catch22girl | In defense of criticism

Last night on the shuttle home I was sitting next to a girl in two of my classes and we were talking about film. I told her how I've been accused of being an elitist film snob by some of my friends and she said she'd been told she can no longer discuss film with her best friend. Then, she said something about how we've been studying film criticism and analysis for so long that its part of us now. Or something like that. But I've been thinking about that, and I think she's right.

Do I particularly want to be a critic? Not really. Can I help that I now mentally critique everything I watch? No. After all, for about three years I've done nothing but watch films and critique them, read analysis of films, write papers on films, listen to long lectures on films...etc. I think criticism is more than *just* ripping things apart. I was talking to another friend on the phone and she said that she hates art historians but that they serve a purpose because their criticism shows the work's meaning. I can sort of see what she means there.

Maybe some film critics are embittered failed writers/directors, but not all. Most modern criticism is more of a critique of society using the work. It's more about using film to show inequalities in society or just the prevailing pop culture attitudes at the time. It's more about talking about issues of capitalism, feminisism, post-modernism, marxism, etc than actual film. A lot of film books I've read have been written by philosophers using film to show bigger problems or hidden meanings in the films themselves. One of the most famous of these is Kracauer's book "From Caligari to Hitler" about how you can trace through German post-war film the rise of the 'superman' and the desire for being controlled by mad doctors and tyrants. I don't entirely buy his argument, but it's interesting.

A lot of it is just really interesting. And the funny thing is that compared to some people I'm a really really mild critic. I haven't seen a lot of the classics and I should. There's a large gap in my film education, especially in the Noir and pre-Noir era. I also need to see Fassbinder and the Red/White/Blue trilogy. I keep meaning to see the Decalogue and my friend just recommended "Trapped in Paradise" which is a pre-code film.

So many movies to see, so little time. But I think that there is a place and a need for film criticism. If a film gets bad reviews it did so for a reason - and when Hollywood makes things like From Justin to Kelly there has to be something to hold them accountable for the train wreck, more than just the box office.

I also think that filmmakers should have an idea of the past. I lose immediate respect for a director when I hear that they haven't seen certain films or heard about certain directors. That's just my knee-jerk reaction. I think it's important to watch the classic films, the ones that started trends or created new ways of seeing things.

Is criticism actually working on a film hands-on, writing it directing it etc? no. Does criticism take into account months spent on a project, the hard work that went into it? etc? Not really. But I really feel that good criticism shows meaning in a work, in a way that just wtaching it does not. I mean in more than just an MST3K or TVWoP review style (although those are a lot of fun to read/do). A good review also means more money at the box office, usually, depending on the reviewer.

Most people hate critics. That's fine, that's understandable, a lot of them happen to be intellectual snobs. But not all. But, imho, a critic is hated for the same reason that the Bush admin hated Helen Thomas - because a good critic, the ones that aren't swayed by press junkets or meeting stars won't let Hollywood or really any film get away with being crap or mediocre. They won't be afraid to say that the new movie by a formerly brilliant director is unwatchable, that another film was just made to make money, etc.

I think in some ways critics are the only defense against terrible films and television and the like. Because they see them first, they're the front-line, and they either warn or praise accordingly.

Okay, off to try to write that other story. Or look for icons. Didn't mean to rant :)