Movie Blurb

I had an interesting discussion last night with my family on the Movie Tar. The movie, starring Cate Blanchett, is about a female conductor who rose to the heights of her profession, abused her power, and had a precipitous fall from grace. I have watched this difficult movie twice and must confess I found it quite fascinating.
My granddaughter, who is a musical conductor herself, hasn’t seen it. She said she didn’t want to see a film that disparages her chosen field. Her husband watched it and said he liked it. My brother-in-law said there was no one to like in this film. My sister said that the woman on whom the film was based said it was an inaccurate portrayal of her and her profession. Well, it was a fictional character. Actually, she said the film was anti-woman.
I have a little different take. I believe the film was about “cancel culture” and the current #MeToo movement which seems to be pervading the art world lately and is a cautionary tale to be not too quick to “cancel” artists and their great works which would be tantamount to erasing history. Miss Blanchett in a recent interview about the subject gave Picasso as an example. There were probably a lot of things going on around his studio but who can deny the power and majesty and sheer genius of Guernica?
These ideas are well worth thinking about.
Your thoughts?
Off the cuff comment: Looking at paintings of long-dead artists who are so long past profiting from their works is a different than when a living artist continues to earn money from their creative endeavors. For example, Woody Allen. As soon as I learned he had taken nude photos of his young teen stepdaughter and had been accused by at least one of his adopted children of sexual abuse, I have chosen to “cancel” Woody and haven’t seen anything by him since then. Should artists EVER be prevented from creating art because they are monsters in some way? My opinion is no, creativity should never be prevented or censored — as long as nobody is harmed in the process — but at the same time each person has a right to choose to distance themselves and not participate in the process as part of its audience.
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Thanks for your thoughtful comments.
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You’re welcome, Benn.
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