Why Stephen King Is Right About Diversity In Art
Author Stephen King, known for being one of the godfathers of the horror genre of literature, found himself in the middle of a personal suspense thriller when the cancel-culture mob crawled up out of the sewers of Twitter and turned on him.
After this year's Oscar nominations were released, and the annual #OscarsSoWhite hashtag started trending, King made the socially suicidal mistake of suggesting we judge films based on their artistic value, not just the skin color of the people involved - a sentiment as ground-breaking as florals for spring.
King took to Twitter to express his opinion, writing, “I would never consider diversity in matters of art. Only quality. It seems to me that to do otherwise would be wrong.”
Immediate Backlash
The best-selling author was immediately met with backlash from the insatiable outrage mob, who were not-so-shockingly displeased with King’s equitable approach to the controversial topic. Fans expressed their disappointment in King, and accused his comments of being a byproduct of his supposed ‘white privilege.’
Twitter User @davidmweissman tweeted to King:
@arigrandesfan1 also furiously responded to King:
But King Is a Liberal Activist
In elementary school, we learned how to read for context clues. But clearly all of these Twitter SJW’s didn’t take the time to familiarize themselves with the totality of King’s content. If they had, they would have seen that King is a staunch liberal activist - but no amount of progressive virtue signaling keeps you safe from the Leftist outrage-mob.
King has previously taken to Twitter to voice his disdain for a lack of diversity in the current White House Administration, tweeting, “What I noticed about that conference table pic? Only one woman in the room, and not a single person of color. If I want to look at an old white guy, I’ll use the bathroom mirror.”
King is a staunch liberal activist - but no amount of progressive virtue signaling keeps you safe from the Leftist outrage-mob.
King has routinely bashed President Trump, even going so far as to say that he thinks Trump's campaign slogan should be: "If you're white, you're all right! Any other hue, I don't trust you." King is accusing Trump of the very thing that his fans are accusing him of: baseless racism. Now that King has figuratively walked a mile in Trump’s shoes, perhaps he’ll think twice before carelessly tossing out racist accusations like cheap merch from a t-shirt gun at a pep rally.
Progressivism Seems To Be Backsliding
Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, it didn’t take long for King to kowtow to the mob once the backlash started from his side. The public perception of the situation, as well as King's recoiling, highlights the progressive pendulum swing that has riddled our society with intellectual inconsistencies. A side that once heavily promoted the values of merit over skin color is now “canceling” activists who try to uphold that very principle.
A side that once heavily promoted the values of merit over skin color is now “canceling” activists who try to uphold that very principle.
One of the most storied speeches in history comes from Martin Luther King Jr. who dreamed of judging others based on the content of their character instead of their skin tone.
Another personal favorite landmark of mine was when professional baseball player Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier that had surrounded American baseball in the 1940s. Robinson became the first African American to play in the major leagues. The sheer fact that he was black wasn’t what gave him the opportunity to be a hero and a trailblazer. It was his talent, valor, and character—and it just so happened that it was what ultimately led to him breaking the glass ceiling.
These are just two of the many examples when progressive history seemed to echo the same principle that Stephen King stated: that the quality of a person and their work should be valued over their physical attributes.
Lack of Gender Diversity in the Film Industry
The outrage over diversity issues in the film industry isn’t limited to just race. The lack of females winning awards or directing movies has also been a gripe from viewers and stars themselves. During the 2018 Golden Globes, Natalie Portman called out the film industry when she announced the nominees for best director alongside Ron Howard. In a moment that immediately went viral, Portman sighed, “...And here are the all-male nominees.”
As a woman who’s had a career since I was 18, and as a daily show host, I would’ve been humiliated and insulted if I was given this opportunity just because of my gender, or any other arbitrary reason, and not because of my hard work and proven performance as a former pop radio personality.
As a woman who’s had a career since I was 18, I would’ve been humiliated and insulted if I was given an opportunity just because of my gender.
Conclusion
Advocating for merit-based acceptance and racial/gender equality are not mutually exclusive, and to act as if they are is abhorrent. We need to return to the time when our culture fought for true equality - equality that precedes the boundaries of physicality.