Welcome to Friday Debate, a feature on cup of tea with that book, please, where every Friday a question will be posted that tantalize the brain and expands our horizons. For this week’s question:
Today’s Friday Debate is in connection with last week’s debate (thanks for those who voted in the polls!). When a public figure does something we don’t like or does not match our personal beliefs, we, as a society are expected to stop supporting that product or the person altogether. We’ve seen it with popular brands like Goya and Nike. There’s also the Lady Antebellum/Lady A controversy and of course, the recent events with J.K. Rowling. Some fans are considering not buy any Harry Potter merchandise and just recently reported, sales of the Harry Potter books have started to lag in June.
This is another issue where my feelings are mixed. I like the Harry Potter books but I was never a big fan to the point I would buy merchandise related to the fandom. However, my feelings change with Lady Antebellum. When I heard they were going to sue the artist Lady A so they can use that name instead of their previous one, I was shocked and little disturbed that they would do this to not only a fellow music artist but to a black music artist. I love Lady Antebellum’s music. Anytime I would listen to their music, it would get me out of downtimes. After the news broke out, I had a hard time listening to their music with the same passion. My mind kept coming back to the controversy and I felt guilty that I chose to continue listening to them, even with their transgressions. But the band is human. Like so many artists and public figures, they make mistakes. Isn’t it possible to look to their art and their hard work and remember that?
So for this week’s Friday Debate, I am asking this question:
Please post any comments you have in the section below.
Friday Debate: Accessibility to ARCs
Welcome to Friday Debate, a feature on cup of tea with that book, please, where every Friday a question will be posted that tantalize the brain and expands our horizons.
Friday Debate: E-book Access
Welcome to Friday Debate, a feature on cup of tea with that book, please, where every Friday a question will be posted that tantalize the brain and expands our horizons.
Friday Debate: #CancelCulture
Welcome to Friday Debate, a feature on cup of tea with that book, please, where every Friday a question will be posted that tantalize the brain and expands our horizons.
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I think it’s possible to separate the art from the artist, but I also think it’s a complicated thing and each person has to determine how and if they are able to do so. I’m still puzzling this out for myself, actually. I wanted to do a discussion post on my blog, but haven’t yet settled on my opinion about the matter. I don’t fully agree with cancel culture and I am able to separate the art from artist. For example, I won’t stop purchasing Harry Potter stuff because of how JK Rowling has acted. I hardly ever pay attention to authors and only care about the books and other media I engage with, so that’s my reasoning for now.
I’ve never listened to Lady Antebellum, but what they’re doing seems like a backwards way of showing their support for Black lives. It makes me start to think that wasn’t their intention at all.