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Betty MacDonald, the author of The Egg and I and the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series is beloved all over the world. Don't miss Wolfgang Hampel's Betty MacDonald biography and his very witty interviews on CD and DVD!
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Should we be ashamed to watch a Kevin Spacey movie?
Commentary: Should we be ashamed to watch a Kevin Spacey movie?
By Cary Cooper
MANCHESTER: Enjoying the work of Kevin Spacey the actor doesn’t make you a bad person. Even now, knowing what you’ve read about him in the media, you are
under no moral obligation to switch channel if American Beauty comes on. Enjoying the actor’s work doesn’t mean you tacitly endorse the alleged behaviour of Kevin Spacey the private citizen. The moral panic around people watching and appreciating Spacey’s many
critically acclaimed dramatic performances isn’t about Kevin Spacey and
whether he deserves an audience. Let’s not forget, he hasn’t been convicted of anything. This is about us. It’s about how Spacey reflects on us as arbiters of public virtue. Because in 2017, the people we admire, much like the brands we buy
and the ones we boycott, form an integral part of our own identity. We’ve learned to treat the virtues of our favourite public figures
and our favourite brands as if they’re our very own. When our favourite
celebrity sends a Tweet attacking Donald Trump or attacking sexism, or –
as is quite likely – attacking Trump’s sexism, we retweet. When Beyoncé Knowles awards someone a scholarship, we all award
someone a scholarship. Celebrities invite us to partake in their good
deeds – and we gladly accept. The blurb for Beyoncé’s #Beygood
initiative is explicit: We’re all in this together. Each and every one of us can make a difference by giving back. Join Beyoncé and #BEYGOOD. A solid set of ethics are now part of the artist’s public persona. Celebrities need only mutter in support of a popular idea and their
social capital rises. It rises because we amplify it. We amplify it
because it reflects well on us. Social media has enabled celebrities and brands to communicate a
social purpose at a volume that was impossible before. They can reflect
back to us what we want to see in ourselves.
They’re allies to our cause. They prove to us that we chose wisely in elevating them with our patronage. So when they fall short of the standards we demand, as humans often
do, it feels like a personal betrayal. We put them in this position of
great influence. ABUSING TRUST But investing this heavily in the social construct of a celebrity is
unhealthy. It’s what drives us to worry about whether or not we’re
allowed to still like the actor Kevin Spacey or enjoy his work. And after Harvey Weinstein, that reflex has evolved into a much more
visceral protection of our own identity. This is why we question
ourselves so harshly when one of our own favourite celebrity
transgresses. Evolving concurrently with the morals-as-marketing concept was its
ethical counterweight. If liking ostensibly good artists made you a good
person, then surely it also reflects on you when they transgress. And
the bar for outrage is getting ever lower. YOUR FAVE IS A PROBLEM Three years ago, six bloggers founded a Tumblr page called Your Fave
is Problematic. It’s a meticulously compiled and zealously moderated
archive of celebrity transgressions. High-profile individuals accused of
micro-aggressions, cultural appropriation and fat-shaming were
chronicled daily. It marked a turning point in what was already a burgeoning call-out culture. The blog implicated not only the transgressor, but their admirers.
The tone – and of course the name of the blog – effectively lays the
blame for the celebrity’s transgressions at the door of his or her
admirers. If you see your favourite singer on here, that’s on you. Make better choices. Of course, if you never liked Kevin Spacey to begin with, it doesn’t
matter. Your identity remains intact, enhanced even. It’s as beneficial
to a person’s identity when someone they dislike proves them right by
being a bad person. There’s a reason Google searches for Kevin Spacey and Harvey
Weinstein costumes spiked the week before Halloween this year. For some
of us, it’s all fun and games. When the person never formed part of our
own personal brand, their behaviour doesn’t impact us.
SO WHY DO SOME PEOPLE GET A FREE PASS? Some celebrities have acted so wickedly that there’s no question of whether to disavow them. But when you consider less open-and-shut cases, it’s hard to know how to proceed. Yet-to-be proven allegations, denied allegations and even plain old
rumours are either cast-iron proof of a person’s lack of virtue, or it
proves that the “other side” are making unfounded claims, depending on
your existing opinion of that person. It often comes down to politics and ideology. Right leaning groups
barely concealed their schadenfreude when the Democrat-supporting
Weinstein was outed as a sexual harasser. Their opposite numbers were
quick to point to the current inhabitant of the White House in response. But when we invest so heavily in the public image of someone we don’t
know, we do become blind to how problematic they are. Woody Allen and
Roman Polanski have continued working while dogged by allegations of
moral equivalence to those made against Spacey. Michael Fallon recently quit as UK defence secretary for touching
Julia Hartley-Brewer’s knee 15 years ago. She’d already forgiven him,
but have we? We’re right to question which people we admire – but the intense
process of self-interrogation and policing of those who may consume the
work of someone like Kevin Spacey is not healthy.
Cary Cooper is 50th Anniversary Professor of Organisational
Psychology and Health at Manchester Business School. This commentary
first appeared in The Conversation. Read the original here.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club, founded by Wolfgang Hampel, has members in 40 countries.
Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald biography interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends. His Interviews have been published on CD and DVD by Betty MacDonald Fan Club. If you are interested in the Betty MacDonald Biography or the Betty MacDonald Interviews send us a mail, please.
Several original Interviews with Betty MacDonald are available.
We are also organizing international Betty MacDonald Fan Club Events for example, Betty MacDonald Fan Club Eurovision Song Contest Meetings in Oslo and Düsseldorf, Royal Wedding Betty MacDonald Fan Club Event in Stockholm and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Fifa Worldcup Conferences in South Africa and Germany.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members are Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter and described as Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I, Betty MacDonald's nephew, artist and writer Darsie Beck, Betty MacDonald fans and beloved authors and artists Gwen Grant, Letizia Mancino, Perry Woodfin, Traci Tyne Hilton, Tatjana Geßler, music producer Bernd Kunze, musician Thomas Bödigheimer, translater Mary Holmes and Mr. Tigerli.
