Can you enjoy entertainment from horrible people?

[LetalisK]

I know some people don't partake of certain artists/entertainers/what have you or end their fandom of them for things like political views, their actions/rumors about their actions, or similar other reasons(ie Orson Scott Card or Chris Brown, to give an example of each). I was wondering if anyone here does that sort of thing. Personally, I never have, but I may start.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/ian-watkins-lostprophets-guilty-rape_n_4344037.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Lostprophets is one of my favorite bands, but now whenever I listen to them, it just feels tainted. Ever since this story started coming out, I couldn't listen to them without coming back to this and it ends up depressing me and actually making me feel like a bad person for listening to it.. It might be easier to separate the person and the product for something like political views, but I don't know if I can do it for something like this.

 

[Jux]

I enjoyed OSC immensely before I knew about the whole bigotry bit. Kind of the same with Mark Wahlberg. I enjoyed him much more as an actor before I found out about the whole hate crime thing. I just hope Bill Watterson is as cool of a guy as I imagined him to be growing up reading Calvin & Hobbes, I don't think I could survive having that taken from me.

 

[Catfood220]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/ian-watkins-lostprophets-guilty-rape_n_4344037.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Lostprophets is one of my favorite bands, but now whenever I listen to them, it just feels tainted. Ever since this story started coming out, I couldn't listen to them without coming back to this and it ends up depressing me and actually making me feel like a bad person for listening to it.. It might be easier to separate the person and the product for something like political views, but I don't know if I can do it for something like this.

I had a feeling this thread was going to be about Watkins when I saw the title. I wouldn't class myself as a huge Lostprophets fan, I saw them several times though, they were the perfect festival band because they had enough good songs to fill a 30 - 45 minutes set. I read what he had pleaded guilty to on Tuesday evening and I just felt sad and a little sick for ever cheering for this man while all the time he was doing those terrible things. So yeah, I know how you feel.

Also, this made me a little sad to.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/celebritynews/steps-star-ian-h-watkins-targeted-by-online-trolls-who-mistook-him-for-disgraced-lostprophets-frontman-8967205.html

I have no love for Ian 'H' Watkins, he has contributed to some of the worst music ever created as part of Steps, but otherwise is pretty harmless. I can't believe people have been so stupid as to mistake him for the Ian Watkins from Lostprophets.

 

[Gigano]

Obviously so.

A guy who habitually eats babies at home can still be a damn good chef at work, maintaining perfect hygiene in the kitchen and creating culinary works of art. Culinary works of art which, despite the extreme personal depravity of their creator, don't taste like baby at all.

Even so, some people probably would feel like they could taste baby in the meal though. But it'd all be in their own heads, with nothing real and tangible to prevent them from shaking the feeling.

 

[Elfgore]

Of course. Alot of the music I listen to is filled with douchebags, asshats, and drama queens who make a big deal about everything or are just assholes to their fans and bandmates. But of course I still listen to it.

Lostprophets were pretty good. I was big fan of the CD that had everyday combat and Rooftops, but that was about it. But the things that guy did, is just fucked up. I would have thought I was reading the plotline to a sex offending hentai or doujin if it wasn't for the title.

 

[Muspelheim]

Well, it depends. How horrible are they, and what have they done?

I usually will, unless that inadvertantly contributes to their bad cause, if they have one, or because I don't want them to earn money directly contributed by me. In the Lostprophet's case, for instance, I wouldn't pay to see them or buy their records.

People can be talented or amusing, even if they aren't good people. It's still worth enjoying the produce, but I'd be careful to ensure that doing so confirms the work, and not the person.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

The short answer is yes.

I generally don't bother doing too much research into people whose art or works I enjoy, because it's very rare that you end up liking what you find. The exception to the rule for me would probably be Mischa Collins, I know he did a thing where he gave his phone number out to all of his fans and the vast majority that called/texted him got really sweet responses in return.

