Cate Blanchett, Picasso and the culture of cancellation: "It is necessary to make a healthy criticism"

In her new film,

, Cate Blanchett stars as an orchestra conductor whose successful career is devastated by an accusation of sexual abuse.

A fictional story with real life examples that confronts the viewer with the debate of whether Lydia Tár, the character played by the actress, is a victim of cancellation culture or an executioner.

Beyond her interpretation, which has placed her as one of the favorites to win the Oscar for best actress, the Australian has shown her opinion about the discussion that addresses the feature film.

Asked in an interview on

On whether it is "correct to cancel great artists due to personal phobias", the 53-year-old interpreter wanted to use the painter Pablo Picasso as an example, accused of machismo and mistreatment of women.

“You can imagine what happened in, outside and around his studio.

But you look at

and you say: Is that one of the greatest works of art of all time?

Yes. It's a fact.

I think it is important to have a healthy critic”, she has commented.

Beyond his reflection on the painter from Malaga, in his speech Blanchett has defended that the work of talented artists should continue to be studied, even when it is discovered that at the time they acted in an unacceptable manner.

"If you don't read old books that are a bit offensive because of what they say in a historical context, then you will never deal with the minds of the time and we will be destined to repeat those things," she added.

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In addition to expressing his opinion on the culture of cancellation, Blanchett has stated that "you have to know when and where" to exercise power, referring to the way his character acts.

“As a woman, when you don't wield your power the way we see men wield their power, people think you don't know what you're doing, you don't know what to think.

That happens a lot.

You also see it on the [filming]

, less and less, but with female directors, ”she maintains.

For her interpretation, as she has revealed, she observed female orchestra directors, including the American Marin Alsop, musical director until 2019 of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (Brazil), for whom she declares herself "obsessed".

However, Alsop herself has criticized the film directed by Todd Field and the role of Blanchett in the British newspaper

, where she stated that she felt "offended as a woman, as a director and as a lesbian".

In addition to the nomination for best actress at the Oscars, her participation in

has earned Blanchett her eighth nomination at the Bafta, the British film awards, which are held next Sunday, February 19.

If she wins it, it would be the fourth of these awards that she has obtained throughout her career, after having received it for

(2014),

(2005) and

(1999).

Last September, the actress triumphed for her latest work at the Venice festival, obtaining the Volpi Cup for best actress.

Although Field's film reflects a fictional biography, you don't have to dig too deep to find cases similar to

in real life, which reignite the debate about whether artists who are involved in cases of harassment, sexual abuse or mistreatment should be professionally terminated.

This is what happened and is happening, for example, with the tenor Plácido Domingo, accused of sexual harassment by more than twenty women, something that he himself ended up acknowledging in 2020, admitting “full responsibility”.

When the result of an investigation into a case of sexual harassment involving Domingo came to light, several cultural institutions canceled the artist's shows.

In the film industry, actor Kevin Spacey and directors Woody Allen and Roman Polanski have also been involved in similar cases.