Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Feb. 13, 2018, edition 1 / Page 14
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■;. v.'s';y', >:■■ ■ ■■ - ■,;-^:vk:: . yyyyr-yyyyyy y^';. yMy-^mmmmy'yy yymmiMmsmm';aw«yyKmmmmmmy:^fmmiimm^^ We need to stop separating art from the artist SAMANTHA SAVERY Opinion Editor ssavery@unca.edu . Hollywood is in the middle of a revolution of monumental propor tions. Slowly, women and men are coming forward to voice the sex ual harassment and assault they have faced from Hollywood elite for decades. Aziz Ansari and James Franco are among the men toppling from their pedestals as victims make known the horrible crimes done upon them. The best way for us outside of en tertainment to help rock the boat? Stop separating the art from the art ist. “I feel as if it’s almost impossi ble to separate the art from some one who has done the things to the degree Woody Allen and others have,” said Allison Walter, a sopho more health and wellness student at UNC Asheville. Yet there are still abusers suc ceeding in Hollywood with little sign of stopping. Gary Oldman is well on his way to winning an Oscar for his role as Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour after winning at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Oldman was reported for domestic abuse by his ex-wife in 2001 for allegedly beating her with a phone in front of their children. Oldman’s portrayal of Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series meant a lot to many people I know, myself included. But the airing of his dirty laundry recently has made me rethink everything, along with the attitude J.K. Rowling has tak en when asked about defending the casting of Johnny Depp in her spin off series. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Depp, a well-known actor who has a toe dipped in quite a few big film franchises, was accused of and admitted to abusing his wife Amber Heard. Heard later pledged to do nate her $7 million settlement to a number of charities, including the !?> ■ ■'* ■ -■ '■ ! * ^ j •«- v-* * f »***i ■ $0^ * . *'1 • •% : ■c('nx T American Civil Liberties Union, according to The Huffington Post. Heard also used her platform to raise awareness of domestic and sexual assault with the organization Girl Gaze by creating a public ser vice announcement on the epidemic many women — and men — face everyday. Both Oldman and Depp were part of our childhoods, portraying film characters many of my friends found interesting and adventurous. The men who played Sirius Black and Jack Sparrow were not the suave heroes we saw on screen, but almost as bad as the villains they fought against. Multiple men in Hollywood, in cluding Casey Affleck, Chris Brown and James Franco, have been ac cused — or in Brown’s case, found PHOTO ILLUSTRAtl guilty — of sexual harassment and domestic abuse. This topic has been debated on and off in recent years, something Walter said she herself noticed. “I’ve seen debate about separat ing the art from the artist and a lot of debate about, you know, is that even possible? Do we have to do it? What do we do with this art that CONTINUED ON PAGE 22
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
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Feb. 13, 2018, edition 1
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