Making art in the age off Woke Culture and Cancel Culture.
A few years ago, I sat next to a writer at a publisher’s dinner who seemed to excel at pushing my buttons—coming out with a number of blanket statements that could have been custom-designed to get me angry. The greatest hits included “Well, if young girls today didn’t dress so provocatively, they wouldn’t be asking for trouble,” and “Poor people get stuck in the credit trap, but why should they buy things they can’t afford? Maybe don’t buy that new fridge or cooker until you have the money?” Sure, these were gross opinions, but the worst aspect of all of it was how the writer reacted when I pushed back. “Well, I’m not saying I agree. I’m just asking the questions. It’s what we’re supposed to do isn’t it? Crime fiction, ask the big social questions.” Even though the opinions themselves were objectionable, the unwillingness to stand by the words that had only just left their mouth was what truly enraged me.
The question of whether artists have any responsibility is a long-standing debate. Does violent media influence real-life violence? Can song lyrics warp our brains? This is all a distraction, which confuses the medium for the people. The media in this context, by and large, is just a delivery system. It’s the manner by which people communicate. It’s the form an artist uses to talk with, or to entertain, an audience. And in the days of social media this has become far more interactive. It’s more of a conversation than ever. I’m not interested in talking about the media. Let’s move that out of the way, and talk about people. The artist is a person. The audience is made up of people. Art is a conversation between them. So, do people have a social responsibility in the things they say? I would argue yes. We’re all part of the cultural conversation, and we can all decide to have a better conversation. Which isn’t to say we need any form of censorship or that people shouldn’t be allowed to say things, but I would like to think artists will, at minimum, take responsibility for the things they say (or produce.) For better or worse. If my words or actions hurt someone, it’s unlikely to be intentional, but I won’t pass off the responsibility for having done it. If it is intentional, if I’m setting out to provoke, then I should take that responsibility. If a writer wants to ask the big questions or start a debate then they need to be willing to stick around for that debate.
The truth is, rebellion sells. It can be marketed to pretty much any audience, but it seems to sell especially well to angry men who just want it to be ‘told like it is.’ I believe any subject can be joked about or fictionalised. But that only works if the comedian or writer is willing to stand by the work and, importantly, if they have a point of view. The rebellion that sells so well for Hollywood marketing or Netflix comedy specials is only worth anything if it comes from a point of view that stands for something. And we might not all agree on what it stands for, but we can engage with it honestly.
I’m seeing a lot of complaints about woke culture and cancel culture. But what do these things mean? It’s not a new idea that people will be offended by offensive things. And I struggle to think of anyone who has truly been ‘cancelled’ for things they’ve said. Kevin Hart resigned from hosting the Oscars? Well…he resigned. That’s a thing he did, himself. And he could have simply apologised for the homophobic jokes that led to the outrage. Mel Gibson—of massive anti-semitism fame—said some of the most racist things you can imagine, and he’s back working again. Dave Chappelle gets on stage and talks about things he’s not allowed to say, despite the fact he’s talking about them, on a Netflix special, for which he has been paid millions, and countless alt-right thinkpieces are born. I don’t care to debate whether he can say those things, because the point is he did. Nobody stopped him. The special is still on Netflix. He still banked that cheque. A large part of comedy is about establishing the premise of your joke. Claiming to have just taken a flight, when you haven’t. Talking about a breakup you’ve just been through, when you’ve been married for ten years. Claiming from stage, to a theatre full of people, that you’re about to say a thing you can’t say. Chappelle established a premise so well that we’re still debating it months later. The whole moral panic of cancel culture seems, to me, to have a dark and cynical heart. It’s conflating two different things. The idea that comedians (or other celebrities) can be cancelled for the things they say—which isn’t really true—and the idea that some comedians (and other celebrities) have been firmly asked to leave the room because of horrible things they did. How deep into a debate on cancel culture do you need to be before someone mentions Louis CK? A comedian who has been cancelled. Except, he built a very successful career off the back of offensive material, and nobody ever stopped him. He was loved for doing it. He was kicked out of the room because he kept whipping his dick out in front of women. And even then, he’s making a good living on the road, playing to crowds who lap up his jokes about things he’s not allowed to say.
The idea of separating the art from the artist only ever seems to be discussed in extremes. In relation to directors or musicians who’ve done horrible things, to painters with bad personal lives. But there’s more to it than that. Point of view matters. The reason someone sets out to tell a story matters. The person behind an edgy joke matters. To bring it back to my point about us all being people, and all being part of one big conversation, all of our experiences and points of view factor into the things we say and do. The person I am influences the jokes I tell, or the novels I write. I have a point of view, and that is how people can judge whether to trust my intent on a joke, or how to read the novel. I can either believe a Hollywood director is honestly wanting to start a conversation with some tough questions, or I can read his own words about woke culture ruining everything, but I can’t do both. Because the intent behind the art is part of the art.
That writer I had the misfortune to share a dinner with seemed to think that they should live in a world without consequence. But in being unwilling to stand by their own words, they were telling me that words don’t matter. And I fail to understand how any writer can think that. Railing against cancel culture or woke culture is really just a signal to me that you either don’t believe in the work you’re putting out, or you don’t think you should ever face any consequences for what you do. Cancel culture isn’t a thing. It doesn’t exist. But cowardice does.