What Cancel Culture Was Originally?
Dictionary.com defines cancel culture as “the popular practice of withdrawing support for public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive.”
Cancel culture started out as a way to combat discrimination, sexism and racism, and it has been effective in doing so. People like Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K. (who just ONE DAY AGO joked about his sexual misconduct on a Dave Chappelle secret special) and R.Kelly, among many others. These people have been “canceled” because their actions have crossed a line and are abusive, discriminatory, inappropriate and wrong. They used their fame and position of relative power to perform acts of sexual assault. People who experienced the acts of sexual assault, especially women, were afraid to come forward, but when they did, resulted in these people losing their careers. Cancel culture at its best brings about consequences for those that use their positions of privilege to discriminate and harm others, especially those that experience racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia and countless other forms of hate.
What Has Cancel Culture Become?
Results like these are why cancel culture exists, but over time it has morphed into a hypercritical, scrutinized view of people in the public eye, even going so far as to “cancel” Hamilton. The criticism of Hamilton isn’t a new conversation, but since it was released on Disney Plus, it has gotten more attention. Yes, Hamilton is not perfect. It is a story of enslaved people. Many will argue it is not historically accurate and that the colorblind casting is “reverse racism”. However, it brought about opportunities for people of color in Broadway. Instead of criticizing this piece of art, talk about the issue of racism on Broadway. Hamilton was never meant to take the place of history books, it’s a beautiful musical that many enjoy. What I do like about the Hamilton criticism is the broader conversation it has brought about. We don’t have to “cancel” it to also look at it with a critical lens. Even Manuel himself agrees that the criticisms are valid and recognizes that it falls short in more ways than one. Cancel culture can be done in real life or on social media, but is often done in a performative nature on social media. If we are focusing our time on canceling influential art like Hamilton, we are taking away time we need spend discussing the white-washed, saviorship lens US history books and curriculums have and how we can work to change that.
When Is It Right to "Cancel" Something?
Cancel culture has become a distraction from the systems in our society that are dangerous and causing harm every day. Of course we need to hold people accountable when they have done things like participated in blackface and used harmful language. There are many celebrities and politicians that have harmful viewpoints and actions, and they do need to be called out and face consequences for what they have said or done. There are companies that donate to harmful organizations or have hateful viewpoints, like Goya and Chick-fil-a, that directly harm many groups of people already struggling to survive and receive basic rights in the US.
It is important to see the response of people and organizations when they are called out. If they are not recognizing their wrongdoing and working to actively change, that is a reason to continue to boycott them. The same goes for celebrities and other public figures. There are many with problematic and harmful viewpoints that make no effort to change- Kanye West, JK Rowling, Chris Brown.
Others do look on their past mistakes and try to learn from them- these do not condone or excuse their behavior or language, but to me, it is less effective to cancel someone who is actively working to shift their perspective and language to be more politically correct and culturally sensitive. Of course, I am not advocating to support those who say the n-word, are abusers, rapists, murderers, racist, xenophobic, or use black face. They do not deserve a place in the spotlight- they do not use their privilege for good. However, many of us are are doing the work to undo our harmful mindsets related to systemic racism, sexism, homophobia. It’s important we hold each other accountable, call out each other, and accept being called out. That is the starting point for real change.
