Woody

…and Wagner

The Onion did well with this satirical (I imagine) editorial from Woody Allen. Here, Woody discusses his recent Golden Globe Lifetime Achievement Award– and the response from family members accusing him of molesting his adopted daughter (no, another one).

Here’s The Onion’s Woody:

Oh, sure, you could try to defend me in an argument by saying, “Well, he was never convicted, and it’s possible that this little girl just made all that stuff up,” but, c’mon, anyone who says that is bound to sound like kind of an asshole, right? Even if your intentions are good, that line of argument does sort of make you look like you’re throwing a potential molestation victim under the bus in order to defend, at all costs, that funny, neurotic guy in the glasses who makes you laugh, doesn’t it? No, obviously you can’t do that. But then again, what are you going to do? Never watch Annie Hall again? Not to sound too conceited or anything, but you know you don’t want that.

Apparently, these accusations against Allen are decades old. Yet I’d never heard of them before. Could it be that people don’t want to talk about this because we don’t want to hate Woody Allen? I mean, people are already creeped out by him and his relationship with his current wife/ step-daughter. That’s different from being a sexual abuser. Since those allegations, Allen has made lots more movies, lots more money, worked with a galaxy of major stars, and won multiple awards.

Roman Polanski’s situation is similar: an acclaimed movie maker, and most likely a pedophile, possibly a rapist.

Do you watch their movies or not?

I do. I listen to Wagner too. An anti-Semite so vicious Nietzsche called him out for it (in fact, if you ever want to read Nietzsche in full takedown mode, read Nietzsche Contra Wagner. Its awesome, in an Epic Rap Battles of History kind of way. OK, truth be told, Nietzche wasn’t as great an anti-Semite as he’s generally thought to be, but I’m trying to make a point: Wagner was bad).

Epic Rap Battle Interlude:

Wagner was a great inspiration to Hitler and the Nazis. Wagner’s music has not been welcome in Israel. Official performances have been few and controversial, although the Palestine Symphony Orchestra (a pre-Israel Jewish organization in British Palestine) performed Wagner up until Kristallnacht.

An editorial in The Times once defended a couple Rolling Stones against drug charges with the Who Breaks A Butterfly Upon A Wheel? argument.

Can we divorce artists from their crimes? Well, yes. I know I can.

Should we?