Obviously, I've been dwelling a lot lately on the public's antipathy towards film critics (and critical thinking in general), mainly because it seems to be at an all-time high. Paradoxically (or perhaps not, given the innate primitive urge to pick off the weak), critical influence is probably at an all-time low, diluted by sprawl, impenetrable marketing campaigns, cheast-beating studios, and the overall public distaste for "elitism" in whatever form they imagine it takes.
It seems that the relatively small percentage of people who still take critical opinion into high account when deciding what film to see have to trust these critics. I would say that the majority of these people probably have trusted Roger Ebert (and to increasingly lesser extents, Siskel and Roeper) for years. There have been a few critics that I've trusted in my life - greats like David Thomson and Andrew Sarris, but also mainstreamers like Siskel and Baltake in the 1980's, Owen Gleiberman in the 1990's, and perhaps a few others (note that I do not claim to AGREE with these critics every time out, but I do TRUST their opinion). I tend to like critics who can balance genuine insight, a desire for entertainment value, and a blind passion for the medium. These days, I can't think of a single critic that I trust implicitly (though since I've become a quasi-critic myself, I tend to read very few reviews) - I trust in the sea of critical opinion rather than any single wave.
So this leads to my poll question - Do You TRUST The Barnesyard? I'm looking for an honest answer here, not compliments. One of the things I've always loved most about film is that no matter how you approach a movie or break it down afterward, the ultimate arbiter is personal taste, which is relative and completely unquantifiable. There are people in print and in my life whose opinions I trust, and there are others that I don't. That doesn't mean either of us is wrong or that our opinions are stupid...they're just different, and that's why criticism is so exciting.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Who Do You Trust?
Produced by DB at 1:12 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comment cards:
I don't think you and I agree very closely on movies (for instance, I think only one of my top 20 movies was in your top twenty, although I hate ranking stuff), but I trust in you the sense that if you say a movie is remarkable I will probably give it a shot and if you say it's a pile of poo I doubt if I would go see it. So you are the only critic I trust. I used to read Ebert, even up to a little over a year ago, but now I don't. The only other film reviews I read are in the New Yorker and I can't tell Anthony Lane and the other guy apart except that Anthony Lane makes really stupid jokes.
I'm not sure what you mean by "trust." I find your reviews useful in helping me decide what to see. (I also used to find Baltake very useful, once I adjusted to his quirks. I didn't always agree with him, but he provided the right information for me to pretty accurately predict whether or not I would like a movie, regardless of if he liked it. Kind of the opposite of the current Bee critic, who writes reviews that are completely worthless to anyone who has different taste from said critic.)
Aside from usefulness, I'll read reviewers if they are either entertaining enough or informative enough to be the worth the trouble, even if their reviews are not useful in deciding which movies to see.
Your reviews are often useful, often entertaining, & often informative.
Uh, I didn't mean to be so complementary - it just came out that way.
Stop being so complementary, Darin!
Yeah, Dan. I trust you. Even though I voted in the "sometimes" category, I re-read your post and understand that "trust" here doesn't equal "agree". So if I could vote again I'd change it. Do I agree with you on movies? Most of the time but -- not all (I'm Not There, Rules of Attraction, The Pixies Documentary, which I found disturbing, fascinating, insightful, etc.) but I trust your insight. I also trust your use of the word "bonerific". That's something Baltake just can't swing.
Review Batman already!!!
-Al
I trust your opinion is your opinion and I think it's really funny so I read it which I don't do with a lot of criticism, but like Becky, I don't think that we have the same taste in movies. I don't have the same taste as Becky either. You have certainly influenced me to try some things I wouldn't have otherwise, like I may just watch It's a Wonderful Life this year, despite my scroogedness.
g
Post a Comment