When people say they're troubled by homophobic, mysogynist, or violent rap lyrics, you often suggest that they engage art on it's own terms. Can you expand on this? It sucks that white people expect to find their privileged cultural values reflected in art made by oppressed minorities. It sucks that rap is trivialized, and that the genre's moral complexity is seen as glorifying negativity. But, I feel like I'm missing something. How do you appreciate art even when it's hard to identify with it?
I think you just explained it, no? You absolutely do not need to directly identify or even agree with art in order to appreciate it. In fact the cool thing about art is that it gives you an access point to the hearts and minds of people who you might’ve never even encountered in an artless world. But in order to fully appreciate this - and to develop anything resembling an informed opinion on the art or artist - you need to first accept that their values, language or traditions might differ from your own. It’s roughly the same process you have to go through when you meet new humans irl.I wouldn’t fault someone who is troubled by homophobic, misogynistic or violent rap lyrics - I myself am sometimes troubled by homophobic, misogynistic or violent rap lyrics - and I certainly wouldn’t deny them their right to choose not listen to something that makes them uncomfortable. But I would totally suggest that it’s worth pushing through that discomfort if only because everyone breathing should be able to find some sort of joy in The Great Adventures of Slick Rick.
