be given the opportunity to explain?”.
The last paragraph raises some interesting questions. In an age where social media dominates and artists are constantly under the microscope, why do we insist on calling on someone to be cancelled because they have had an opinion?! In the case of Dua Lipa, she has said and done nothing wrong, but the sort of backlash she received is damaging and shocking. Not that people asking for to be cancelled would have worked, but it does mean that other artists (and Dua Lipa) will be fearful of putting certain things online, as they might receive the same sort of treatment.
Nick Cave made the music news this week. As cancel culture continues to rumble unchecked, Cave has had his say regarding the phenomenon. This BBC article picks up the story:
“Nick Cave has said cancel culture is akin to "bad religion run amuck".
Writing on his website, the Australian rock star suggested that political correctness has an "asphyxiating effect on the creative soul of a society".
"Cancel culture" is the term for when individuals or companies face swift public backlash and boycott over statements or actions perceived by some as offensive.
It "embodies all the worst aspects that religion has to offer", said Cave.
Answering a question from a fan, in the latest of his Red Hand Files series of correspondences, the 62-year-old wrote: "As far as I can see, cancel culture is mercy's antithesis. Political correctness has grown to become the unhappiest religion in the world.
"Its once honourable attempt to reimagine our society in a more equitable way now embodies all the worst aspects that religion has to offer (and none of the beauty) - moral certainty and self-righteousness shorn even of the capacity for redemption. It has become quite literally, bad religion run amuck.
"A force that finds its meaning in the cancellation of these difficult ideas hampers the creative spirit of a society and strikes at the complex and diverse nature of its culture.
"But this is where we are. We are a culture in transition, and it may be that we are heading toward a more equal society - I don't know - but what essential values will we forfeit in the process?"
There is a line that one must draw when it comes to free speech and, obviously, some artists can go too far or make mistakes – not that even the worst tweet or remark should threaten their entire career. Today is Madonna’s birthday and, recently, she made some unwise remarks regarding COVID-19 and vaccinations. It wasn’t a smart move to suggest a vaccine is being held back, but I saw a lot of people go online to call for Madonna to be cancelled. Think about the career she had has and periods of her career where people have been on her back. If social media were around during her Like a Prayer/Erotica period, imagine how many people would have been calling for Madonna to be cancelled?! I think artists are entitled to their say, and if they do put something out there that is a little misguided, is it really down to the Internet and a small section of people to end an artist’s career? We do have this ridiculous fickleness where we are quick to celebrate an artist when they release great music but, if they dare to be themselves or act in a way that some find disagreeable, then we are down their neck and put a target on their back. Although her situation if different to that of Madonna’s and others, Cardi B has faced cancel culture.
This article from NME from earlier this month tells us more:
“The NYC rapper, who recently released the Megan Thee Stallion-featuring ‘WAP’, was speaking to ELLE when she reflected on controversial moments from her past which led to multiple attempts to ‘cancel’ her
Last year, Cardi was widely condemned after a resurfaced video showed her reveal that she used to “drug and rob” men who attempted to pay her for sex during her time working as a stripper.
“I feel like people are attacking me because they want me to feel the pressure of bullying, and they want me to give up, and they want me to say, ‘Oh, I quit music’ or ‘I’ll delete my Instagram, delete my Twitter,’ and I’m not willing to do that. No one will ever have that much power [over] me.”
She then addressed the recent allegations claiming that she had a secret Instagram account, saying she “cannot believe 73 people are trying to cancel me over a lie”.
It seems that, in 2020, the notion of cancel culture has heightened, and there seems to be this unabated trend of artists having to check everything they do and say because people will react in such a way. I know cancel culture has been around for years, but I have noticed it a lot more this year. I will move on soon, but even the biggest and most popular artists are not immune from the ruthless pulpit of social media.
IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift/PHOTO CREDIT: Beth Garrabrant
This article from The Stray discusses a time in 2016 when Swift faced cancel culture:
“This is how Taylor Swift, in her recent documentary, addresses being “cancelled” in 2016. When she explains through tears how “it just feels like it’s more than music now… it just gets loud sometimes” or recalls in a 2019 interview that the “mass public shaming” of being cancelled can translate to being told to “shut up, disappear, or… kill yourself,” it’s easy to see the very real, personal impact that cancel culture can have on an individual.
In 2020, a leaked video revealed new information about the 2016 drama and #TaylorToldTheTruth trended on Twitter, demonstrating that cancel culture is not just hurtful but often pointless, too. So why is the world of celebrity and social media so obsessed with it?
“Cancel culture” at its root refers to the concept of no longer supporting a celebrity or their work after they do something deemed unacceptable. Being brandished as “cancelled” has become the dominant catch-all insult on social media. Whilst certain behaviour certainly should result in outrage, the definition of what is deemed a cancel-worthy offence is dubious. Feuding with another popular celebrity? Entangled in a conspiracy theory? Words taken badly out of context? Uh-oh! Time to be #cancelled!”.
