The Ender's Game Conundrum

While I was sitting in on Gravity this past weekend, one of the film's during the trailer caught my eye.  Though this may have been on the internet for a while (I don't seek out trailers unless someone pushes them into my lap), I thought it was interesting.  I've been thinking quite a bit about the movie lately, and  since I've never read the book, this was my first experience with the film.

Though the quality of the film didn't look quite to the standards of the film that I was about to see, the plot definitely looked interesting.  I'll be seeing Gavin Hood's Oscar-winning Tsotsi in a few weeks and Netflix assures me I'll like it, so the director seems fine.  Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford, and Viola Davis are all actors that I enjoy, and in the case of the latter, actively seek out in movies.  The Sci Fi genre as a whole is one that I buy into with far more readiness than comic books, and taking on iconic science fiction is something I'm hugely supportive of for filmmakers.

"So what's the problem John" ask those of you who somehow have missed the giant homophobic elephant in the middle of the room.  The problem is the author of the original novel which the movie is based upon, Orson Scott Card, has said truly awful things about gay marriage and gay people in general.

Card, in a 2004 essay, said that most gay people were gay because they had been molested or raped.  He has said that gay marriage will destroy the Constitution.  He served for four years on the National Organization for Marriage, a vehemently anti-same sex marriage group.  He has been enormously vocal about his antiquated views on gay people and legal recognition of gay marriage.  All-in-all, he seems like someone on a personal level that I would grossly detest.

But what role should that play when it comes to art and whether you partake of it?  Forget the fact that Lion's Gate, the movie studio behind the film, has a strong history with gay marriage.  Forget the fact that Viola Davis and Harrison Ford have both publicly supported gay marriage.  The question is larger than that: should an artist's political beliefs matter?

This question boils down to whether you see yourself as someone who is a discerner or a consumer of art, and which ultimately drives your decisions.  If you're a discerner of art, you probably take that question from the standpoint of "I separate the art from the artist."  This is all well-and-good, but generally these people are talking about someone they at least somewhat agree with (though maybe not to the same level).  Someone like Jane Fonda or Spike Lee who is on the liberal end of the spectrum on many issues, and you somewhat see their point even if you wouldn't go out and share it publicly.  Even when they're on the arch-conservative end of the spectrum, though, you probably can figure out a way to separate the two.  It's impossible to deny the genius of Richard Wagner, for example, even when you have to admit he was a raging anti-semite.

Then there are those who view art as something to consume.  These people see the money they are contributing to a particular artist and think about the ramifications of that purchase.  They're the ones who will contribute to this argument with an "I don't want my money to go to blank" or "it's his right to say what he thinks, but I don't want to contribute to it by buying his product."

I tend to fall in the middle of these two decision thought processes.  For me, it's far easier to boycott a specific company than an artist.  I will gladly not eat Papa John's or Chick-Fil-A or Barilla Pasta as a result of their political views-giving up something where the sole purpose is singular is pretty easy (though of course, it shouldn't be; the CEO's of these companies may have views I despise, but the workers in them may not-it helps that the only one of these that I truly eat regularly is Barilla and I've recently given up pasta).

When it comes to artistry, though, it's just difference.  By not partaking in a significant film of the autumn, I am neglecting my duties as a connoisseur of the arts, a self-designated job that I take very seriously.  I'm not supporting Davis, Kingsley, and Ford in making what appears to be a strong movie.  And my AMPAS-viewing OCD is a bit compromised because I think this movie could factor into the Visual Effects Oscar race if it's a big enough hit.

So in the end, I'm still deciding what to do, but I'd love your thoughts on the matter.  Do you boycott art based on the artist's political and social views?  Do you think this is fair when the work is a collaborative effort such as a film?  And, regardless of Card's bigotry, did the Ender's Game trailer make you interested in the movie?  Share in the comments!