Cancel Culture — What It Was, What It Is, and What It Could Be
--
Controversy. Backlash. Hashtag. Change? How the flawed framework of cancel culture is taking on a drastic metamorphosis, possibly for the better.
So, what was #cancelculture?
Before we dissect the evolution of cancel culture, we must understand why it even exists.
Like many other phenomena, cancel culture is only a natural output of our relationship with the internet. The structure of social technology only mirrors our need to voice opinions, give unsolicited advice, feed into debate, and engage with a community of people who favor us. If you don’t like something, you don’t just think it — you tweet it, post it, and anticipate for others to feel the same.
These innate needs fused with our hyper-accessibility to celebrities and brands, along with our tendency to simultaneously over-glorify and hyper-criticize them, is why “canceling” has become apart of the daily news cycle. But, before cancel culture was an overused buzzword penned by mainstream media, it was strictly exclusive to internet culture.
The art of “canceling” was run by digital natives who had the know-how to find old tweets and videos, exposing the problematic behavior of the figures we so often idolize. It amplified marginalized voices with digital scale, but no one was listening. Brands and celebrities could be confronted with receipts, be endlessly dragged on twitter, and still blatantly disregard the online uproar, simply because cancel culture is only as powerful as the people who are apart of it.
This isn’t to say marginalized communities don’t hold power, the purchase power of the multi-cultural market is $3.9 trillion. But aside from the dollar, the totality of marginalized identities have not always held value, nor respect.
This alone sheds light on the fact that cancel culture is merely a reflection of what society at large is willing to tolerate. The oppressed have been done with racism and sexism for years, but privileged celebrities and brands? Not so much.
What It Is, Today
With #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo at the forefront of mainstream media, cancel culture is no longer about exposing an old tweet in bad taste, but rather outing the blatant racist and sexist behavior that has been systemically upheld.
Now, cancel culture is not only more valid, but more powerful, as brands and celebrities have decided to take part.
And no, it shouldn't take the endorsement of brands and celebrities to exert the power of cancel culture power to its fullest extent, which at the core is change. But again, cancel culture is only an output of how we behave online, and the herd mentality that fully embraces the viewpoints of public figures is alive and well.
And while the new power of cancel culture has enacted change from the top down, the side effects include a slew of performative activism, little too late efforts, and immense confusion on what to do, in fear of tarnished image and low pocketbooks.
The problem with these “less than blessed” efforts is that it creates an illusion of change, while also reducing complex societal issues to a trending topic.
So, the question becomes, when will the fear of being “canceled” fall second to the fear of being racist, sexist, or homophobic? Only time will tell.
What It Could Be
The more “canceling” continues to run rampant, exposing the hateful past of numerous in the public eye, the framework has sparked criticism and valid concern.
Why can’t we allow people to grow from their past? Why must people be shamed to learn? If we’re so quick to forget, why do we bother “canceling” anyway?
Well, the answer is simple. Racism and sexism aren’t just a blip in someone’s past. It is deeply rooted, systemic, and should not be glossed over for the sake of maintaining a polished image. And as the word “accountability” swirls every public apology and corporate statement, let’s stop giving it power. The idea of accountability is subjective, vague, and only offers leeway to do nothing but apologize.
Accountability is step one, corrective behavior is step two.
And yes, it’s true, cancel culture is momentary, but that is only by design of the hasty news cycle and social media. Regardless, the point of cancel culture isn’t to keep someone trending on twitter for as long as possible, but to ultimately reprimand behavior and illustrate the consequences for bigotry.
So, what does the future of cancel culture look like?
Well, the new cancel culture will, cancel culture — the culture of racism, the culture of misogyny, the culture of homophobia. It will cancel all systemic frameworks that allow oppressive behavior to transpire. It will shift the focus from personal change to structural change, voiding the behavior that has been tolerated, excused, and overlooked, for far too long.
