IdleRich
IdleRich
Bit of an old question I guess but it seems to me that a lot of the time when people give their reason for disliking something it's due to a disagreement with the morality of the film/book/whatever (and presumably that of the artist as well). I'm just wondering if it's always the case that art that promotes something which is immoral will always fail to be good art. Or is it possible to separate these things and to say that one finds the morality reprehensible but still finds the artwork inspiring. I guess an example of this could be On The Waterfront which is generally highly regarded despite being a blatant attempt to justify Kazan's reporting of his colleagues to the Un-American Activities guys by telling a tale of a brave gangster who stands up to the mob by reporting them. (Actually perhaps that's not such a good example as you might be able to say that the film itself is not immoral but that the immoral act is in inviting the comparison between Brando's character and himself).
I suppose that there are various ways in which an artwork can (fail to) be moral and I'm interested in discussing any of them really. For example some would consider using extreme violence even for "good" purposes as something that can make a film immoral.
In fact, to be honest, I suppose that you could ask the same question in a more general way and just ask if it's possible to enjoy an artwork when you strongly disagree with what you think it's saying or the methods used to say it but it's just that anecdotally I get the feeling that most people criticise taking a moral stance.
I suppose that there are various ways in which an artwork can (fail to) be moral and I'm interested in discussing any of them really. For example some would consider using extreme violence even for "good" purposes as something that can make a film immoral.
In fact, to be honest, I suppose that you could ask the same question in a more general way and just ask if it's possible to enjoy an artwork when you strongly disagree with what you think it's saying or the methods used to say it but it's just that anecdotally I get the feeling that most people criticise taking a moral stance.