Confession

by Alison Janssen

So ... I watched The Ghost Writer. Which was directed by Roman Polanski.

I'm feeling pretty guilty about it.

My feelings for Polanski haven't changed. And the movie, though I liked it, didn't give me reason to want to use his art to excuse his criminal acts. I'm still baffled by the list of people who supported him when he was under house arrest.

So why did I rent the movie? What is wrong with me?! I didn't even want to see it that badly in the first place! I mean, I like Ewan McGregor, and the premise was intriguing but not oh-my-god-we-must-see-this overwhelming. In fact, I spent a good deal of the movie admiring his character's blue sweater and trying to reverse-engineer it in my head so I can knit it for my fiance:

 

     

(Though after the disastrous Captain Kirk inspired gold cotton/bamboo raglan sweater that I knit in its entirety this past winter, which then didn't fit him, I worry about attempting another raglan. I have difficulty getting the underarm fit to work! Where's Tim Gunn when I need him?!)

I'm trying to imagine having watched the movie without knowing it was directed by Polanski, or having rented it not knowing what I do about his personal life. I saw The Ninth Gate when it came out, but at the time I didn't know who Polanski was or really anything about him. I didn't really like that movie, but I didn't really hate it, either -- it was pretty forgettable, I thought.

I liked The Ghost Writer better than that, it had some nice moments (and that sweater) and I really loved the last shot. But it's got me all angsty because I went in with the knowledge of the past acts of its director, and I went in choosing to set that knowledge aside to try to just watch a movie.

Is it our responsibility as viewers to avoid the work of artists who have done terrible things? Should I feel bad for watching this movie? I honestly don't know.

What do you think?

Comments

[Sarah W]

That's a really good question.

My knee-jerk reaction is a righteous (of course) rant that this film shouldn't have been made. Polanski's co-producers shouldn't have agreed to work with him,the film shouldn't have been funded, the actors should have refused the gig, people shouldn't go see it, and so on.

But "shoulding" other people is a slippery slope---maybe especially during Banned Book Week.

So, all I can say is that now that I know Polanski was involved,I personally won't be going to this movie (despite my admiration for Ewan McGregor and his shoulders in that sweater).

Should (there's the word again) you feel guilty for seeing it? Can't say---but now you know how you feel when you do.

Now, about that sweater---do you knit circular or flat and have you tried gussets under the arms? And does your fiance look like Ewan McGregor? Because whew!

[Lartonmedia]

Good question. I don't know either. I've had the same dilemma in the past with actors or musicians where I haven't cared for some aspect of their personality/views/private life. I remember having the conversation with a very left-wing friend, who said rather lugubriously: "Yes, but Wagner wrote a damn good tune . . .!"

[Shakespeare]

In the end, are we watching the artist, or the art?

If I had to find the creator of all art I loved pristine, I'd never love anything. In the end, it's the art that matters.

Then again, when people who create drivel are also creepy, I avoid them.

[Alison Janssen]

Hey Sarah!

Yes, my knee-jerk, when the movie was first being advertised, was "No way am I going to see that, I won't even watch the preview."

And I agree that "shoulding" people is bad practice, so I try to avoid it. I'm not always great at that, though.

I'm glad this post is getting some comments, I think it's an interesting topic (and I kinda rushed to Publish, while I was eating a bowl of Cheerios, so there's a lot more to unpack about how I feel).

And the sweater -- I prefer circular, top down. I got super inspired by Wendy Bernard's Custom Knits, and just jumped in. I made him a big, loose raglan that he loves, but the more fitted raglan was an epic fail -- I think because it was a yarn I'd never worked with, and I hate swatching (I HATE IT), and I was altogether to blithe about the whole thing. Also, I am bad at taking measurements, so that may have gotten me started on a bad foot. :) I haven't tried gussets yet, but I'll look into them now. I also just finished a yoke sweater for myself (owly over at ravelry), and I love, love, loved that construction, so maybe his next sweater will be a rib-and-cabled yoke, instead. So many choices!

[JD Rhoades]

No.

[Alison Janssen]

And then there's the question of how much responsibility a viewer/listener should take when they enjoy an artist.

If you hear "Ride of the Valkyries" for the first time and enjoy it, and don't know it's Wagner, or you don't know Wagner's antisemitic writings, is it your responsibility to research who wrote that piece, and what kind of man he was? Or is it ok to appreciate art independent of artist?

How much responsibility is on us for the things we enjoy?

