A geeky girl living in the big city, making her way, the only way she knows how... no wait, that's The Dukes of Hazzard. Who am I again? Oh yeah, a pop culture obsessed writer, publishing person, and occasional nerd. And I'm getting married. I talk about that, too.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Really interesting article

From EW's Popwatch, on the critic's world in a comment board world.
In a world where no piece of professional media can exist without an accompanying Internet message board, the barrage of commentary, courtesy of You™, may be doing irreparable damage to an intellectual tradition that stretches back thousands of years: that of the cultural critic. The word "critic" itself comes from the Greek kritikós (one who discerns), and implies a certain level of scholarship, perspective, education, aesthetic/historical understanding, and calm, considered, reasoned thinking. It's a concept that seems to be directly at odds with the public's ability to put 10 or 15 poorly-spelled words into a little box and click "post." And yet every day, at publications big and small, the public is doing just that... and being celebrated for it.

So I ask: In light of this trend towards all-user-generated-content-all-the-time, can those of us who get paid to have opinions maintain our dignity, our sanity... and our jobs?

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posted by ktbuffy at 6:51 PM

1 Comments:

Blogger ***Dave said...

In light of this trend towards all-user-generated-content-all-the-time, can those of us who get paid to have opinions maintain our dignity, our sanity... and our jobs?

Gee, I hope not.

Ah, but seriously, folks ... I think the author (at least in this clip) is either unnecessarily worried or way too freaking in love with his own credentials. I do hope that the pompous Critic Who Is Listened To Because, You Know, He's a Critic is doomed to extinction, but people who can write interesting, meaningful, informative, reliable reviews and examinations of creative pieces will always have a market. The Internet hasn't disenfranchised those folks -- it's simply made them easier to find.

Because, really -- if I want to know something about a new play or movie, am I really going to rely on some guy who can string together five misspelled? Probably not. But am I going to rely on someone I know who writes well, but as an amateur, over someone who has a cushy NYT review job and a fancy credential who never likes anything I do? Probably so.

I have no problem with the Internet providing a meritocracy for critics, amateur and professional. Those of merit have nothing to worry about.

4/18/2007 8:41 PM

 

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