Tag: Criticism

I find this move by movie maker Christopher Nolan to be quite fascinating. Prior to the opening of his next film, The Odyssey, Nolan is skipping the now usual round of screenings for social media influencers. In and of itself, it’s a great way to generate the same kind of annoying buzz that typically follows social media screenings. In the bigger picture, perhaps it’s the start of a healthier trend.

A Christopher Nolan film is going to generate its own momentum one way or the other these days, regardless of what critics and influencers say early on. So, you can argue that it’s a shrewd move for a movie that’s already generated quite a bit of social media furor over casting and other issues. That said, I hope this move starts a trend that has nothing to do with this particular movie.

Social media influencers, like critics, are by and large out for themselves, more than whatever they’re covering. They were born that way. Critics evolved into that mutation. What we used to call critics will say they are there for their readers, relying on that trope far too often. Social media influencers don’t even try to fall back on that concept as an excuse. It’s a hit and run business.

Those days when criticism on any level was an opinion to measure your own against are largely gone. The world wants others to form their opinions for them. Everyone’s just too busy. Taking the time to think on your own is too hard and time consuming. Heck, in that context, I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t eventually see early takes on new films, books, theatre, etc… generated by Artificial Intelligence.

In my opinion, we’d all be better off forming our own opinions, but that’s not how the world works. I’ve often derided the Siskel and Ebertization of thumbs up, thumbs down movie criticism. The move to creating another substrate of quick hit takes via social media was both a logical and illogical extension of critics as personalities pleading for attention.

The equation is a simple one that falls back on the cliché that any mention, good or bad, is good for business as long as the name is spelled correctly. That’s still largely true, thus my opinion that this is a shrewd move on Nolan’s part as long as this game continues.  Since any level of criticism has become a sport, that cliché has opened the doors to rooms empty of thought, nuance, and dare I say, substance.

When criticism becomes a contact sport for attention it’s no longer criticism, no matter the form. 

That’s my critical opinion.

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