Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with criticism

Why do 4 movie reviewers all reference the same Talking Heads song when reviewing Lovely Bones?

Kattullus — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:28:22 -0800

Why are all these Lovely Bones movie reviews referencing Talking Heads' Heaven? Examples I've found: 1, 2, 3, 4. Was this quote included in the press notes? Is it simply that movie reviewers tend to be people of a certain age? Is the song in the movie? Is that song, for some reason, in people's minds these days? That is, is it being used in a commercial or something?

Music reviews? What are your faves?

cymru_j — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:36:05 -0800

Examples of really great music reviews? I'm trying to learn more about the genre of music reviewing/criticism and am looking for recommendations of smart album reviews, in particular those that use a sustained, essay-length approach.

Links to actual articles and reviews -- rather than just names -- are most welcome. However, I appreciate any feedback.

Thank you!

Something a little deeper than "brutal, dude."?

Bookhouse — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:51:49 -0800

Where can I find intelligent writing about (current) heavy metal, preferably online? As my love for heavy metal blossoms, I'm finding that there's lots of places to find reviews of new albums, but the vast majority of the reviews are ... um ... crap. Ideally, I'd like to find a single go-to site or (better yet) single critic whose opinion I trust and whose writing is strong and thought-provoking. (I'm mostly into the sludgy doom stuff like Electric Wizard, but I'm open to other stuff as well, so that's secondary). Just to be clear, I'm having no problem finding reviews ... it's well-written reviews that I'm looking for.

Thanks!

"Bless your heart" and other backhanded phrases?

MonkeyToes — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:50:32 -0800

"Well, bless your heart!" and "How nice for you!" are two of my favorite barely-veiled criticisms. Can you provide me with some more? BitterOldPunk nails it when he calls such statements the most "infuriating, condescending, passive-aggressive SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE thing you can say." I am looking for other examples of this kind of phrase, which seems to be a Southern specialty.

I am *not* looking for flat-out insults, but for subtle ways to make one's opinion known in a socially acceptable manner.

What is your saying, and how have you deployed it? Bonus points for regional usage.

I made it so it must be good.

yorick — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:35:45 -0800

Looking for a word/phrase that describes when someone thinks an artistic work they created is marketable/likable, yet is something they wouldn't care for if it was created by someone else. Example (that is truly hypothetical yet sounds fueled by bitterness): Someone films a movie they think deserves an audience/financier/praise. However, if someone else had made that same film, they'd be unimpressed.

To clarify, this has nothing to do with sense of accomplishment, and I fully acknowledge that art is subjective. This is specifically "You'd hate it if you didn't make it".

I am an oversensitive wimp.

molybdenumblue — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:35:18 -0800

How to be more resilient to constructive criticism? Sorry if this has been covered well before, but it's hard to search for. I have trouble dealing with criticism. I don't mean that I'm not open to it, or become angry, just that it really hurts my feelings and discourages me. Even when comments are phrased specifically and respectfully, I have trouble seeing anything but the negativity.

For example, if a professor marks up a paper of mine--even if I get a high B or a low A on it!--I can't read his/her comments without feeling personally hurt, to the point that I often avoid looking at them. If someone pulls me aside to make a legitimate suggestion in person, I am often on the verge of tears at the end of the conversation.

This is especially true when I'm under a lot of stress (as lately), but looking back, it's always been with me. I'm told that many people in my generation are accustomed to constant praise, but I don't think of myself as spoiled. I want to be someone who takes criticism in stride and implements it. What are some strategies I can use to cut down on the discouragement (and the looking crazy) and focus on improving?

How do I deal with a friend who constantly criticizes me?

starpoint — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:42:49 -0800

I have a new friend on my study abroad trip (we're both Americans) who likes hanging out with me and keeps asking to do things with me, but he always criticizes me. For example, I showed him some of my all-time favorite songs by a Danish band. He listens to it for 4 seconds and is like, "I don't like it. It's too conventional." I mean, I don't have a problem with him not liking the music; I just don't like how he had to label it, especially when I TOLD him they were my favorite songs. I have a new friend on my study abroad trip (we're both Americans) who likes hanging out with me and keeps asking to do things with me, but he always criticizes me. For example, I showed him some of my all-time favorite songs by a Danish band. He listens to it for 4 seconds and is like, "I don't like it. It's too conventional." I mean, I don't have a problem with him not liking the music; I just don't like how he had to label it, especially when I TOLD him they were my favorite songs.

