Cancel culture: A meaningless and childish form of cyberbullying

(Figure 1: Jimmy Fallon wearing blackface on SNL in 2000 on https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephenlaconte/jimmy-fallon-blackface-chris-rock-snl-twitter)

In 2020, an American television host was canceled because he imitated another cast member Chris Rock in a blackface make-up in one Saturday Night Live episode in 2000, leading to the hashtag #jimmyfallonisoverparty became trendy on Twitter which was used to blame and reveal his racially offensive action. (Sara, 2020)

(Figure2: Jimmy’s public apology on Twitter on https://twitter.com/jimmyfallon/status/1265386757958389768?s=20)

The disturbance ended when Jimmy Fallon apologized on Twitter. This was deplorable. The episode that recorded Jimmy doing blackface was released in 2000, about 2 decades ago. Not only Jimmy’s case, but most cases of canceling are also based on some old content done by influencers or celebrities. They are canceled just because their actions or comments are not accepted with nowadays way of thing which should not be considered as offensive in that particular time. Is cancel culture starting to go too far? Who will be the real victims in the end?

I would comment on cancel culture as a toxic phenomenon. It doesn’t just affect the celebrities’ reputations negatively or cause him or her to be withdrawn by fans or even the public, it prevents society from open and healthy debate. Many people support cancel culture because they think that it shows their freedom of speech, and represents social justice and the voice of ordinary people who don’t have the power to draw public attention, but do they really understand the importance of open dialogue included in their democratic ideals? Absolutely not. They are executing all points of view which are different from the majority. Breakthroughs of society are occurred mainly due to open discussions constructed by the sharing and exchanging of different ideas from different positions or perspectives. Without ideas from the opposite side, no one can understand an issue fully when only ideas on one particular side are accepted and all opposing points of view are rejected and the one who expresses them are ruined through canceling. As time passes, debates will die, and we will be left with a condition full of fear of cancellation that we don’t know when our voices expressed a few decades ago will be dredged up by a stranger on the internet.

For the old contents published in the past, we should understand instead of judging them as wrong with standard nowadays. It is childish and unproductive to society to dredge up something which is totally irrelevant, not offensive or problematic at the time when it is published. I understand the value of cancel culture that it might be the right thing at the right time, for example for the #metoo or #blacklivesmatter movements. However, when it goes too far, there will be no difference between canceling and cyberbullying. We should persuade and have an open discussion but not cancel or ignore when someone is having a different belief. It is so sarcastic that people are encouraging cancel culture while disagreeing or blaming cyberbullying. They are the same, just in different forms.

---

Reference:

Jimmy Fallon. (2020). Public Tweets. Twitter. [Online] Available at: https://twitter.com/jimmyfallon/status/1265386757958389768?s=20 [Accessed: 9 Mar. 2021].

Sara M Moniuszko. (2020). Jimmy Fallon addresses blackface controversy on 'Tonight Show' return: 'I’m not a racist'. USA Today. [Online] Available at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/06/02/jimmy-fallon-addresses-snl-blackface-controversy/3122263001/ [Accessed: 9 Mar. 2021]

Stephen LaConte. (2020). Jimmy Fallon Is Facing Backlash After An Old "SNL" Sketch He Did In Blackface Resurfaced On Twitter. Buzzfeed. [Online] Available at: https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephenlaconte/jimmy-fallon-blackface-chris-rock-snl-twitter [Accessed: 9 Mar. 2021]