"IT'S ABSURD TO DIVIDE PEOPLE INTO GOOD AND BAD..."

Contd “...People are either charming or tedious.” Oscar Wilde

Roman Polanski; possibly bird watching, but who knows?

Celebrity, it's an interesting phenomenon. It's probably worth a longer post than I have the intention of delivering, but never mind.
After a recent debate, I've decided to pose the following question:

Should personality undermine art? 

Or

If someone is a vicious, corrupt or abhorrent excuse of a human being, should we boycott their works?

While some celebrities, the ones responsible for some truly inhuman behavior (such as Jimmy Saville, Gary Glitter and Ian Watkins)  have quite rightly had their entire careers destroyed when their deeds bacame public knowledge, it seems that many, many more go unpunished.

By way of example, consider Roman Polanski.

Polanski: a prolific film director whose work includes Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, and The Pianist. Polanski is still in work, his last two films being released as recently as 2011 and 2013, with his latest set for release later this year. However, in 2010  he was awarded Best Director for The Ghost Writer at the 23rd European Film Awards but was unable to receive it in person due to his retention by the Swiss authorities... And why? Because back in 1977, following a photo shoot in Los Angeles, Polanski was arrested for the rape of 13-year-old Samantha Geimer. Polanski pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawful sex with a minor but fled to Paris before sentencing.

Yet in spite of  his crime, a legion of fans have petitioned for Roman's sentence to be overturned (so that he can safely return to the United States and continue working). Some of his fans include very high profile names, such as; Tilda Swanson, Harrison Ford, Natalie Portman, Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, Darren Aronofsky, David Lynch, Michael Mann and (surprise surprise) Woody Allen.
While I can't deny Polanski is a competent director, I'm conflicted about having a copy of Chinatown in my collection. He is, after all, a self-confessed pedophile. Perhaps not to the standards of Glitter, Saville or Watkins, but a pedophile none the less...

Other examples, well documented, of 'celebs-gone-bad' include the racist Mel Gibson, the sexually-troubling Woody Allen and the maybe-he-is-maybe-he-isnt Michael Jackson.

Here are some examples of other celebrities and famous people through the years who have a less than ideal past, but whose reputations and careers seem relatively unblemished by their actions... And my question to you is, should we, as an ethical society, not boycott the work of these larger than life stars for their past wrong doings, and where is it we draw the line between the errors of the past and those mistakes that simply cannot be forgiven?

Chuck Berry- the father of rock-and-roll. Also, an armed robber who also tried crossing the state-line with a 14 year old girl he intended to have sexual relations with. In 1990 Berry also admitted to recording unknowing women while using the toilets in his restaurant.

 Winston Churchill- the British treasure. Once declared in a secret memorandum "I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes," and criticised his colleagues for their "squeamishness".

Nelson Mandela- the hero who opposed apartheid in South Africa. He also founded the terrorist arm of the ANC, responsible for sabotage, torture and the execution of prisoners, as well as using landmines on rural public roads. During his incarceration, his then-wife, Winnie, continued in this line and is responsible for the murder, torture, abduction and assault of numerous men, women and children

Sean Penn- actor / director / Hollywood liberal. Despite all his bleeding-heart antics, people forget that while married to Madonna, Sean Penn pulled something of a "Chris Brown". A drunken Penn flew into a rage over Madonna's supposed affair with Warren Beatty, grabbed her, tied her to a chair, and assaulted her for hours, both physically and emotionally. He then went out for more booze, came back, and kept up the beating.

Abraham Lincoln- the man who abolished slavery. Despite this distinction, Lincoln said during a debate in 1858 "I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality." Nice. While these may only words rather than actions, they do undermine his clean-cut image.

Elvis Presley- another rock-and-roll hero. At 24 he begun dating Precilla (who would later go on to become his wife) when she was only 14 years old. Legally speaking, sexual attraction to a minor, even without physical contact, constitutes pedophilia- but according to Priscilla herself, they (she and Elvis) "did everything but have sex" till they married. Therefore, Elvis is a pedophile. That's not to mention the string of underage girls he 'spent time with' during his tour of Germany, or the 14 year old he 'lived with' before meeting Priscilla. Yet, we keep playing the guy's music- why? He sounds like a fucking monster! Perhaps there's more in common here with Gary than just the Glitter?

Don king- self-styled celebrity boxing promoter. Sure, everyone knows he was crooked as fuck, but when one of his employees "ran off with (some) money," King pistol-whipped him and stomped him to death outside a bar in Cleveland. The employee owed $600 and his purported last words were, "I'll give you the money, Don." King was also convicted of a 'justifiable homicide' some years earlier, draw your own conclusions on the exact meaning of 'justifiable'.

John Wayne- Wild-west movie star. Said during a 1971 interview with Playboy Magazine "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t feel guilty about the fact that five or ten generations ago these people were slaves." Back in the day this was probably more acceptable, but given the progressive society we pretend to be, should we consider boycotting this guy's films?

Jimmy Page- Led Zeppelin musician. In 1972 he kidnapped a 14 year old girl, had sex with her and then hid her for years to avoid prison. And who says romance is dead?

Mark Wahlberg- Hollywood superstar. As a wayward teen (hey, who wasn't, right?) he went out and violently attacked two Vietnamese men. As something of a parting-shot, the fleeing Wahlberg then hurled racist abuse back over his shoulder. Sweet kid.

Tim Allen- 'Buzz Lightyear'. In the late 1970's Allen was caught by sniffer dogs trying to board a plane with enough cocaine to send him away for life. He snitched on every dealer he knew to reduce his sentence to 3-7 years, of which he only served 28 months. And now, he's a household family-friendly name.

And lastly...

John Landis- cult film director. It gives me no pleasure to place Landis on this list (An American Werewolf in London being a particular favorite film of mine), but the man's lack of empathy, professional conduct, or concern for the welfare of his crew, led to what is possibly the saddest entry on this list...
 In 1982, while filming for a segment of his latest movie, The Twilight Zone, Landis violated California's child labor laws by hiring 7-year-old Myca Dinh Le and 6-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen without the correct legal autherisation, and in preparation for a scene that would involve a real helicopter and pyrotechnics, also hid the children from a fire safety officer who would have prevented their involvement. The children were to act alongside veteran Vic Morrows in a scene which had them wading through water towards a hovering helicopter, while simultaneously avoiding 'mortar fire'. Despite concerns by the pilot that he would be flying too close to the special effects, Landis encouraged him to "go lower"... All this culminated in a hideous accident; special effects detonated too close to the helicopter's tail-rotor, causing it to spin out of control. The helicopter fell on top of Morrow and the two children. Morrow and Le were decapitated and mutilated by the rotor blades while Chen was crushed to death. 

These deaths did little to damage Landis' career as a director- he moved onto his next film, Trading Places, within 6 months of this incident and has continued to ply his trade without hindrance. Landis and four other crew members were eventually charged with involuntary manslaughter but were acquitted.