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A review by readingpicnic
Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I appreciated the author’s honesty throughout this book about consuming art made by people who’ve done horrible things, as well as digging into her guilt and complacency in doing so. The question of whether it’s morally good or bad or something in between to consume music, video games, and books is something I often think about myself, so I appreciated getting other perspectives on this issue where there’s not exactly a right answer. I think that some of her examples of celebrities that she named chapters after weren’t really explored as much as they could have been, while others were explored too much, like her practically explaining the whole plot of Lolita for some reason. The Lolita chapter also didn’t feel particularly relevant because it’s purely speculation about whether the author did anything bad or shared traits with the main character he wrote, so I didn’t find this chapter as strong or compelling. I also thought it was a bit weird to paint one of the woman celebrities as a monster just for giving up her baby for adoption…
I didn’t really expect an answer to the question of whether it’s okay to still consume these forms of media because it’s such an individual choice, so I wasn’t upset that she didn’t make a declaration either way. I was really interested in the chapter about Wagner and how harmful it is to say that people were “a product of their time” and that “everyone had those harmful beliefs back then” because it takes pressure off those people and excuses their behavior as being normal in the past. I hear people use this argument all the time, and I almost started to believe them, but I agree with the author in holding people of the past accountable too because there were people who held more progressive beliefs back then, and they chose to not be one of them. Although the book was a bit repetitive at times, I enjoyed the author’s writing and was pretty engaged throughout. I’m definitely going to keep thinking on this subject and be critical of whose content I’m reading/watching/listening to, as well as who I make exceptions for and why.
I didn’t really expect an answer to the question of whether it’s okay to still consume these forms of media because it’s such an individual choice, so I wasn’t upset that she didn’t make a declaration either way. I was really interested in the chapter about Wagner and how harmful it is to say that people were “a product of their time” and that “everyone had those harmful beliefs back then” because it takes pressure off those people and excuses their behavior as being normal in the past. I hear people use this argument all the time, and I almost started to believe them, but I agree with the author in holding people of the past accountable too because there were people who held more progressive beliefs back then, and they chose to not be one of them. Although the book was a bit repetitive at times, I enjoyed the author’s writing and was pretty engaged throughout. I’m definitely going to keep thinking on this subject and be critical of whose content I’m reading/watching/listening to, as well as who I make exceptions for and why.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Physical abuse, Suicide, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse