"Roseanne," the show, both the original and the revival, are extremely radical in its handling of topics as lesbianism, crossdressing youth, teenage sexual awareness, women's rights, and political differences in families. Yet because of the star's recent utterances, which often border both on the inane and the insane, viewers and critics see the show through Roseanne-Barr-colored glasses, and are oblivious to actually what is being portrayed, which is often an anti-Trumpite agenda. How hard is it to separate the "art" from the person?
This is a fantastic, and it is often considered when thinking about artists such as Johnny Depp and Woody Allen. There doesn't seem to be an easy answer to me, but I think by continuing to talk about this, a conclusion may be come to. – Bribbleisfreeble7 years ago
This is something I think about a lot in terms of artists and their music, which I think is a comparison you could make if you develop this into a full story. Take Kanye for instance, he recently showed his support for Trump on Twitter. Is it possible to listen to his music the same way after knowing his political alignment? If we can separate an artist from their work, does that mean that by enjoying their works we are supporting/validating their opinions? – Ian Anderson7 years ago
The Roseanne reboot doesn't strike me as radical at all. Rather, I think it sends a very safe, conventional message: love your family, even when your family includes mixed-race or cross-dressing children. It does little or nothing to send a more radical message that love should extend beyond the immediate family. The artist and the art are never entirely separate. Since the early 1960s, as a reaction to New Critical claims about the autonomy of the work of art, the separation of artist and art has been relentlessly questioned. We shouldn't dismiss anything simply because of who is involved in the project, but we also shouldn't dismiss the importance of who is involved in the project. In this case of this TV show, we see an obvious collapsing of the actor's name, the fictional character's name, and the show's own title. – JamesBKelley7 years ago
Just hours after posting I learned that Roseanne Barr got her show cancelled with a racist tweet. (Her tweets strike me as worse than simply "inane" or "insane.") The "Roseanne" version of love isn't all that revolutionary: "... it felt like an easy out, suggesting that as long as you’re good to your neighbors individually, it doesn’t matter how you treat people in the aggregate. (Roseanne’s neighbors are from Yemen, which her neighbors note is on the travel-ban list that the president she voted for campaigned on.)" (James Poniewozik, New York Times, May 22, 2018). Your topic is certainly still worthy of discussion, of discussion. I would definitely read an essay on that topic. – JamesBKelley7 years ago