Is it worth changing the attitude towards works if the author is a bad person
A Life / / January 06, 2021
What happened
The Russian State Children's Library has established the "Big Fairy Tale" prize named after Eduard Uspensky. His daughter Tatiana opposed this. She wrote"My dad is a tyrant": Ouspensky's daughter asked not to present the award to her father's name an open letter in which she accused her father of being "very cruel." Tatiana Uspenskaya said that family members were systematically subjected to physical, psychological and emotional abuse. Eduard Uspensky also involved acquaintances in a totalitarian sectWho is Viktor Stolbun and how did he manage to found an influential sect, which included Eduard Uspensky Viktor Stolbun, in which cruel experiments were practiced.
Tatiana Uspenskaya, daughter of Eduard UspenskyBeing undoubtedly a talented person capable of captivating people with creative ideas, he was unable to overcome his human vices, to communicate with people in a friendly and calm manner. I believe that the name of a person who has practiced violence in his family for many years <...> should not be awarded an award in such a humanistic field as children's literature.
The Russian State Children's Library answeredThe RSDL commented on the appeal of the daughter of Eduard Uspenskythat when organizing awards they are guided exclusively by the creative merits of writers and illustrators, and not by their personal qualities. However, the letter itself caused a resonance in society. Many people find themselves in difficult moral situations. Books Eduard Uspensky and cartoons based on them are loved by Russians and are familiar to them from childhood.
In light of the new data, it is not clear what to do. Stop loving?
Ouspensky is not the only person in whose biography unpleasant facts appeared. Michael Jackson has been repeatedly accusedJackson's thriller: how the king of pop was accused of pedophilia in pedophilia, Kevin Spacey in sexual harassmentKevin Spacey dropped charges of harassment of 18-year-old boy in the United States. And these are only contemporaries. What can we say about many great Russian writers and poets, who at least were landowners with serfs, which is essentially slavery.
The life hacker works with a psychologist to figure out what to do if you realize that genius and villainy are compatible.
What to do if you find out terrible about the author of your favorite works
According to psychologist Andrei Smirnov, it is necessary to separate works from a person's personality.
Some part of a person's personality or subpersonality may be a villain, but another part may be a genius. If a genius writes clever and useful things, then for readers it is not so important what his other subpersonality did.
Andrey Smirnov, master of psychology, practical psychologist
It is a different matter if such an author calls for crimes, expresses misanthropic ideas. The psychologist believes that reading this is clearly not worth it. Practical guides on ways to get rich with examples dubious earnings, advice on how to find bliss with the help of drugs, and other similar publications Smirnov also suggests boycotting.
Andrey SmirnovTake, for example, Hitler, who was a good family man, a brave soldier and even a vegetarian, but with his works and speeches incited fierce racial hatred. That's what's dangerous. If, for example, a serial killer wrote a sensible or just an interesting book, then we must pay tribute to the writing talent. And let the law enforcement agencies deal with his crimes.
Smirnov notes that there are no completely bad people. There are good qualities in any bastard. For example, if a car mechanic who perfectly repaired a car turns out to be a serial killer, no one will go over to remodel the car because of this. Artistic creativity that does not call for evil and harm should be treated the same way.
Why is it important not to create idols for yourself
So, you shouldn't be ashamed if you don't boycott the works of authors with questionable backgrounds. But there is also a downside. Often a person who is in love with the creator refuses to believe that idol may stumble even if detainedA petition appeared on the web in support of the historian Sokolov, who is accused of murdering a graduate student, say, with severed female hands in a bag. And even if he does believe, he is ready to justify him. After all, the poor man must have been brought. And anyway, how can you approach a celebrity with ordinary human standards.
But since we have agreed to separate the author from the work, it also works the other way. A person's talent is not an indulgence that makes him inviolable. Misconduct can at least be discussed, and crimes - judged.
What to do if it doesn't come out to separate the work from the personality of the creator
Ideally, when you easily pulled the work out of the author's biographical context. But readers and viewers are just as imperfect as creators. And if you no longer enjoy the works, so be it.
But being aware of what drives you is still good. Many books, paintings, songs, films occupy an important place in the socio-cultural context. They have had a huge impact on the industry and have objective advantages from this point of view.
If a piece is written by a scoundrel, it does not become bad.
And you can either continue to enjoy it or stop loving it forever. After all, there are many reasons why previously adored things stop looking so awesome. Author biography just one of them.
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