harlan ellison repent harlequin said the ticktockman

That goes for every living or deceased legend. So, instead of criticising those who are talking about Ellison’s poor personal conduct in wake of his death, let’s remember that he is solely responsible for marring his own legacy. They hid behind their artistic skills and unleashed their personal demons. They abused our love for their work to make someone’s life miserable. To an extent, it was the tag of greatness in their field which gave these men a free pass to get away abusing the powerless – women and men alike. No art or body of work, no matter how significant or path breaking, must come at the cost of someone’s sexual safety or dignity. Yes, is the answer to all these questions. Must we stop enjoying films starring Spacey or jokes made by Louis CK forever? Will the history always redline their body of work with their personal misconduct? Moreover, what would give the same treatment to a celebrated artist from the past? If we find out that he committed monstrosities like rape or abusing children? But is it right to criticise a deceased artist for his callous conduct? For fans of Ellison’s literature, his legacy is now shrouded by the groping scandal. The same jokes, which used to incite pleasure and laughter now induced guilt. I recall a Podcast from some time ago, where Louis CK’s fans admitted to finding his jokes inappropriate, in the wake of the allegations against him. While many artists have been accused of sexual misconduct in the past, not many have suffered the rebuff from their fans, that CK and Spacey received. Two stalwarts in their profession, who enjoyed a cult following, until karma caught up with them. The most recent examples of losing their legacy courtesy sexual misconduct are Louis CK and Kevin Spacey. Thus, artists increasingly end up destroying their own work of labour, when they fail to keep their behaviour in check. In this era of the Internet, social media and increased awareness about sexual misconduct, even artists have to live under the microscope, that is the public eye. People no longer fall for the risqué behaviour which many artists display in the name of an enigma. Gone are the days when being misogynist, cantankerous or chiding off groping as a joke would work. We live in times when it is almost impossible to separate art from the artist.

It is not so easy to separate art from the artist And that your legacy will, in the end, pay the cost of your misconduct. His tarnished legacy is a proof that no matter how talented you are, your art is always shadowed by your personal conduct.

Despite being hailed as one of the best Sci-Fi writers of his generation, Ellison lost his credibility due to his poor personal conduct and rightly so.

Harlan ellison repent harlequin said the ticktockman