We cooked together. I don't have a lot of cooking experience but I do have some. He was making me nervous because I was afraid I'd make a mistake and then he would criticize me. So I wasn't performing at my top level. Sure enough, he's like, "I can see why you always do microwave meals" and "you're afraid of the pan!" (I was not, I honestly have cooked stir-fry a million times before yet there was no getting through to him because makes so many assumptions and conclusions based on minute evidence).

Also while we were cooking, I said I wish I'd brought my camera so that we could document the moment. He's like, "why would you want to take pictures of food? Bored people do that." I replied sarcastically, thanking him for calling me bored, and he said "you ARE bored. Taking pictures of food. That's like the most boring thing you can take pictures of." (he went on but I'll spare the rest of it). For the record, I am NOT bored. And he's a photography buff!!!

Then when we were shopping and I wanted to buy one of my favorite fruit smoothie drinks, he said that was an extravagance and that the drinks were trash (they're 100% fruit by the way, no sugar or preservatives added). He also kept criticizing me for buying microwave meals and how eating microwaved food is going to shorten my lifespan. He buys expensive organic and fresh foods and complains about not having money. I understand that fresh food is better quality but I'm trying to save money and have to live like a Spartan. What's so wrong with that?

We both live in the same dormitory. He was in my room one night and went off on a rant about how much he hated the dorms. He's convinced that we're being ripped off at the dorms (because they don't match up to his standard). He's looking for somewhere else to stay. He says I don't understand the concept of value. That I am just naive and going along with what I'm told when really I'm supposedly being ripped off. My rationale is: we're studying abroad. I am staying in the dorm because I want to save money. I'm not looking for luxury. And I happen to think that our dorm is a good value for money. I try to tell him this and he'll just start arguing against what I tell him, even if he contradicts his earlier arguments.

On the train one day, he said to me in an accusing tone, "You should have taken a Danish language course LAST semester." (This is my second semester here and his first). I didn't have enough information to take such a course last semester. I didn't know which courses were available and didn't know I would be returning for a second semester, etc. The only reason he's taking one is because I told him about it. He said it is always important to learn the local language. And I called him out on the fact that he'd previously complained that the Danish people should offer all important documents in as an option English by default. He responded with, "yes they should. English is an important language and the Danish people need to recognize that." So no matter what, he has to be right.

When I was waiting to cross a busy street, he ran across. When I finally crossed, he said, "you got to just RUN. You have to learn how to navigate in a big city." I've been navigating this city for a whole SEMESTER before he came!

I have helped him to get adjusted here in so many ways, and yet all he does is criticize me. Everything I do is wrong, "conventional" and just not right. He also complains to me about how dissatisfied he is with his experience abroad. I don't ask for anything in return for helping him. I just want him to treat me with a little more respect. Maybe there's something I'm doing wrong. I'm a shy and reserved person by nature, and not very confrontational. But I think I argue back too much when my buttons are pressed.

I don't understand why he keeps wanting to spend time with me, only to tear me down. Unless he doesn't realize he's doing this. I can't share anything that I like with him because he's bound to say something critical about it. it's a pity because despite that, we have connected and it's easy to talk to him. That constant criticism is what's making it so hard to enjoy being his friend. I know he's had major issues earlier in his life (involving therapists, family problems, the unfortunate loss of his father, etc) and I sympathize with him. I know he has a lot of anger with the world. I feel bad about that, and I want to help him. He's told me about his problems and I've tried to offer my insights. He seems like he agrees with those but then he has to turn around and criticize me and my tastes just because they aren't as "refined" and "off-the-beaten-path" (his own description) as his.

How should I deal with this? I want to be his friend still, but his negativity and criticism are really starting to take a toll on me. Should I confront him straight up about it? Or should I just ignore the criticism and play deaf? Or cut him out completely? Whichever is the best option, how do I go about it in a nice way?

Poetry Web Sites

Secret Life of Gravy — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:51:35 -0800

Internet resources for understanding poetry. My husband and I have Poetry Club every Saturday night. We choose a poem, give a short biographical intro, read the poem, and follow-up with as much insight and discussion as possible. It is the last part that is the most difficult, of course. We are surprised that there seem to be so few sources on the net that analyze and discuss poetry, modern and classic. Normally I just google the name of the poem which leads to a lot of wasted time because most often it is just a listing of the poem with no follow-up. Do you have any resources to share?

I did read this previous (2005) AskMe post.

