Cancel culture, self-censorship, creative freedom: art under pressure

Art has always been provocative. That is its role. Its very reason for being. A painting that shocks, a novel that unsettles, a play that challenges certainties—these are culture’s most precious and essential elements. But today, something has changed. The pressure no longer comes only from above. It comes from everywhere.

In France, when it comes to culture, the principle of “complete artistic freedom” has long prevailed. Censorship by public authorities was rare. In the past, society exerted pressure in favor of creative freedom. Today, the landscape seems to be shifting: organized groups are dominating the media and the courts, sometimes going so far as to engage in acts of physical intimidation against works of art or artists. Slate

Exhibitions canceled under activist pressure, performances pulled from the schedule before they’ve even been seen, authors ordered to rewrite their works to bring them into line with the sensibilities of the moment. Self-censorship, meanwhile, makes no noise. It takes place in the artist’s mind, who, before creating, calculates the risks. Who weighs the possible reactions. Who censors themselves.

Fighting against this resurgence of censorship does not mean endorsing an artist’s work. Creative freedom in no way precludes the freedom to criticize. A work may be displeasing, even repulsive—yet the fact remains that, in accordance with the law of the republic, the artist must be able toenjoy complete creative freedom. Slate

Culture needs space. It needs oxygen. It needs the right to make mistakes, to cause scandal, to provoke discomfort. A society that can no longer tolerate being challenged by its artists is a society that has decided to stop growing. Defending the freedom to create—even when it’s uncomfortable, and especially when it’s uncomfortable—means defending what is most human about us.