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“Mr. Bean” Actor Rowan Atkinson Shares His Opinion on Cancel Culture

People are saying that the veteran actor was unsuccessful in reading the room.


It is not even the middle of January, and the news has already started to become monotonous. In the aftermath of a man, who was supposedly partially associated with the film “Bean,” chose to share his controversial opinions on Twitter, the veteran actor Rowan Atkinson has himself come forward and has opinionated on some mainstream controversial topics.


He has recently sat down for an interview with the UK’s mainstream printed media Radio Times, and in the interview, he spoke on a variety of controversial topics such as toxicity pertaining to the social media and a very well known debatable topic of the “cancel culture.”


He expounded his idea and said that the main issue with the internet is the fact that a human-created algorithm decides what a user should see, which in turn results in a very skewed way of looking at society. He explained that all of this turns an argument into good vs. evil, which in turn makes people believe that if a certain person does not agree with them, then he or she is most probably against them. And henceforth, he added, that we see all the projects being labeled as “deserve to be cancelled.”


He compared the ever-present online trolls to a mob in medieval times who used to travel around from street to street looking for individuals who they had to burn. He explained that when discussing someone or a certain topic, it is imperative that we enlighten ourselves with different opinions so that we can get a 360-degree view of the whole issue. However, Atkinson expressed his disappointment with today’s world and said that a wide spectrum outlook towards an issue is impossible because of the culture that we have created online. He explained that he feels sorry for those professionals who have been bashed by this online mob with impunity.


An author named Shannon Miller, who represents The A.V. Club, has criticized Atkins for his comments on “cancel” culture and has said that people in certain positions of authority should not label certain arguments as “witch hunt” or “cancel culture” as it maligns underrepresented people who are just trying their best to make their voices heard. Miller then went on to say that the label more often than not push readers away from the core issues, which the underrepresented people want to speak about.


It was in the month of July last year that an open letter was published by a well-known magazine, “Harper’s Magazine,” which had the title “A Letter On Justice and Open Debate.” It was signed by 150 odd people from the academic and film industry, which included the likes of JK Rowling as well. The article explained the frustration that people have with the free exchange of ideas and knowledge when online people start to publicly shame individuals.


While some may agree or disagree with Atkinson’s opinion, which how exactly things should be, he has done some exceptional work, and two of the most famous characters he has ever played are Johnny English and, of course, Mr. Bean. Interestingly, in the interview, Rowan Atkinson explained that he isn’t quite a fan of the work he has to put in to play Mr. Bean, and he is now eagerly waiting for the end of it. Atkinson explained that playing the character of Mr. Bean is quite difficult for him because the sheer expectations involved with the character makes him anxious and stressed.


However, he added that he is currently working on an animated film, which would feature the iconic character. While saying that, he added that playing the animated character is more fun for him because he does not have to act.



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