I would watch Chinatown if it came up on TV - because Polanski is not going to benefit from my action. (There’s no Nielsen box at my house.)
But if you’re talking about buying a ticket at the box office, which would directly benefit them, then Polanski, Woody Allen, and Jane Fonda are all SOL, they ain’t getting any money from me.
I don’t take this to extremes - I have no desire to investigate the lives of every artist before exposing myself to their work, and I LIKE seeing different points of view - but I think it’s pretty safe to draw the line at Pedophilia and Treason.
Likewise I would read a book by Limbaugh or Beck, in order to understand their viewpoint: but I wouldn’t buy it.
I boycott artists who are members of cults. I do not want to pay money to enjoy an artist’s work only to have a portion of that money in turn be donated to that artist’s cult of choice. This includes Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Scientologists, for the most part. If it doesn’t cost me money, i.e., the movie just lands on network TV or cable (my money goes to the cable company, not to that artist), then I will enjoy the work.
So far, I am actively boycotting:
Tom Cruise (Sci)
Jenna Elfman (Sci)
Beck (Sci)
Prince (JW)
Venus and Serena Williams (JW)
All of the Jacksons (unless I think they are no longer practicing JW)
Dave Mustaine/Megadeth (JW)
Brandon Flowers/The Killers (LDS)
Stephenie Meyer (LDS)
Amy Adams (LDS)
Dishwalla (LDS)
Gladys Knight (LDS)
All the Osmonds (LDS)
Steven Covey (and his stupid 7 highly effective habits) (LDS)
Katherine Heigl (LDS)
And all the other Scientologists I didn’t name, but who are found here.
Dogzilla, you probably wont read this, me being a flaming nutjob cultist and all, but you are probably safe watching Amy Adams and Katherine Heigl (and listening to Tal Bachman and Jewel). The were all raised LDS, but have since become non-practicing and, AFAIK, are no longer contributing funds.
I can’t say I’ve ever considered LDS as a cult. Now FLDS is a whole 'nother story. . .
It raises the point though that taking personal responsibility (voting with your dollars, as some say) is a slippery slope. It’s really hard to make one decision and then not the next one. Like when I try to buy an “American” car. Wow, ever try to figure that one out?!?
In the end, I can only clean up my little corner of the world, but I do try to keep it clean.
Just to clarify so people don’t get mixed up, there are two very similar exhibits that are traveling to various museums right now: “Body World” and “BODIES… The Exhibition”.
The former was created by Gunther von Hagens, the inventor of the plastination technique. The bodies used in von Hagens’s exhibits came from an informed consent body donation program.
The latter, BODIES, is a competing exhibit run by Premier Exhibitions. They are the ones who “acquired” bodies rather unethically by comparison, and in 2008 the attorney general of New York required Premier Exihibitions to offer refunds to visitors. It also prompted several states to start the ball rolling on developing legislation to outlaw such exhibits unless there was proof of informed consent from the decedents and/or their families.
If you get the chance, the various iterations of the Body Worlds exhibits is a truly remarkable and really worth seeing. BODIES on the other hand is too tainted by scumbucketry and I wouldn’t support them either.
As for the OP, having worked on a few film sets, there are a few movies and franchises that have been ruined for me. The Kung-Fu series was a cherished childhood memory, now ruined by David Carradine and his on-set behavior. I just built stuff and never really worked on his series (at the time his last Kung-Fu series was being filmed here, I was still mostly in school and just did a bit of PAing here and there) but he caused so many problems for people I knew, and one incident in particular made me lose all respect for that individual. I don’t boycott his work or anything, but I can’t look back at his Kung-Fu character without serious disappointment.
Mel Gibson is the only person whose work I actively boycott. I don’t watch Tom Cruise movies, not so much because I’m boycotting Tom Cruise, but because I want to punch him in the mouth the whole time, so his movies just aren’t enjoyable to me.
I didn’t call anyone a flaming nutjob and reading your post was free, so thanks for the tip. Tal Bachman is an acquaintance of mine so I’m quite sure he’s not paying tithing anymore. The Mormon church got enough of my hard-earned babysitting dollars, so my only concern is trying to make sure they don’t get any more of my money, now that I’ve resigned membership.
It depends. I won’t, say, buy any more OSC books, but I’ll certainly borrow them from the library and read them - I am already paying for the library, anyway.
