I am a very private person, generally. I don’t advertise my beliefs (or my closely held concerns, even) and I don’t feel a need to force my opinions on others. However, I feel pulled to voice my opinion regarding the zeitgeist of our year 2020 and how it relates to creative types.
I am no different from anyone, in that I am a problematic human being. We all have our quirks and kinks and secrets and flaws, though are likely disinclined to admit this. As do all of us who live in this same shame-drenched, moralistic culture, I put my best face forward in the day-to-day. This is a survival mechanism for us humans.
As a self-labeled artist who aspires to write and produce her own films someday, as well as teach at the university level, I have in recent years grown very concerned about the current environment for people in both creative pursuits and the academic world. I take serious issue with “cancel culture” and this seemingly predominant push to censor work that is either perceived as offensive or crafted by someone with a less-than-stellar history of personal behavior. Furthermore, I do not believe it is the obligatory duty of all artists to educate or to generate work that is deemed acceptable to large audiences. Not everything is intended or appropriate for everyone, nor should it be. We choose to infantilize ourselves as a society when we encourage censorship and apply subjective standards of morality to creative work.
In the same vein, I am coming out firmly against the use of trigger warnings. I am no stranger to trauma, but in spite of all I’ve been through, I do not wish to live in an enforced bubble of ignorance. I don’t need to be protected from ideas, words, and pictures. In fact, I gain more intellectually when I confront emotional material, and I would expect no less from those who consume the content that I create. Coddling does us no good. You can keep your safe space.
If you’ve made it this far, I am warning you now: if provocative art and writing offends you then you probably won’t love what I have cooking on the back burner. You may as well cancel me out now, as you have determined that it does not matter that I am an ethical, kind-hearted, and morally upright person. You have chosen to toss the innocuous baby out with the problematic bathwater.
These days, we have students across the United States demanding that their universities protect them from work that contrasts with their personal values or simply arouses an undesirable reaction. This plea for institutionalized censorship is a fearful phenomenon. It discourages discourse amongst students and faculty, and it also dissuades them from generating work that is innovative and thought-provoking. If a controversial thought is put into writing, speech, or art, it could cost a student their college education and a professor their job. Campuses have traditionally been a haven for free speech; it disturbs me that this appears to no longer be the case, especially at a time when I am in the process of applying to graduate school.
Thank you for reading this, the first of many rants regarding our current culture of censorship. Thoughts are welcome in the comments! Also, if you are curious about what sources I utilized in writing this article, please do not hesitate to ask me about them.
~GCL~
factorycandy 