How someone acts off-stage is really none of my business. By watching what they produce (or are a part of), it doesn't mean I condone any activities they're involved in - it just means I appreciate what they're doing at that point in time. Whether that's singing, acting, doing stand-up comedy.. Whatever.

You can appreciate someone's art without supporting their life choices.

 

[Shadowstar38]

I listen to Rap and Hip-Hop. I'm pretty sure over half the artists in that genre murdered someone because it was Tuesday. Yet I don't give a fuck. Because what they're making is still awesome.

Hate the artist if you want, but you can still enjoy the art.

 

[sky14kemea]

Somehow I knew this thread would be about LostProphets.

I'll still listen to their music, and I still enjoy it, but it makes me glad that I don't get as emotionally attached to the actual band members as some people do.

In fact I know next to nothing about most bands I listen to. I'm just there for the music, plain and simple.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Hate the artist if you want, but you can still enjoy the art.

This is the way I try to look at it. It gets harder when you know the money they earn is being used to further a cause of hatred or other things. I still like Ender's Game for example but Orson Scott Card is someone I can't get behind.

 

[LetalisK]

Somehow I knew this thread would be about LostProphets.

I'll still listen to their music, and I still enjoy it, but it makes me glad that I don't get as emotionally attached to the actual band members as some people do.

In fact I know next to nothing about most bands I listen to. I'm just there for the music, plain and simple.

I don't know much about the bands either. I think it might be because vocalists tend to be such a focal point for groups where they become the primary icons for the band and music, with some exceptions. I probably wouldn't have a problem if it was the drummer instead. He's not a face and a voice to me.

But then, alluding to what shadowstar said, I have no problem listening to hip hop or Michael Jackson, assuming the allegations are true about him. I don't know why this is different.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Yes...however, I'd say it's important to recognise what they've done. A lot of people don't distinguish between "I like their product" and "I like them".

Also, best if you can appreciate them without giving them money. If they are long dead, say...Lovecraft has some very messed up ideas, but his writings are out of copyright and you can read them freely online, for example.

 

[Amir Kondori]

Hell yes, I can and do enjoy actors, bands, author's, just about any creative person's work despite them being saints or sinners.

It literally makes not one bit of difference for me. Not one bit.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

It sort of depends how closely tied they are to the work and how invested I am. Generally I can, easily, because not a lot of stuff is close to my heart and what is hasn't been put to the test.

 

[BreakfastMan]

Yeah, not sure any artist can come close to the vileness that was the leader of the Lostprophets... But Varg Vikernes sure comes close, and boy, do I really like his music. So, I would say that it is possible. Difficult, but possible.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Yes...however, I'd say it's important to recognise what they've done. A lot of people don't distinguish between "I like their product" and "I like them".

Also, best if you can appreciate them without giving them money. If they are long dead, say...Lovecraft has some very messed up ideas, but his writings are out of copyright and you can read them freely online, for example.

To be fair, Lovecraft's era was hardly one of widespread progressiveness. Combine that with intelligence, paranoia, depression and ill health and...well.

A surprising amount of influential authors were quite proud eugenicists, H.G. Wells and Virginia Woolf come to mind. Product of the culture that surrounded them, really. Creativity and a progressive attitude aren't necessarily bedfellows.

 

[Candidus]

I can enjoy entertainment from disgusting people provided I'm taking it out of their pocket at the same time.

I don't think a detailed explanation is necessary, is it.

 

[Yopaz]

It depends on how horrible they are.

The rape of a baby? Well, that's just far over the line. Not that I have heard about the artist before, but this won't make me check them out.

Horrible people comes in so many varieties. Some I can accept, some I can't.

 

[Ldude893]

Stanley Kubrick emotionally tortured Shelley Duvall into acting her part for The Shining, and that movie's still my favorite horror film of all time.

Though if Stanley Kubrick did something like, say, raped an infant before throwing it into a trash compactor with a jar of acid, then it'll be rather uncomfortable to praise any work attached to him. It won't detract from the actual qualities of the work, but still...