I think Nick Cave described cancel culture best, and the fact that there is this line between free speech and political correctness, and unforgivable morals. Most of the artists that have faced being cancelled have done nothing wrong, and who are we to delete an artist because we (a small percentage) feel they have done something disagreeable?!
IN THIS PHOTO: Michael Jackson
Again, the situation is difficult, but an artist that has been a casualty of cancel culture and, debatably, has been blacklisted is Michael Jackson. We all know the allegations that were made against him in the Leaving Neverland documentary and, since his death in 2009, Jackson has faced a few allegations. In spite of there being no substantial evidence of his alleged crimes, a lot of people asked for Jackson to be cancelled. Whilst people are streaming his music and buying his record, radio stations are barely playing his music at all – the perception the media has of his music and classic albums has radically shifted. This illuminating article discusses the difficult Jackson situation and the moral struggle many of us have faced in the aftermath:
“At the beginning of this year, Jackson’s cancellation seemed inevitable. When news broke about Leaving Neverland’s marathon of horrors, in which pedophilic grooming and sexual abuse were alleged by two men who were close to Jackson as boys, I felt put out. I was annoyed I’d have to revise my listening habits as a result of a cultural reassessment of Jackson, a mainstay of my musical rotation for decades no matter where my general taste had otherwise shifted. But all of this hand-wringing was for nothing. Deleting Jackson turned out to be easy; after watching the doc, I lost my appetite for his music completely. There was no struggle, no self-centered agonizing, no sneaking in “Remember the Time” when I didn’t think anyone was paying attention. It felt like a clean break. One day I was a person who listened to Michael Jackson. One day I was not.
People like what they like, and they’ve never had better means to access it. For many, playing a favorite song is as easy as turning on a faucet. Many young people, who make up the bulk of the respective audiences of many of the artists discussed here, don’t want to sit through scoldings about responsible consumption, or they’re specifically interested in irresponsible consumption because it’s fun and cool and celebrities aren’t real people to them and so many crimes don’t seem like that big of a deal”.
I guess there is a big difference between Michael Jackson and cancel culture and the way artists such as Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa have been attacked for such minor and baffling reasons. The threat of cancel culture is causing scars and I do worry what effect it will have across music if artists are afraid to speak or offer an opinion if they feel their career is on the line – the same goes for the music and how bold and open an artist can be through their songs. We do need to end cancel culture, and it is hugely unfair that so many artists face such scrutiny and negativity. I know some people can use free speech as a way of spreading rather dangerous opinions, and we do need some limits and barriers. It is hard to know where that line is, but I think we can all agree that anyone that spreads hate and poison is not exercising free speech; artists who have political opinions or, as Nick Cave intimated, are wrestling with “uncomfortable ideas” should not feel so uneasy or risk huge damage if they offer these opinions.
We do need to have more debate and open up the discussion regarding free speech but, more than anything, we all need to stop vilifying people who have committed no wrongs. This fascinating article from earlier this month in Medium Magazine make some brilliant points as to why we need to cancel cancel culture:
“Nowadays ‘cancel culture’ doesn’t allow people to learn and grow from their mistakes anymore. Of course, I am just referring to those who have made mistakes because they were young and uneducated, not to those who are… well, criminals.
What ‘cancel culture’ fails to consider is that right now there is a higher social awareness and progressive enlightenment on the Internet, which was not present ten years ago. Again, this does not mean that celebrities do not deserve to be called out because of their misbehaviors – and educated. However, after being presented with new and better information on what is ‘politically correct’, it is more than possible for them to realize their wrongdoings and learn from them. Nevertheless, ‘cancel culture’ seems to not take this into account.
Furthermore, it makes it harder for people to differentiate between those who are genuinely apologetic for their ignorance and want to grow from it, and those who simply do not care. In fact, the fear of being cancelled leads celebrities to being overly cautious of what they say or do. It might seem like a good thing, but it actually just means that some of them might behave in a problematic way, but will do it privately in order to avoid losing fans and commercial success. Think about it: you might be supporting someone who doesn’t deserve it, just because you are unaware of what their true mindset it.
This is a huge drawback of ‘cancel culture’, as it makes it harder to spot who actually should be cancelled”.
So many artists have been maligned and ostracised; faced with the prospect of being cancelled and attacked by so many people. It is a dangerous and poisonous climate, and I don’t think cancel culture achieves anything. The worst offenders and those who offer hatred still spreads that hate, and artists who have done nothing wrong find themselves unfairly under the microscope. If we learn nothing else from the wave of artists being threatened with cancellation it is that we sorely need…
PHOTO CREDIT: @meteorphoto/Unsplash
TO change our worst habits.