For the last couple of years of pop culture and internet discourse, it seems as if the phrase “cancel culture” is inescapable. Reports covering the cancellation of a politician or celebrity occur almost every day, but how much do people actually know about cancel culture?
Definitions & Origins:
With cancel culture being such a prevalent topic, people have begun to distort its meaning based on their feelings toward the act. However, this is no surprise since words tend to evolve with time. In the eyes of many, the idea of “canceling” someone is the ultimate power move that destroys livelihoods. Because of this, people have declared cancel culture as a negative movement that reigns down consequences without considering the complexity of the situation. Yet even with this in mind, I find that most dictionaries define cancel culture through its original meaning. For example, Merriam-Webster defines cancel culture as, “the practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling [to withdraw one’s support for (someone, such as a celebrity, or something, such as a company) publicly and especially on social media] as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure.” This definition ultimately connects back to its origins in the Black community, where they used cancellation as a form of social justice.
With the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013, the Black community noted that they lacked the power to ensure people were held accountable through the traditional method of lawmaking and the justice system. But they also realized that social media could be the perfect alternative method. Through the usage of Twitter, the Black community believed that they could get justice for the oppression they faced by banding together to demand reform. This then took a different turn when people began to use the platform as a way to hold those who said racist and hurtful comments accountable for their actions. By calling for the cancellation of a celebrity, the community hoped to take back the power celebrities had as a result of the support that had made them so popular.
But despite its origins in social justice, the idea of being canceled got its start in a misogynistic joke. In the 1991 film New Jack City, the character Nino Brown breaks up with his girlfriend by saying, “Cancel that bitch. I’ll buy another one.” Here Brown uses the word cancel to refer to the transactional relationship between him and his girlfriend, i.e. that Brown is using his girlfriend sexually and could easily replace her. This would later influence Cisco Rosado in 2014 to tell his girlfriend “you’re canceled’’ while they fought over their relationship on Love and Hip-Hop: New York. Here canceled was originally meant to denote a breakup, but the word would explode in popularity within the show’s fanbase.
Since Love and Hip-Hop: New York’s fans didn’t have the context to the infamous “you’re canceled,” they began to take canceling literally. This resulted in people believing that canceling meant no longer wanting a person. This would then connect back to the turn in which people began to use canceling as a way to hold a person accountable because when you no longer want a person, you no longer support them.
Cancel Culture in other forms:
Although the phrase “cancel culture” is new, the idea of calling out and excluding others is not. This ultimately means that the only thing that is changing is what it is called. For example, the Greeks practiced “cancel culture” by casting out those they deemed as the “other.” In their belief, the “other” were evil people who didn’t abide by their rules and needed to be rid of for the good of the people (Mishan). Additionally, The Scarlet Letter (1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne highlights another form of canceling. In the book, the main character Hester Prynne faces public shame and exclusion after committing an act of adultery. As an act of punishment and a way of keeping others from committing the same crime, the officials make Hester wear an A to remind everyone of what she had done and create a stigma around those who associated with her.
Whether you call it ostracizing, calling out, excluding, excommunicating, or shunning, it’s clear to see that cancel culture has been present throughout time.
Is Cancel Culture Effective?
Going back to the belief that cancel culture is a dangerous practice because it costs people their livelihoods, I would like to set the record straight. Cancel culture isn’t as horrible as people make it out to be. Although some people nowadays see the cancellation of a celebrity as a fun pastime, the reality is that cancel culture doesn’t do all the things people give it credit for.
Instead of completely ruining the career of the celebrity they canceled, the celebrity would, at most, be publicly shamed and removed from the current jobs they were in. These celebrities would then have to apologize for their racist and problematic actions, and the hate would usually die down if the apology was perceived as genuine. And because of their celebrity status, they would eventually continue with life like nothing happened as they resumed their endorsements and deals.
However, I would also like to note that on the flip side to those who boycotted these celebrities, there were also people who increased their support. Supporters usually arose when individuals felt that celebrities were targeted for no reason. This, therefore, adds to the fact that celebrities were not completely ruined since their supporters would buy items that would continue to give them profits.
But the main message here is that these celebrities tended to be unaffected by cancelation for long periods of time—the only exception being celebrities connected to movements like #MeToo. While this may seem disappointing to some, it makes sense if you stick to cancel culture’s origins within the Black community.
While critics of cancel culture point out that this act creates a need to punish celebrities instead of holding them accountable, the truth is that accountability cannot be achieved unless people realize that there are consequences to one’s actions. But it’s also important to keep in mind that punishment shouldn’t go as far as to keep people from being able to grow and understand what they did wrong. Since the Black community was trying to stop letting injustices slip by, it makes sense why cancel culture doesn’t have consequences for long periods of time. It’s meant to let others know that although they have the right to practice free speech, others have the same right to criticize them—especially when it creates harm.
Examples:
In 2019, Kevin Hart was supposed to host the Oscars but stepped down after receiving backlash for the homophobic jokes he said in the past. He refused to apologize because he felt like he had already addressed this topic but would later issue an apology where he pushed the narrative that he was a victim of public shaming. Hart’s career remains unaffected as he continues his comedy shows and currently stars in Netflix’s show True Story (2021).
Dr. Suess was criticized for having racist depictions in his work and his publisher decided to not publish the works that contained these images. This would lead to outrage from right-winged people who thought the democrats were “at it again.” To counter this, many right-winged people went out of their way to purchase his books and got Dr. Suess on the New York Times “Best Sellers” list.
Sources:
The second wave of “cancel culture”