Tom Cruise I did avoid for a long time when he was in the news every moment, but it seems like his manager or someone told him to can it because he’s been way more quiet now. And I honestly didn’t know he was in Tropic Thunder (just in case someone else doesn’t know) and he was fall-down funny in there.
It also depends on what they did, and how long ago, stuff like that. I have watched a few Polanski films. To be honest I hardly knew about the whole child rape thing until very very recently. I don’t condone it of course but it was really off my radar.
I do what I can to make sure none of my money goes into Victor Salva’spocket. I don’t know if I’d call what he does art, but I still don’t want him getting any of my money.
Most of the popular examples (Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson) are people who I was never interested in too much in the first place, so AFTER I found out about their personalities, it was very easy for me to continue keeping away from thier films…
The last movie I watched with Tom Cruise was “Top Gun” when I was in 9th grade, and since then, I dont think that there has been anything he has been in that I had any interest in seeing. This was all independant of me finding out what an egotistical doomfreak he is; his movies just didnt look appealing to my tastes. Now of course, I wouldnt go see his work even if it was certain to be one of my favorite films of all time, all because of his loathesome behavior.
Much the same with Mel Gibson, I have only seen a couple of his movies in my life (the first two “Lethal Weapon” movies, and the laughable “Conspiracy Theory” which BTW is also the only time I have ever seen a movie with Julia Roberts). Everyone has told me how exceptional “Braveheart” is, but because of Gibson’s amazing arrogance and hypocrisy, I will take a pass…
I guess I am somewhat of a hypocrite though, as a couple of my favorite musicians (Van Morrison, David Byrne) are generally thought of as real assholes, yet I still see them play when ever I have the chance.
That said, there ARE a few certain behaviors that are so beyond the pale that I would no longer be able to enjoy the artists work, so I suppose that I am lucky that a few of my personal favorites are just basic pricks, not pedophiles or nazis.
I often wondered the same thing about Michael Jackson. Would people still buy his records if it was proven he did what he was accused of?
If you want to boycott that is fine, but I would only do it if it actually has some impact. For instance, I am not a Nielsen Household, so whether or not I watch or don’t watch the Simpsons makes not one bit of difference, 'cause my viewing of the show doesn’t count for it nor against it.
A better idea would be to watch it and find out the sponsors of the show and inform them in writing (letter not email) that you will not ever purchase their product and then don’t do it. Also mention not only won’t you purchase their product but you’ll buy their rival’s product.
Again emails have little weight so spend the money on a stamp and mail it.
Not when doing so benefits the artist. I’m one of the few people that admits to enjoying The Ninth Gate, but I insisted on waiting until it was available as a pre-viewed before buying it because there was no way I was giving the director a dime.
That’s what I did regarding Michael Vick. I looked up the NFL’s sponsors, found the products that were on the list that I used, stopped using them/replaced them with other vendors and mailed the companies’ letters as to why I was no longer doing business with them.
Sure, it’s a drop in the ocean, but at least I’m no longer adding to their bottom lines.
Woody Allen and Roman Polanski are two I actively avoid supporting.
Some years ago, during a debate about Roman Polanski, I made a similar statement and a Doper haughtily informed me that if I owned a TV, then I supported him anyway. I replied that it was fortunate that I did not (and still don’t) own a TV and I wouldn’t see his movies in theaters if you gave me free tickets.
If more poeple had the courage of thier convictions, all of those “drops in the ocean” would add up, and people like Vick would have a harder time finding a company/team/sponsor willing to look the other way on his bullshit anti-social behavior…
Roman Polanski (really) and Mel Gibson. I accidentally saw something in the theater somewhat recently that I didn’t realize Mel Gibson was in, and then there he was, so I’m not that great at the boycott as a concept.
I would say Woody Allen, but I didn’t care for his work before, and now I sometimes let people think it’s a boycott so as to better avoid his films.
There’s also an author I boycott but now I can’t remember who. See, again, not so hot with the boycotting skills.
I stopped watching/reading/listening to an artist’s work because they did X, and I do not support X.
2)I stopped watching/reading/listening to an artist’s work because they did X, and their artistic persona became inseparable from their public persona.
For example, I love Mission: Impossible 3, Chinatown, and Thriller because I watched/listened to them much later than the controversy about the entertainer.
I cannot enjoy Kanye West’s music, because every time I listen to it, it reminds me how much of a smug egoist he is. For me, the music is superseded by the man.