Thursday, January 25, 2007
Spoilers
I post a lot of reviews on IMDB.com and Amazon. Often I check a few days later to see if someone has reacted to what I've said. Only once have I really had a direct response, but sometimes I detect an oblique reference to a theme I've hit upon.
I read a lot of the reviews other people have written and I've found that most of the reviews, like mine, miss something that reviews written by professional critics have. This key ingredient is humility. Most of the "Customer Reviews," mine included, are written by people showing off. The professional critics, as arrogant as they can be, have a sense of purpose. The average IMDB reviewer does something for a living other than the reviewing of movies. The average critic published in a newspaper makes his living writing reviews.
The critic will very rarely tell the reader what his favorite movies are. He'll talk about the "best" movie. He'll say something is "fun." He'll say something's a "disaster." He'll even say "This is my favorite movie." But he won't tell you which one actually is his favorite. His favorite is not the best movie ever made. His favorite, even if he says this, is not the worst movie ever made. His favorite is the one he dreams about. Like a lot of people, the critic forgets his dreams as soon as he wakes up.
The IMDB reviewers remember their dreams. They tell their friends their dreams. This is because IMDB reviewers can't completely awaken from their love of movies. A dreamer doesn't know how boring his re-telling of his dreams are.
The critic has awoken from his dreams. He can talk about other people's dreams.
This makes the critic a much better bridge between a movie and a moviegoer than the fan.
A fan's self-involvement becomes an obstacle to the sharing of his love for a particular movie.
A critic may be a fan, but his best reviews (whether these are the best because their praise is well-expressed or because their disdain is properly described) will not be about his favorite movies. If he reviews his favorites he steps aside a little, praising the director for hiring a crack cinematographer. The fan will say "I wish my uncle Harry could have seen this."
The fan will save a seat for Harry.
The critic won't save a seat for anyone. He wants to curl up with a good movie.
I read a lot of the reviews other people have written and I've found that most of the reviews, like mine, miss something that reviews written by professional critics have. This key ingredient is humility. Most of the "Customer Reviews," mine included, are written by people showing off. The professional critics, as arrogant as they can be, have a sense of purpose. The average IMDB reviewer does something for a living other than the reviewing of movies. The average critic published in a newspaper makes his living writing reviews.
The critic will very rarely tell the reader what his favorite movies are. He'll talk about the "best" movie. He'll say something is "fun." He'll say something's a "disaster." He'll even say "This is my favorite movie." But he won't tell you which one actually is his favorite. His favorite is not the best movie ever made. His favorite, even if he says this, is not the worst movie ever made. His favorite is the one he dreams about. Like a lot of people, the critic forgets his dreams as soon as he wakes up.
The IMDB reviewers remember their dreams. They tell their friends their dreams. This is because IMDB reviewers can't completely awaken from their love of movies. A dreamer doesn't know how boring his re-telling of his dreams are.
The critic has awoken from his dreams. He can talk about other people's dreams.
This makes the critic a much better bridge between a movie and a moviegoer than the fan.
A fan's self-involvement becomes an obstacle to the sharing of his love for a particular movie.
A critic may be a fan, but his best reviews (whether these are the best because their praise is well-expressed or because their disdain is properly described) will not be about his favorite movies. If he reviews his favorites he steps aside a little, praising the director for hiring a crack cinematographer. The fan will say "I wish my uncle Harry could have seen this."
The fan will save a seat for Harry.
The critic won't save a seat for anyone. He wants to curl up with a good movie.
# posted by Fredwemyss @ 11:46 PM 
