I’ve always loved books, the way they captivate, inspire, and transport me. Yet with time, the more that I read, I have to question what it means to love a story when I can’t stand the person who wrote it. Does it make me a bad person? Ignorant? Or is the situation more nuanced than we think?
Take Harry Potter, for example, objectively one of the best-selling book series in modern history, selling 600 million copies worldwide. People are obsessed; there is a whole section in Disney’s Orlando park for the Wizarding World, people dress up as the characters for Halloween, and they even take personality tests to determine their own Hogwarts House. I get it: how can you not love a universe that’s as magical and captivating as Harry Potter?
Yet, one must admit that J.K. Rowling, as an author, producer, and person, has faced heavy scrutiny online and in the media for being problematic, especially related to the views she holds about the trans community. I think it’s important that we ask ourselves an uncomfortable question: Can we separate the art from the artist? Can we still love the world she created without endorsing the views she holds?
To even begin answering this question, I think we first have to define what supporting an author even means. Is it simply purchasing their books in stores? Or is it the promotion of their work online, leaving reviews, or recommending them to others? Personally, I believe they all play a factor. With how widespread social media is, it would almost be misguided to suggest that the only way you can support an author is monetarily. Just as we all engage with media differently, we engage with authors and books differently.
If support can come in many forms, what does it mean when an author that we once promoted in the past or present turns out to be problematic? What is our obligation? To some, there is a belief that you should stop consuming, promoting, or engaging in their works at any capacity. Others simply choose to ignore the claims, and some people don’t even find out that an author is problematic until after they’ve purchased or read a book.
A lot of the time, unfortunately, I do find myself in the former predicament. What do I do when this happens? Well, I like to do more research into why said author is problematic, and reflect on my reading experience. I ask myself if the book contains harmful content. What does the author claim publicly? And do the views of the author directly exploit or harm marginalized groups? Reflecting on these questions allows me to think critically, form my own opinions, and learn what problematic content can look like. I believe reading is an opportunity to learn how certain rhetoric within books can perpetuate harmful stereotypes and messages, and understanding why their content is harmful is important.
Going back to the question of whether or not we can support the art but not the artist, I think it is very nuanced because it’s hard to have a blanket answer on whether or not it’s okay to consume media from problematic people. Of course, it’s simple to say that promoting people who are bigots is bad, but we must face the reality that people still love their content. Think back to my Harry Potter example. We even see this situation portrayed through a variety of mediums, not just books. People argue about music, movies, art, and so on. They love and often grew up idolizing some of these works, yet they are faced with deciding whether or not that’s ok and if doing so makes them a bad person?
My thought is this — I don’t think we can ever fully separate the art from its creator. They shaped the story, created the characters, and, in my opinion, influenced the very essence of the book. However, I don’t think that having supported authors at one point makes you a bad person; in fact, I think it’s okay to recognize how influential and impactful a book was on your experience. I believe you just have to recognize and seek to understand why their content could be problematic, why the author might be problematic, and go from there. Maybe that means not buying from them again, purchasing second-hand, sharing your opinion and informing others, or simply hiding them away, never to be seen again.
While there may never be a concrete answer on whether or not we can respect the art but not the artist, it’s important to keep asking the question. We have to continue having these hard and often uncomfortable conversations, or we will never reach a point at which we can grow our understanding.