Is it worth changing the attitude towards works if the author is a bad person?

What happened

The Russian State Children's Library has established the "Big Fairy Tale" prize named after Eduard Uspensky. His daughter Tatiana opposed this. She wrote an open letter in which she accused her father of being "very cruel." Tatiana Uspenskaya said that family members were systematically subjected to physical, psychological and emotional abuse. Also, Eduard Uspensky involved acquaintances in the totalitarian sect of Viktor Stolbun, in which cruel experiments were practiced.

Being undoubtedly a talented person capable of captivating people with creative ideas, he was unable to overcome his human vices, to communicate with people in a friendly and calm manner. I believe that the name of a person who has practiced violence in his family for many years should not be awarded an award in such a humanistic field as children's literature.

Tatiana Uspenskaya daughter of Eduard Uspensky

The Russian State Children's Library replied that when organizing awards, they are guided exclusively by the creative merits of writers and illustrators, and not by their personal qualities. However, the letter itself caused a resonance in society. Many people find themselves in difficult moral situations. Books by Eduard Uspensky and cartoons based on them are loved by Russians and are familiar to them from childhood.

In light of the new data, it is not clear what to do. Stop loving?

Ouspensky is not the only person in whose biography unpleasant facts appeared. Michael Jackson was repeatedly accused of pedophilia, Kevin Spacey - of sexual harassment. And these are only contemporaries. What can we say about many great Russian writers and poets, who at least were landowners with serfs, which is essentially slavery.

The life hacker works with a psychologist to figure out what to do if you realize that genius and villainy are compatible.

What to do if you find out terrible about the author of your favorite works

According to psychologist Andrei Smirnov, it is necessary to separate works from a person's personality.

Andrey Smirnov Master of Psychology, Practical Psychologist

Some part of a person's personality or subpersonality may be a villain, but another part may be a genius. If a genius writes clever and useful things, then for the readers it is not so important what his other subpersonality did.

It is a different matter if such an author calls for crimes, expresses misanthropic ideas. The psychologist believes that reading this is clearly not worth it. Practical guides on ways to get rich with examples of dubious earnings, advice on how to find bliss with the help of drugs, and other similar publications Smirnov also suggests boycotting.

Take, for example, Hitler, who was a good family man, a brave soldier and even a vegetarian, but with his works and speeches incited fierce racial hatred. That's what's dangerous. If, for example, a serial killer wrote a sensible or just an interesting book, then we must pay tribute to the writing talent. And let the law enforcement agencies deal with his crimes.

Andrey Smirnov

Smirnov notes that there are no completely bad people. There are good qualities in any scoundrel. For example, if a car mechanic who perfectly repaired a car turns out to be a serial killer, no one will go over to remodel the car because of this. Artistic creation that does not call for evil and harm should be treated the same way.

Why is it important not to create idols for yourself?

So, you shouldn't be ashamed if you don't boycott the works of authors with questionable backgrounds. But there is also a downside. Often, a person who is in love with the creator refuses to believe that an idol can stumble, even if he is detained, say, with severed female hands in a bag. And even if he does believe, he is ready to justify him. After all, the poor man must have been brought. And in general, how can you approach a celebrity with ordinary human standards.

But since we have agreed to separate the author from the work, it also works the other way. A person's talent is not an indulgence that makes him inviolable. At the very least, misconduct can be discussed, and crimes can be judged.

What to do if it does not come out to separate the work from the personality of the creator

Ideally, when you easily pulled the work out of the biographical context of the author. But readers and viewers are just as imperfect as the creators. And if you no longer get pleasure from the works, so be it.

But being aware of what drives you is still good. Many books, paintings, songs, films occupy an important place in the socio-cultural context. They have had a huge impact on the industry and have objective advantages from this point of view.

If a piece is written by a scoundrel, it doesn't get bad.

And you can either continue to enjoy it or stop loving it forever. After all, there are many reasons why previously adored things stop looking so awesome. The author's biography is just one of them.