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Stop Moralizing Art! (Defending Dark Academia, Lana Del Rey, CMBYN) + Alice Cappelle Response

Claire Craig

11,815 views

There is an ongoing trend online within cancel culture of claiming everything (especially art) to be "problematic" and moralizing art. Moral panics have existed around art forever, and especially with new media. In this video, I explore moral panic and moralizing art starting from the 1980's and on to today (satanic panic, Eminem/Slim Shady). I discuss the moral panic around age gap relationships, teen TV dramas such as Gossip Girl and Euphoria, the drive to cancel Lana Del Rey and her music, drama around Call me By Your Name, the first amendment and comedy, and much more. I also respond to a video on why dark academia is problematic by Alice Cappelle and how this perfectly encapsulates the drive to see everything as problematic and to cancel, suppress, or censor art. Hope you enjoy!

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
1:00 Definition of "Moralizing Art"
1:59 Brief History of Moral Panics
4:40 Badlands and Breaking Bad
7:16 Lana Del Rey
13:28 Call Me By Your Name
16:06 Dark Academia / Alice Cappelle Response
25:38 Censorship
28:46 Stand Up Comedy
30:58 Dave Chappelle Clip

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REFERENCES:
Alice Cappelle We Need to Talk about Dark Academia (full video): Video
All of Lana del Rey's discography
Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman
Clips from Gossip Girl, Euphoria, Pretty Little Liars
Eminem Hi My name is: Eminem - My Name Is (Official Music Video)
Aesthetic Dark Academia Guide: AESTHETIC STYLE GUIDE: Dark Academia | Epi...
Comedians in Cars getting Coffee, Jerry Seinfeld and John Oliver episode
Dave Chappelle Acceptance Speech for the Mark Twain Comedy Prize

RELATED VIDEOS (mine)
Why I Hate PC culture (political correctness, the war on comedy, euphemism treadmill): Why I Hate PC Culture (+ The War on Comedy)
Outrage Culture (youtube drama, political polarization, shame): The Culture of Online Outrage (Economy of ...
Simps, Celebrity Worship, and the power of the pedestal: Simps, Celebrity Worship, and the Power of...
Why Van Life, Homesteading, & Cottagecore are Trending in 2021 (Analysis): Why Van Life, Homesteading, & Cottagecore ...

My Favorite Fan Made Lana Del Rey edits/demos
lana del rey gods and monsters black swan: Video
Lana Del Rey National Anthem: Lana Del Rey - National Anthem
Lana Del Rey Carmen Effie Stonem: Effy Stonem | Carmen.
Lana Del Rey This is what makes us girls: Video

Some Videos That Inspired Me to Make This One (lol):
We need to talk about dark academia by alice cappelle: Video
The problem with teen dramas by Mina Le: the problem with teen dramas
Lana Del Rey: The Pitfalls of Having a Persona by Mina Le (She criticises lana del rey more as a person rather than her art, but with some criticism of her art as well): Lana Del Rey: the pitfalls of having a per...
Tara Mooknee teachers in teen shows: why are teachers in teen shows so...
Was Gossip Girl Feminist by Tara Mooknee: Gossip Girl hasn’t aged well...
Jordan Theresa the lolita resurgence... when History repeats itself: the lolita resurgence ... when history rep... (she discusses call me by your name briefly in this video, and talks about the "romanticization" of lolita in part by lana del rey)
HBO's euphoria is not real its creepy: HBO’S EUPHORIA IS NOT “REAL” IT’S CREEPY |...

Dark Academia Definition: Dark Academia is a popular academic aesthetic that revolves around classic literature, the pursuit of self-discovery and a general passion for knowledge and learning. It is one of several variations of academia aesthetic, each with a unique subject focus.

Apparently, as with cottagecore (which I discussed in my last episode) there are many subgenres of Dark Academia. These include art academia, chaotic academia, classic academia, dark paradise (maybe after the lana song?), light academia, and grey academia. I think gray academia was a response to people calling dark academia problematic, if I remember correctly.

This cancel culture moral panic stuff is getting to my head... I'm about ready to quit social media forever. Apparently Lana del Rey just quit social media as well, so that's perfect. I don't know why the youtube algorithm is always recommending these kinds of videos to me, but here we are. Lana del Rey Blue Banisters out now.

