Our generation is more than ever aware of the power of reputation, the global community built by interconnectedness on social media is still quite novel in it’s popularity. Never before have cohorts had the opportunity for their voice to reach the masses to the extent that is available today.
Even now, with moral awareness streaming towards a peak, there are major industry contenders whose problematic attitudes have done little to hinder their influence. In some cases, such controversies only add to the buzz surrounding their creative outputs. To illustrate such irony, we can look towards Kanye West. In the early 2000s, Kanye cemented his stardom; an undeniable icon. However, in recent years he has made the shift from iconic to infamous in his preaching of hateful attitudes but still, that influence remains. His voice is almost anticipated across social media despite the predictability that it will speak of hateful views.
There seems to be a point in acclaim by which high status outweighs the effectiveness of cancel culture.
This leads us to the age-old debate: can we separate art from the artist? Some individuals prefer to think of creation singularly- a product away from the hands that made it. This mindset has admittedly saved countless outstanding products from being forgotten. To flip the coin, others share the opinion that it is impossible to appreciate art without acknowledgment of it’s context. Perhaps the latter is more effective to deter such extreme examples of ill-intended creation.
But what about creatives who don’t have Hollywood in their pockets?
Breaking into creative industries behind the shadows of so many ‘cancelled’ artists is a daunting feat for anyone. But might an increased sensitivity to the audience make art any less authentic? Of course, for ugly examples of pure hate, ending up ‘cancelled’ is an earned fate. The difficulty comes when differing opinions is perceived as controversy.
It would be impossible and quite frankly boring if all art portrayed the same beliefs, yet many attempts have been made to cross out creatives whose views, whilst not hateful in intent, have been spat on by the audience reached. Even on a subconscious level, many young creatives are making their art palatable for as many tastes as possible- especially those with the intent to share on social media. We can highlight ‘Instagram poetry’ as an example. There are too many accounts to track that publish essentially the same ideas and forms because similar work before it was digested with ease.
Can so many people really share the same creative whims or are we seeing this sameness as a result of motivation to appeal to the masses; to be agreeable?