[Alison Janssen]

Shakespeare, I agree that it's the art that matters, we're watching the art, not the artist, but in the cases of the things I truly love, I feel an urge to also connect with the artist outside the art. It's a weird, personal balance: How much imperfection can I forgive (or at least forget) for the duration of a movie/song/book? And in this case, when the movie was just ok, not something I *loved*, is it worse that I set aside my objections to Polanski to watch something that didn't even move me?

[Alison Janssen]

Thanks, Dusty. :)

[Lartonmedia]

Another good question! I'm a journalist and I'm paid to be nosy, so I know I do go off and investigate new musicians or actors or writers I come across. It would be nice to think we can appreciate something for its own sake without knowing about the creator of it, but in the digital age we live in, it's all too difficult for something to stand alone.

And sometimes, all we can do as individuals is to boycott someone who does have distasteful views. It's the only way we can show how we feel, even if it barely scratches the surface (not buying a book by the person or paying to see a film they're in).

[Sarah W]

Is there a difference between appreciating art and paying the artist for the privilege of experiencing it?

Does time---and the death of the artist---change things? Do some transgressions *weigh* more?

I might appreciate Ghost Writer as a film if I saw it, but I don't want to give Polanski money or condone his crime against a child---or his subsequent flight.

If I enjoy Wagner's music---and in certain moods, or paired with Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, I do---am I posthumously rewarding him for his opinions and condoning the crimes of his patrons?

This is tough stuff . . .

[Sarah W]

The one sweater I tried in the round was done from the waist up. It turned out okay, though I should have stopped knitting the sleeves about five inches before I did.

I pretty much stick to socks, now. Lots of variety, and since I learned to knit 'em two at a time, no boredom . . . I have an extensive collection of single socks.

[Clothdragon]

My issue is money. I can't stand giving my money to some people no matter what they create. But then I don't do lots of research, so I only know about it when it gets as much press as Polanski did.

But what he did was bad enough I won't give him any future money if I can help it. Then running from prosecution and expecting a free ride because he was limited to countries with no extradition while he hid from the law and suggesting that was punishment enough! Glarg.

The idea that watching any movie he made sends him some amount of money and (at least thirdhand) supports his activities really bothers me so I feel guilty for watching the movies he made long before I knew who he was or what he did. So I get your conundrum. Can't help with it, but I understand the feelings.

[JD Rhoades]

Always happy to be of service.

[dhknits and reads]

First, try Maggie Righetti's or Elizabeth Zimmerman's books for help with making raglan sleeves first.
Last, separation admiration of the art from admiration of the artist is one of those philosophical questions I wrestle with every so often. I know several people who have met authors, found them to be jerks and now can't read their work anymore, because the whole experience is tainted by that encounter. After decades of wrestling with this, for me it comes down to: was it illegal? Did it cause or condone harm to someone else? Then I will do my best to avoid ever spending another penny to support that artist.

[Jeff Cohen]

There's no such thing as whether you SHOULD feel guilty. You either do or you don't. Sometimes, I'll boycott something or someone (Wal-Mart, Mel Gibson) because I disagree with their stands on an issue. Other times (Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Miller) I'll decide on a case-by-case. If you think the artist has does something atrocious personally, maybe you avoid their work. Does one avoid A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE because Kazan named names at the HUAC hearings? It's a personal choice. Does one stop listening to "River Deep, Mountain High" because Phil Spector shot a woman? It's not an easy question.

[Adele]

What got me about Polanski was that he didn't think he'd done anything particularly wrong. That put him in a whole different class of people I want nothing to do with - the sociopathic class. No, I don't watch Polanski films.

But as to personal beliefs - people are products of their times, and I can't say that I wouldn't feel the same as Wagner if I had grown up with the same experiences and influences that affected him, so I won't fault him for expressing anti-semitism.

"...hee who destroyes a good Booke, kills reason it selfe" Recognize the quote? It's from Milton's "Areopagitica", a stridently anti-Catholic condemnation of censorship. I think it would be silly to censor the Areopagitica because of its anti-Catholicism and thereby lose all it has to say about the evils of censorship.

[Robin Agnew]

I think you have to separate the two. Picasso, apparently, was a bit if an ass-hat and a terrible husband, but that doesn't diminish, many, many years later, the power of his accomplishments. I would put Polanski up pretty close to the top in terms of great movie directors, even if the only movie he ever made was CHINATOWN (which everyone should see, especially people who enjoy crime fiction). Mel Gibson (see Jeff's comment above)is another story - he's just an actor. Polanski may be reprehensible but he's made some great films and many years in the future people will probably still watch CHINATOWN or THE PIANIST or ROSEMARY'S BABY and not really care about his personal life. You could move over to Woody Allen - same story. In the future I think people will still watch ANNIE HALL and BANANAS and CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS and not care too much about his personal creepiness.