20 Comments

@lanasxotwod3543 5 years ago

As a poc (black) I get called a sad white girl when I listen to Lana Del Rey’s music. But actually I love her lyrics and the theatrical setting it put me in. She’s way ahead of her time.

@angelashinner 5 years ago (edited)

Someone finally had to say it. Keep up the good work queen 🖤🥀
‘Cancelling art is the death of humanity” ~Taylor Momsen

@cinnam0n_swirls 4 years ago

Alice Capelle's videos show up on my feed periodically and I cannot stand them. This is the first time I've seen someone do a video criticizing her points. It's super refreshing. Thank you!

@soda8624 5 years ago

Lol I'm from Europe, from Spain particularly, and of they knew anything about Europe they would know that each country looks different, completely, "Eurocentric" doesn't make sense at all because in which part of Europe is it based??? Imo it takes inspiration mostly from the UK, France and maybe Nordic countries and Italy, but we have no universities like those here, in fact Spain has many completely different cultures depending on where you are.

Also, this is literally one of the first aesthetics that I've seen based in Europe, all the other ones I know are either from Asia (mostly Korea or Japan) or the United States.

And I personally find that last one a really problematic place and whose "culture" is globalizing and has been romanticized for decades.

But "ohhh autumn in Europe is pretty and studying is great and romantic" is problematic??

Fr
Just suscribed, amazing content

@kat4617 5 years ago

alice cappelle really has to watch this video!

@ED-ie3et 5 years ago

I agree with you. Women have written about men, kids, abled, disabled, gay, straight all different types of characters who are different from the artist's lived experience. Like for example, my former professor, Professor Maaza Mengiste has written about fictionalized characters based on real relatives and also historical figures from her home country of Ethiopia. Could she have known personally the former emperor and dictator? No. But her books have been highly awarded and regarded.

@byariannahogan 4 years ago

How has this video not got more views? Thank you, Claire, this is the video I have been looking for to put my frustration for this woke / cancel culture into words <3

@BlackPrimeMinister 5 years ago (edited)

I have been in age-gap relationships spanning 20 years and while they lasted, they were terrific. It's the difference that is dynamic, like any polar complication. We're in a really puritan era and looking back on generations past - and the pure sense of expression and possibility people felt they had in the 1980s for instance, now gone - replaced by an algorithmically-driven paranoia and insularity that is just... a bit deflating really, isn't it? I thought information networks would lead to personal liberation, knowledge and freedom and couldn't have been more wrong.

@giovannipesce4195 5 years ago

Why do we keep blaming the artist? Has anyone throughly of why Lana del Rey creates the music she does? Women (and any other marginalized community) are living these experiences and trained to romanticize their toxic lives. The fact of the matter is her art is reactionary, and if you disagree with you you're part of the problem. This video is genuine and important.

@decomposingPRINCESS 4 years ago

I just stumbled across this video and god I could not agree more! I think a huge part of this exaggerated criticism we're seeing nowadays stems from the fact that a lot of things that have always been morally questionable or outright wrong in the media and in society are only now being questioned and really talked about (e.g. the Me Too Movement). And this seems to have caused an overreaction in an effort to correct these behaviors. I think (and hope) we will ease into a more relaxed and nuanced way of critiquing after some time has passed.

@ED-ie3et 5 years ago

I'm glad you brought up the Haste Code as well as the eventual rulling of Lovings v. Supreme Court (?, forgot who it was against), which eventually made multiracial relationships legal, in the 60s. People forget that essentially their own parents or in some cases, grandparents come from that time period. Essentially I would not be able to exist because I'm biracial. People fought for more expression and lived experiences and Gen Z is just doing too much. Basically..... if it don't apply, let it fly; turn off the computer/laptop/smartphone off if it gets to be too much or just delete the apps. LIVE PEOPLE.

@peterwojtek8468 3 years ago

Yours is a criminally undersubbed channel (here from KC by the way). The quality of your analysis is a breath of fresh air, don't ever stop.

