Sarah Jones, a filmmaker and actor, shares her personal experience with cancel culture and suggests a better way to hold others — and ourselves — to account. She explores the impact and fear of cancel culture, its historical roots, and its flaws in creating a more equitable society. She also advocates for empathy and conversation as alternatives to simply canceling individuals.
Cancel culture is a historical phenomenon that allows marginalized voices to seek justice.
Cancel culture's flaws include unjustly harming individuals and diverting attention from important conversations on equity and justice.
Deep dives
Cancel culture as a historical experience
The speaker shares her personal experience with cancel culture, emphasizing that it is not new but has existed throughout history. She highlights how marginalized groups have often faced cancellation in various forms and asserts that the recent rise in cancel culture is a way for historically marginalized voices to seek justice. While acknowledging the need for accountability, she also critiques the effectiveness of cancel culture and its potential to harm even the people it intends to help.
The flaws of cancel culture
The speaker points out the flaws of cancel culture, acknowledging that it can hurt individuals unjustly and fail to hold the powerful accountable. She shares her own experience of being targeted by cancelers who misunderstood her intentions in a film she created. She highlights that cancel culture can distract from important conversations and the goal of achieving equity and justice. Additionally, she urges a more nuanced approach that involves self-reflection, recognizing biases, and engaging in dialogue rather than immediate canceling.
Promoting empathy and connection
The speaker advocates for promoting empathy, assuming good intentions, and finding common ground amidst cancel culture. She encourages individuals to become cancel counsel, engaging in dialogue rather than banishment. By understanding others' perspectives, addressing biases, and offering grace, she believes that healing, progress, and real change can occur. While acknowledging the challenges, she emphasizes the importance of giving each other and ourselves the opportunity to grow and learn.
Cancel culture launched a reckoning that was long overdue — but that doesn't mean it's getting everything right. Filmmaker and actor Sarah Jones slips in and out of various characters as she shares her personal experience with cancel culture and suggests a better way to hold others — and ourselves — to account.