CHENNAI: I will be king And you, you will be queen Though nothing, will drive them away We can beat them, just for one day We can be heroes, just for one day
The man inspired a generation; the confused generation, as I’d like to call it. Stuck in-between the post-world war II revolution, and the information renaissance, David Bowie’s lyrics inspired millions of people who weren’t sure of themselves. A style icon and a music revolutionary, it is quite unfortunate that he had to leave when he was still creating. The world mourns his death; the death of a genius, a label that he deserves and has rightfully earned.
Posthumously speaking, was he a musical martyr, or just an artist with a past who doesn’t deserve to be celebrated? Before you proceed, churn from your memory, your favourite artist or entertainer. It could be anyone. Don’t analyse. Keep with you the first name that comes to your mind. Now, imagine that your favourite artist has committed a heinous crime — the kind whose doer doesn’t deserve a second chance. Your favourite artist is still alive? Even better. Do you boycott your ‘idol’ because they have a history that you don’t approve of, or is even illegal for that matter? If your answer is yes, then think about how you arrived at that and would your answer be the same if it weren’t hypothetical. If your answer was no, then maybe, you’re the kind of a person who can dissociate the moral from the emotional. If your answer was maybe, then join me and millions around the world who don’t know where they should draw the line.
The first feature I saw on this dilemma was three hours after David Bowie’s death was reported, highlighting his statutory rape accusations from his younger days. Not to dismiss or criticise the revival of the issue, but why does it always have to be only after someone’s death? It is an issue we can’t put away. Agreed. But, why was it that no one ever spoke about this in detail, especially the kind I am seeing right now, when he was alive? Why do we turn the other side then?
This is an opportunity to talk about the inspiring art and the mad artist. I don’t have a conclusion, because I too am among the millions who did love Bowie’s music. That doesn’t mean that I am going to turn a blind eye when it comes to discussing his statutory rape charges.
Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Roman Polanski, Oscar Pistorious and Michael Jackson, all of them revolutionaries in their respective fields and all of them have unforgivable crimes attached to their names. Yet, surprisingly, we seem to look the other way when these topics are brought up. You would rather love an artist’s art and ignore their history. In this case, ignorance is bliss. I cannot get myself to watch Cosby’s work anymore, let alone enjoy it.
“The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few.” Does this fit well here? They did inspire millions, but they only harmed a few. Has damage control been done? Why doesn’t an accountant who is great at his job and has helped many seem to ever get away with crimes like these? Why do we turn away when it is an artist whose madness is apparently a prerequisite?
With that being said, are we robbing the world of great art if we were to reject the artist? That’s a question that we fail to ask at times like these. Choose the art and ignore the artist? Or enjoy the art and condemn the artist? If we get ourselves to answer the latter question, we’d know where we draw the line.