Hot takes on film criticism

March 11, 2015 2:52 PM

I'm looking for essays/thinkpieces/papers/etc which critically examine movie reviewing as a practice, particularly its epistemological basis. In particular, I'm thinking of the way that critics typically use objective language to describe films -- this movie is boring and cliched, this acting is wooden, this ending is predictable -- despite the fact that all these qualities are experienced in divergent ways by audience member. Thus you regularly see critics averring that a lowbrow comedy is objectively unfunny, despite the fact that, sociologically, we know that a large number of audience members enjoyed it. Any ideas?
posted by dontjumplarry to Media & Arts (1 answer total)

Maybe try The Language and Style of Film Criticism. The introduction is (mostly) available for preview through that Google Books link, and it addresses some of these issues. It also points to work by Stanley Cavell, Roland Barthes, and others that may be useful to you. I feel like there's been a ton of writing about exactly this issue—one recurring statement has it that "when a critic describes a movie as 'boring,' it tells you a lot more about that critic than it does about that film"—but nothing stands out in my mind.
posted by Mothlight at 8:38 PM on March 11, 2015