There’s been a lot of discussion lately about boycotting the new Ender’s Game movie. For those two of you out there who don’t know, Ender’s Game was written by Orson Scott Card, who also happens to be a raging homophobe who writes articles for anti-LGBT organizations’ publications as well as donating money to such hate groups.
I’m not going to see the movie. I’m not going to trash anyone for going to see the movie, but I’m not.
There’s a lot of people saying that we should separate the artist from the art. I don’t believe that’s justified at all. I think an artist is a businessman like anyone else who creates a product, and any artist who think’s they’re not is full of pretentious bullshit. It’s silly to think that the profession of art is just so special somehow, that artists are above judgment from their customers. It makes just as much sense to boycott an artist for bigotry as is does to boycott the convenience store down the street with a sign saying “no homosexuals allowed.”
And sure, there’s the fact that he’s probably already received whatever money he’s going to get for the movie, so what’s the point in boycotting, if it’s not going to affect him financially, or affect any money he sends to hate groups?
It’s not about the money though. The boycott is symbolic. It doesn’t matter how the studio tries to separate themselves from the author and the author’s views. It does matter that the producers are trying to separate themselves, and holding a fundraiser for LGBT rights charities – that’s great, but it doesn’t separate the movie from Card. No matter what they do, the movie is linked with a man who hates homosexuality and thinks it should be illegal, and we (those boycotting the movie) feel a need to say that’s not okay. The boycott is our way to say that in as loud a way possible.
Lindsay Kitson - Author and Pilot 
Orson Scott Card has the right to express his views, others have the right to disagree, and translate that opposition in to action. As you say, whether he gains financially from the film is irrelevant at his point, and disconnecting the art from the artist won’t work either, boycotting a persons work, or even a nation (as happened in the cad of Sohth Africa during the apartheid era) is a reasonable form of protest.
Yup – your right to be an asshole does not remove my right to call you on it. You have a right to free speech, but that doesn’t mean I can’t judge you based on what you decide to say.
Well said! It irritates me that people use such terrible excuses (like. ermagod! I have to save sci fi with my ten dollars). Oookay. It’s like internet pirates that make all kinds of lame excuses about WHY they’re stealing, and debate that it’s stealing at all. Just have the balls to admit that you want something for free and YOU DON’T CARE.
Same goes for the boycott. Just have the balls to admit you want to go to the movie because you’re a OSC and honestly, you don’t really care THAT much about the issue because it doesn’t affect you….
Er…you’re an ocs FAN I meant to say. If you ARE OSC you should also have the balls to admit you want to see your own movie and you don’t care…*shrugs*