Every day, we hear about new
scandals from celebrities who have angered a portion of the population with an
inappropriate, or simply unfortunate, comment.
With the kind of scrutiny that stars live under, it might be inevitable
that they slip up eventually. An
offensive or controversial view is spoken of in public and suddenly, that
artist’s work is being boycotted by angry people. It seems like society is finding it
increasingly difficult to separate an artist’s beliefs from their work.
I could list any number of
examples. Michael Richards’ infamous
rant at a comedy club was understandably upsetting to fans. He was in the middle of a stand up set when
he lost control and started shouting racial slurs at the audience.
In his case, his art was directly affected by
his prejudice. The people who walked out
of the club were justified in being offended by the art he was presenting to
the public. But why are so many people
still upset by an artist’s beliefs, when those beliefs have nothing to do with
the product? 
I’ve recently been looking forward
to the upcoming release of the movie adaptation of Ender’s Game. Ender’s Game is an iconic 1985 science
fiction novel written by Orson Scott Card.
The book has a devoted, built in fan base that should roll over into the
movie. However, Card was just in the
news for his angry and opinionated views on gay marriage. His views were not unknown previously, but
they were recently brought back into the public eye when it was announced that
Card would be involved in a new anthology of Superman comics. Fans reacted by signing petitions and
refusing to buy the product.
Since the scandal broke, executives
with the movie have begun separating themselves from Card’s image to try to
protect the box office. I’m personally
pro-gay marriage, and I’ll fight for anyone’s right to marry the person they
love. I also think, however, that it’s
absolutely ridiculous to boycott a movie because the writer of the book version
doesn’t have the same beliefs that I do.
Ender’s Game was one of my
favorite books when I was a teenager.
Any offense I take at Card’s personal opinions has no effect on my
enjoyment of his book. Art should never
be confused with personal morality.
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