I disagree with Sweater Weather. The discomfort wouldn’t be from my feelings of righteousness or victimization. My view of the art would be clouded and distracted by horrendous thoughts of people I know who have been abused, as well as women from previous generations who protected abusive husbands. I also don’t think that monstrous behavior is common, but I do believe the fear of speaking up and not going along with something can be. These stories are good reminders of why having mandatory reporting laws and support for leaving abusive relationships are so important. I also prefer celebrating non-celebrity people I actually know.
On number 2: Really good point! Separating people into being “good” or “bad” in any one subject is so silly, but so common. It limits what people study and leads to less diversity in various fields. And everyone loses when that happens. But it’s never too late to learn a new subject!
Daphne, I'm inclined to agree with you. Fear of speaking up--especially against people with power/celebrity is very common--hopefully more common than the monstrous behavior itself. And I definitely feel you on this: "My view of the art would be clouded and distracted by horrendous thoughts of people I know who have been abused." Yes. Munro was one of my favorite authors and her work is now forever tainted for exactly that reason. I did like how sweater weather challenged my kneejerk reaction to feeling victimized myself by Munro when my thoughts should have more rightly been with her daughter and the others like her who have been ignored or silenced by the people who were supposed to keep them safe. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, your perspective adds depth to the conversation.
I never thought Alice Munro worthy of becoming a Nobel Laureate in the first place. Think of how many truly great writers like Wendell Berry and Gary Snyder have been cheated of the prize. And why not Stephen Sondheim instead of Bob Dylan if they had to give a prize to a songwriter? I no longer care about prize winners and the loser’s life they often lead.
Of course, it all comes back to art being subjective. Personally, I thought Munro was as worthy a recipient as any as I've revered her work all of my adult life. She was a master of the short story whose work I often found stunning and shattering. But of course, your point stands: Who decides what is "great" and worthy of the canon/prestigious prizes? It is always a select few who will never be able to speak for the many. And an artist's greatness rarely correlates to moral clarity or behavior. Great artists share the same propensity for amoral behavior as the rest of the human race.
I disagree with Sweater Weather. The discomfort wouldn’t be from my feelings of righteousness or victimization. My view of the art would be clouded and distracted by horrendous thoughts of people I know who have been abused, as well as women from previous generations who protected abusive husbands. I also don’t think that monstrous behavior is common, but I do believe the fear of speaking up and not going along with something can be. These stories are good reminders of why having mandatory reporting laws and support for leaving abusive relationships are so important. I also prefer celebrating non-celebrity people I actually know.
On number 2: Really good point! Separating people into being “good” or “bad” in any one subject is so silly, but so common. It limits what people study and leads to less diversity in various fields. And everyone loses when that happens. But it’s never too late to learn a new subject!
Daphne, I'm inclined to agree with you. Fear of speaking up--especially against people with power/celebrity is very common--hopefully more common than the monstrous behavior itself. And I definitely feel you on this: "My view of the art would be clouded and distracted by horrendous thoughts of people I know who have been abused." Yes. Munro was one of my favorite authors and her work is now forever tainted for exactly that reason. I did like how sweater weather challenged my kneejerk reaction to feeling victimized myself by Munro when my thoughts should have more rightly been with her daughter and the others like her who have been ignored or silenced by the people who were supposed to keep them safe. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, your perspective adds depth to the conversation.
I never thought Alice Munro worthy of becoming a Nobel Laureate in the first place. Think of how many truly great writers like Wendell Berry and Gary Snyder have been cheated of the prize. And why not Stephen Sondheim instead of Bob Dylan if they had to give a prize to a songwriter? I no longer care about prize winners and the loser’s life they often lead.
Of course, it all comes back to art being subjective. Personally, I thought Munro was as worthy a recipient as any as I've revered her work all of my adult life. She was a master of the short story whose work I often found stunning and shattering. But of course, your point stands: Who decides what is "great" and worthy of the canon/prestigious prizes? It is always a select few who will never be able to speak for the many. And an artist's greatness rarely correlates to moral clarity or behavior. Great artists share the same propensity for amoral behavior as the rest of the human race.