Cancelling Christmas
Within the turbulent past several years, the idea that a person can be “canceled” — in other words, culturally blocked from having a prominent public platform or career — has become a polarizing topic of debate. The rise of “cancel culture” and the idea of canceling someone coincides with a familiar pattern: a celebrity or other public figure does or says something offensive. A public backlash, often fueled by politically progressive social media, ensues. Then come the calls to cancel the person — that is, to effectively end their career or revoke their cultural cachet, whether through boycotts of their work or disciplinary action from an employer. But despite the ostensible urgency of these speeches, actually ending someone’s career through the power of public backlash is easier said than done. Few entertainers or other public figures have truly been canceled — that is, they haven’t had their careers totally shut down by negative criticism on the internet.
For instance, a number of people and institutions have faced public backlash for platforming anti-progressive values. Prominent journalists, business owners or institutions but also entertainment figures. The cancelation debate heated up last summer after Twitter users took to the digital platform to condemn Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling for making anti-trans comments along with denouncing former ‘Glee’ star Lea Michele’s alleged being an impossible actor to work with. Then, the focus was DeGeneres and few series actors. But then, things got really complicated when it involved some eternal beloved movies from Disney like ‘Dumbo’ and ‘The Aristocats’ over racist imagery. A sequel to ‘Space Jam’ will leave out the character of Pepe Le Pew. That’s something that is really noticeable
But what does it really mean to get the #RIP treatment — and will society ever declare it to be over, too? Cancel culture — the phenomenon of promoting the “canceling” of people, brands and even shows and movies due to what some consider to be offensive or problematic remarks or ideologies — isn’t all that new.
Dr. Jill McCorkel, a professor of sociology and criminology at Villanova University, told that the roots of cancel culture have been present throughout human history. Societies have punished people for behaving outside of perceived social norms for centuries. Cancel culture is an extension of or a contemporary evolution of a much bolder set of social processes that we can see in the form of banishment,” she said. “[They] are designed to reinforce the set of norms.”
#metoo era did start the whole thing, most of the men who have faced accusations have also dodged long-term consequences. Some celebrities, whose crimes have encompassed allegations of rape and sexual assault and became impossible to ignore, like Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby or Kevin Spacey have effectively been canceled. But we can all understand the importance and the seriousness of their situiations. Alongside, after multiple women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against him in 2017, Louis CK’s career hiatus lasted almost one year before he returned to stand-up comedy and performed controversial shows. After high-profile documentaries exploring allegations of decades of sexual assault against each of them were released earlier this year, both R. Kelly and the late Michael Jackson saw increases in streams. Continued support for those who have been canceled demonstrates that instead of costing someone their careers, attempting to cancel someone can encourage sympathy for the offender.This framing frequently portrays the offender as the victim of reckless vigilante justice.
So, what to do and to think about it? Is cancel culture an important tool of social justice or a new form of merciless mob intimidation? If canceling someone usually doesn’t work, does cancel culture even exist? Or does the very idea of being canceled work to deter potentially bad behavior? These questions have received more and more mainstream consideration over the past few years, as the idea of cancel culture itself has evolved from its humorous origins into a broader and more serious conversation about how to hold public figures accountable for bad behavior. And the conversation isn’t just about when and how public figures should lose their status and their livelihoods. It’s also about establishing new ethical and social norms and figuring out how to collectively respond when those norms are violated.
“Canceling is a way to acknowledge that you don’t have to have the power to change structural inequality,” Charity Hudley said. “You don’t even have to have the power to change all of public sentiment. But as an individual, you can still have power beyond measure. When you see canceling other people, it’s a collective way of saying, ‘We elevated your social status, your economic prowess, [and] we’re not going to pay attention to you in the way that we once did. … ‘I may have no power, but the power I have is to [ignore] you.’
Cancel culture, then, serves as a pop culture corrective for the sense of powerlessness that many people feel. But as it’s gained mainstream attention, cancel culture has also seemed to gain a more material power — at least in the eyes of the many people who’d like to, well, cancel it. St Vincent (the band…the artist) said in NME ‘I don’t know who among us has lived a flawless life. Find me the person who has lived a flawless life, or a life without struggle. I don’t think that’s possible.’ All of this dramatic rhetoric from both sides of the debate shows how incendiary cancel culture has become. Even though cancel culture seems to generate few lasting consequences for celebrities and their careers, some people seem to view it as part of a broader trend they find deeply disturbing: an inability to forgive and move on.
As we head into a new decade, that divide seems to be widening and growing more visible. And it isn’t purely a divide between ideologies, but also between tactical approaches in navigating those ideological differences and dealing with wrongdoing. The view that a traditional approach — apology, atonement, and forgiveness — is no longer enough might be disturbing. But to those who think of cancel culture as an extension of civil rights activists’ push for meaningful change, it’s an important tool. And it’s clear that, controversial as cancel culture is, it is here to stay.