Online poetry criticism forums?

laumry — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:08:23 -0800

Can you recommend any online poetry criticism forums? Hello all. Can you recommend any forums where I can post poetry for criticism? Ideal characteristics:

1) English language poetry

2) Membership only - I'm doing a creative writing course and I think if I post something into the public domain I can't submit it for coursework.

3) Relatively high technical expertise of forum participants

who came up with words like physicality?

sponge — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:17:13 -0800

whats the origin of words ending in -ality that are used specifically in the discussion of art? such as theatricality, aurality, physicality, etc. where/with whom did this trend begin? i just think they are very curious.

Looking for "at the time" criticism of famous, historically important speeches.

csimpkins — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:47:13 -0800

Can anyone point me towards particularly noteworthy "at the time" criticism of some of the United States' historically important speeches? Particularly criticism of JFK's Inaugural Address and Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speeches. Though any others that might be interesting are also welcome.

There's a ton of essays and papers written years later, after the fact, and they seem to be mucking up my search results. I'm interested in reading emotionally negative responses to these types of speeches that were leveled "at the time" (or immediately after)... before the historical significance had a chance to be fully realized.

Whether the criticism was accurate or just isn't important. I'm just curious to see what the detractors were saying.

Yes, this is prompted by Obama's speech the other night. And no, this isn't an attempt to start a flame war or make a statement. The partisan reaction to his speech got me thinking about history and I'm genuinely curious.

Who recalls these posters?

ricochet biscuit — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:53:22 -0800

Help me find a series of Democrat campaign posters from recent years. For what must have been the 2006 mid-term elections, the Democrats produced a series of posters which were nothing but text -- proper nouns, as I recall -- on a black field, on the theory that the associations alone were enough to evoke distaste for the status quo. It seems to me there were three or four of them, one with names ("Cindy Sheehan," "Harriet Myers," "Valerie Plame"), another with places ("Abu Ghraib", "Guantanamo Bay," "New Orleans") and so forth. My google fu is weak. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Jungian literary criticism

leibniz — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:49:45 -0800

Help me find examples of literary criticism adopting the Jungian idea that all the characters are aspects of the same person. I am researching character from the standpoint of analytic philosophy of mind/emotions and aesthetics of literature. I am interested in exploring the idea that every character in a book is really just different aspects of one person. I take this to be derived from Jung's claim that everyone in your dreams is really yourself. So first of all, can anyone point me to an exact reference to this idea (preferably accessible online). And if not in dreams, then in literature, or even in real social life? Related to this is of course the stuff about archetypes, but I consider that idea completely secondary to the first one about distributed identity and I am much less interested in it.

Second, I am interested in finding examples of literary/film criticism that use this basic assumption to analyse a work. I am personally applying it to the work of Herman Hesse (who was analysed by Jung and where the connection to his works has been made before). But can anyone provide references to scholarly articles that do this (again preferably accessible online)?

By the way, I don't know much about the literary criticism tradition, and am generally sceptical of their style, so tips regarding that are also welcome.

judge my photography... please!

heeeraldo — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:09:39 -0800

What are good flickr groups to join for getting criticism about my photos? I've been in a "rate 5, post 1" groups for concert photos and poked around a few others but all I really see is a bunch of back-patting and bad shots with even worse advice. I'd like a group where I could post a photo and find out what I did wrong where and what to do about it next time.

I'll be doing a photography minor when I go in for Bachelor's #2 in a couple years, but in the meantime I'd like to see what I can learn from within the flickr community.

Thanks in advance!
[if you want to judge me, flickr link is in profile and you can MeMail/flickrmail/email or send a pigeon or something.]

Literature sites in spanish?

ersatz — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:52:57 -0800

Do you know any good sites in Spanish about literature, preferably with an emphasis on classic books or writers? Sites about both international and Spanish/Latin American literature are welcome. After recently reading a couple of book reviews in Spanish, I decided to do it more often. Being familiar with some of the books or writers discussed enhances my enjoyment, hence the "classic books" part, but I'd like to know your favorite contemporary literature/reviews/criticism site too.

Searching past questions tagged with Spanish gave me globalvoicesonline.org (and el chiste del caballo verde, but that's another story).

Tear apart my songs!

tmcw — Sat, 03 May 2008 20:56:02 -0800

Where can I find something like Mefi Music, but more... critical? So, I'm recording various things. I've got a summer in which, when I'm not exhausted by an internship / potential homelessness, I'm planning on recording a lot more, of original compositions.

