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danimacuk's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Suicide
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Antisemitism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Physical abuse
badmom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Dederer tackles a seemingly impossible question - How do we separate art from artist? - with layers of other questions that made me think deeper than I ever have on this topic. She explores all of the ways she (and most of us) has tried to make sense of loving art created by monstrous people; she shares her own experiences along with research of how scholars and laypeople alike have approached this dilemma. The result is this compilation of painful truths & personal revelations kindly blended with psychology and brief portions of politics & economics.
Despite its rich breadth & depth, this study flows beautifully and offers valuable insights in its trek to answers.
Despite its rich breadth & depth, this study flows beautifully and offers valuable insights in its trek to answers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Rape
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Pedophilia, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Transphobia
cpalmerpatel's review against another edition
This would've been a great book if they had included just a little bit of critical research. Their "lit review" consisted of emailing an old professor to ask him what's written on the topic and upon being told there wasn't anything, set out to fill the gap with their own personal opinions.
I'm not entirely sure who's the intended audience for this book. Other film critics? Or maybe her usual audience? ie the people that turn to film critics as the authority on whether a film is good or bad. She drops in names of people without explaining 1) why they're famous and 2) what they've done that was monstrous, assuming you already know and it leaves you turning to google to fill in the gaps. When she discusses a film, she talks about characters and setting in a way that assumes that everyone has seen it and appreciates it's "genius". I'm not convinced that any work of art can be described as "genius" and it left me with the feeling that the author wrote the entire book in order to justify why she continues to love her favourite movies even though the men creating them were rapists.
She also focused more on men and when the discussion turned to women it centred on the classic dillemma of the working mother trying to balance mum mode with work mode, except exasperated here because art ("real art"?) isn't "work" but a madness or passion.
I'm not entirely sure who's the intended audience for this book. Other film critics? Or maybe her usual audience? ie the people that turn to film critics as the authority on whether a film is good or bad. She drops in names of people without explaining 1) why they're famous and 2) what they've done that was monstrous, assuming you already know and it leaves you turning to google to fill in the gaps. When she discusses a film, she talks about characters and setting in a way that assumes that everyone has seen it and appreciates it's "genius". I'm not convinced that any work of art can be described as "genius" and it left me with the feeling that the author wrote the entire book in order to justify why she continues to love her favourite movies even though the men creating them were rapists.
She also focused more on men and when the discussion turned to women it centred on the classic dillemma of the working mother trying to balance mum mode with work mode, except exasperated here because art ("real art"?) isn't "work" but a madness or passion.
It was okay, and sparked some ideas but not as stimulating as I thought it was going to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual harassment, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, and Incest
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Sexism, and Transphobia
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