@SlipdeGarcon_de_Jour 3 years ago

First time I remember feeling uncomfortable about this was about 15 years ago, when Elton Jon was forced to close an exhibition of his photo collection, as it included a photo of two young girls in the nude. After a long investigation by the police, the venue declared that there was nothing illegal about the photos, but they were 'inappropriate'. I remember being troubled by the idea that there was a space between OK and illegal.

@CosmicallyCrystal 3 years ago

100% right!!! You perfectly said what I’ve been trying to get across and say for months now. We can’t & shouldn’t look at art, or look back at tv series and movies with a 2022 mindset. Too many people throw around words like triggered and problematic so cavalierly nowadays it’s lost it’s true meaning. I’m tired of the pearl clutching and constant complaints. It’s OKAY to be uncomfortable sometimes with certain subject matters but it’s not okay to want to eliminate people and things that make you feel some kind of way. Confront your discomfort and open up to other’s ways of expressing their artistic freedom.

@oo-zo8pb 3 years ago

The paradox of being an observer is that the observer cannot see the self. The observer can only see the self through the reactions and reflections of others. Each person you meet, each new situation and experience, each interaction with an other, is an introduction to a part of the self not yet self-realized. Born into gang life, S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders" was the first book I read that made me want to write. It is beautiful. There are plenty of books written by men who are X gang members, they are dark, ugly, and brutal. Like Run Baby Run for example. It took the perspective of an outsider looking in, a 15 yr old girl, to recognize that beneath the violence and brutality there existed a special bond between men. She recognized this deep love formed out of compassion for one another beneath the toughness and violence that hadn't been touched upon in popular culture. Saw that underneath the brutality and all the fighting that there was self-sacrifice and selflessness, earned honor built upon the foundation of sticking up for and protecting each other. She saw how much men cared for one another. Sue saw a beauty in the bonding of men that we as men didn't or couldn't express ourselves, and she expressed it, not as a man, but as a young girl, and her unique expression showed us this part of ourselves we couldn't realize as insiders looking out. A part of us hidden that we had to be shown. And we all love and cherish her for doing it, the Outsiders remains to this day a favorite book of many boys and men. Stay Gold.

@HasturYellowSign 4 years ago

D&D, heavy metal, medieval books on poison, the classics, and writing poetry that made girls in my class creative writing class cry with sadness never turned me into a serial killer. Oh, and getting my mom to buy me potassium nitrate (I tricked her. Lol) at a chemical store and then using my mortar and pestle to grind up Sulphur and charcoal and then mixing them together according to the percentages in the Encyclopedia Britannica I made homemade gun powder. The only terrorism I did was against fire ants. Bastards deserved it

LDR reminds me of Tori Amos who sang about her rape. Times have really changed if they think LDR is edgy.

Whatever happened to if you don’t like a movie or song you don’t watch or listen to it?

Is she actually trying to throw shade on Dorian Grey? Someone revoke her library card.

Classics majors are still getting employed to this day. And learning Greek and Latin and then reading the classics in the original is fun. And with Athenaze and Lingua Latina means you can learn them on your own.

@AntonellaCipriani 5 years ago

I came from the Lana video <3 recently there’s been a spike in “commentary” videos from faux intellectual girlies (obviously demagogues and bland af) your insight and eloquence is a stark contrast and v refreshing, keep going ✨

@egeekmazn1189 4 years ago

Girl you just changed MY WHOLE IDEA ON THAT ! You have an amazing way of talking, I love your content alooot , I'm literally gonna send that to EVERYONE I know right now ! What you just said is SO important and it should be heard !❤ please keep it up you're amazing!❤❤❤

@mattytalkin 4 years ago

I went back and am watching this and this one is spot on so far. As a Kendrick Lamar fan who enjoys Lana Del Rey's work, this explains what I'm feeling about Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers right now. Thank You for saying the quiet part out loud.

@LuAster 1 year ago

I know it isn't really a topic of discussion anymore and faded out pretty fast but I would love to hear your thoughts on the reception that the HBO show The Idol received. I remember being really disappointed in the pearl clutching and complete dissonance with which it was perceived and honestly I'm not a huge Weeknd fan or anything. It just seemed like the point was missed and the reactions were so strong and presented as so universal I felt completely alone in not thinking it was that bad. This video made me feel validated even though you didn't mention that series specifically so I would be curious to hear your thoughts on The Idol if you have any.