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| Woody Allen enjoys worldwide acclaim. Statue of Allen in Oviedo, Spain. (Photo by Evan Bench) |
By Alyssa Rosenberg
The point of awards like the Golden Globes is that they’re meant to recognize that terrible people can still make great art. I think it’s important to acknowledge that the gap between personal behavior and art can be understated as often as it’s overemphasized. Orth pointed out that Blue Jasmine is substantially about adoption, a theme that Allen of course has personal experience with.
The discussion about Jim DeRogatis’ reporting about R. Kelly’s sexual abuse of young women is an important reminder that Kelly’s sexual deviance is an important part of his musical brand, and that his preference for particular acts is not actually separate from the women he likes to perform those acts on.
That doesn’t mean you can’t honor the art, even if it comes from a terrible place, or at terrible cost to people who are often obscured by the work itself. And I’m not even sure it means you have to talk about sexual assault allegations when you’re honoring Woody Allen’s work, or about Roman Polanski’s flight from justice when you’re giving him a Best Director award. What I do think awards shows have an obligation to do, if they want to be thought of as classy and sensitive, is to make sure that these awards aren’t granted in a way that makes the producers of those shows and presenters who have to introduce them look clueless or like they’re perpetuating a coverup. Sticking to the work and avoiding personal praise of the person in question might be a good minimum standard.
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