Scan barcode
A review by breadgloves
Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Separating the art from the artist is a difficult task for me. There are times that I am of the belief that the artist's views and interworkings are in their art. However, I also have instances of ignoring this belief for the enjoyment of something created by someone terrible. I feel uncomfortable with this hypocrisy; if I decide to not partake in the media of everyone who did something terrible; I could enjoy nothing, for everyone is terrible. The uneasy feeling comes back when I am watching something that has clear views of the author/artist embedded it in. What am I to do with this unease? A single person not reading or watching the media created by a person is not going to have any impact to the creator. It will impact the enjoyment of the consumer, their ethical quarrel is nothing to the creator. The only person you are proving something to is yourself. That doesn't mean I can't dislike or critique people on their actions and morals. I have to admit that there is no person who will fit within this strict path of ethics and morals in the age of the internet and social media being a part of most daily things. Trying to end people's careers for doing something many humans do is a black and white type of thinking that doesn't fit within the real world. This book brought up good questions to ask yourself, not only in the media that you digested, but your personal relationships as well.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, and Rape
Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Minor: Antisemitism
A lot of detail about the sexual assault of minors, many points about alcoholism and the issues with recovery, a section about people abandoning their children, a decent amount about the domestic abuse of women and children, and smaller parts about antisemitism