Last month, on Feb. 21, “Interstellar” co-stars Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey met for a CNN & Variety Town Hall Event at the University of Texas at Austin. The two talked about their careers and especially discussed Chalamet’s new film that has granted him his third Best actor Oscar nomination for “Marty Supreme”, but they also touched on the frailty of audiences’ attention spans to consume art in the face of quick social media.
Chalamet notably said, “No one cares about this anymore,” as in ballet and opera. This is a line numerous ballet, opera, and theater companies have harped on within social media posts that retaliate against Chalamet’s words. This short comment has had rippling effects around the world and within media, highlighting the importance of these persisting art forms, but indirectly questioning the public’s own role in the initial conversation.
On the increasingly conversed topic of rising streaming services and social media leading to the death of theaters and long form video or feature-length films, Chalamet explains that he admires those who urge the mobilization of art patrons, as he has done it himself, but he becomes conflicted because he understands that audiences have free will to consume solely blockbuster hits if they want to. In that same vein, he expressed that he resists, “working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive,’ even though no one cares about this anymore.” He followed the comment with a vow of respect to the community, but almost doubled down by jokingly reevaluating that he only lost “14 cents” in viewership.
Chalamet’s distasteful and offensive comments regarding the ballet community woke up the entire dance and opera field. On March 6, West Australian Ballet posted their favorite outraged reactions from the public regarding Chalamet’s comment and ended the post by stating: “Don’t be like Timothée, support ballet and the arts.” Similarly, the same day, Seattle Opera posted a promotion code: “TIMOTHEE to save 14% off select seats for Carmen.” Even the famous Royal Ballet and Opera page released a compilation reel of their performances, captioning, “Thousands of people gather for ballet and opera. For the music. For the storytelling. For the sheer magic of live performance. If you’d like to reconsider, @tchalamet, our doors are open.”
A high volume of Instagram users lean on more colorful comments, like linking his incompetence to the Kardashian family, due to his recent relationship with Kylie Jenner, or insulting his acting saying he has always been “mediocre” or that his movies won’t last as long nor garner more audience than ballet and opera. Actual clap backs from famous artists, like Misty Copeland have also risen, solidifying the strength of the community. “I think that it’s important that we acknowledge that, yes, this is an art form that’s not ‘popular’ and a part of pop culture as movies are. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have enduring relevance in culture.”
It must be questioned, has Chalamet had these arrogant views equipped since the beginning or has his rise to fame changed his perspective? Although difficult to track one’s opinions, we do know information regarding Chalamet’s raising around dance and the arts as a whole.
His mother, Nicole Flender, grew up dancing in the New York City Ballet, attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in N.Y.C (majoring in dance), and arrived at Yale on a ballet scholarship. She also performed as a dancer on Broadway and worked as a dance teacher. Similarly, Chalamet also attended LaGuardia High School, but in acting, and went on to study at Columbia University only for a year until he decided to pursue acting full-time.
People who are aware of Chalamet’s background have expressed more a sense of disappointment than anger, because he knows better and has close relationships with people in the ballet world. Many question how an artist could strike down another art form, while others acknowledge the unfortunate truth in his statements. The Daily Tar Heel mentions that “0.7%of the U.S. adult population attending opera performances as of 2022” and that “In fact, ballet attendance had fallen by 52% since 1982.” And as audiences decrease, funding for production lessens, increasing ticket prices.
Ballet and Opera have persisted for over 400 years, delighting audiences with culture-shifting, iconic, and powerful demonstrations of human strength and grace. Timothée Chalamet pointed out a timely problem these art forms are facing in the age of social media: an audience, but not tastefully nor considerably. Persistently, theaters for all art forms (including Chalamet’s own) continue thriving, entertaining very alive audiences, and rising above the forces against them.