So, I'd like to try out posting quite a few online, and getting a lot of critical feedback. I'd like something like eatpoo's forums, but for music. And somewhere with a community of fairly like-minded (my music, for ref) people. At least not dominated by 'metalheads'

Any ideas? Or would I just be better off going with a MySpace/Purevolume type affair? (extra points: is there a site like MySpace and Purevolume that 1. Doesn't tear down mp3s to 96kbits and autoplay them and 2. Isn't dominated by... you know)

kthxbie

America the Defensive?

lore — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:08:29 -0800

Please help me find an guide to dealing with Americans that deals with how Americans take criticism. A while back I saw something like "A Guide to Doing Business in America" that suggested that Americans tend to take criticism of their ideas personally, as opposed to people of whichever culture would be reading the article. I can't find it now, and Google is not helping.

If anyone can provide a link to this article, or for that matter any other article on how Americans take criticism compared to other contemporary cultures, I'd appreciate it.

Where is a solid online source that defines literary theory?

jackypaper — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:37:29 -0800

Literary Criticism: help me get a handle on it. Is there a good online source (more in-depth than our beloved Wikipedia) that defines and describes such theories as Psychological, Symbolic, Mythological, Archetypal, Feminist, Marxist, Cultural, and Deconstructive? I know I can find this info in hardcopy, but I’m going to be traveling, so I’d rather have a source I can study on my laptop, rather than lugging around a text. Thanks!

Broadway Commentary

LeeJay — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 21:51:46 -0800

Looking for Broadway funnymen...and women! In the spirit of this post, I am looking for theater know-it-alls who comment on theater with a detached but loving sense of humor. I am looking not for the best of the stage but for the best of commentary on popular roles. I am looking for criticism like Rudetsky's, which obviously stems from love of the theater. I want to know about mistakes that theater royalty make and commentary that makes the best of American theater even better.

I want to get to know those who make Broadway their business. Point me toward hilarious theater commentary.

Art Theory and Modern Criticism Sites?

stagewhisper — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:22:57 -0800

Can anyone recommend an excellent art theory and modern criticism site? I'm looking for (as is often stated) the metafilter equivalent of a community or two whose primary focus is art- specifically art history, cultural theory, and art criticism. Ideally I'm hoping to find a community full of lively art related discussions, and one that assumes some degree of prior familiarity with art history and social/political/cultural movements.

In other words, I am not looking for a "how to" site or a site that is primarily for sharing, promoting, and and critiquing one's own artwork. For example, I really enjoy the Painters NYC blog but am hoping to discover additional sites that are less local and updated more frequently.

A quick search of Askme and did not pull up a similar question, although that doesn't mean there isn't one here already. If so, I apologize and would appreciate a link to the previous answers.

Past Movie Reviews/Reactions

hermitosis — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:00:10 -0800

Are there good online resources where you can go to find out how movies were received when they came out? Collections of criticism and/or public reaction?

How can two critical AND sensitive people get along better?

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 09:49:08 -0800

How do two people who are both a) super-sensitive to criticism, real or imagined; b) prone to being critical toward others; and c) married manage to coexist peacefully? My s.o. and I are committed to the long haul, relationship-wise, and in most ways we get along famously.

One way we don't, though, is in the realm of nitmicking/criticism/nagging. We each - proof that god has a wicked sense of humor - tend to do it, hear it and react poorly to it, whether it's real or (more often) imagined, implied in tone of voice or "that look," etc.

This often leads to annoying, exhausting bickering that sometimes escalates into fights over nothing - mostly a test of wills over who said what with what intent, what "really happened," who was slighted and who deserves an apology. Basically, minor details about who's "right," instead of the underlying feelings. (Did I mention we're both control freaks?)

It's the reflex to snap back when you feel someone is unfairly criticizing you, usually in the form of "why-did[n't]-you," "what-were[n't]-you-thinking" statements. Sometimes it's even true, but it's still no healthy way to communicate.

We're well aware of it, we talk openly and lovingly about it once things cool down, we've gone to couples therapy at times and read many books about getting along with your spouse. In short, we know we do it, but deeply ingrained habits (thanks Mom and Dad!) are damned hard to break.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any battle-tested wisdom to share about either end of the equation: avoiding the statements that could be construed as critical; and avoiding the snap-back response. Biting your tongue and growing thicker skin, I guess.

Theories of literary terrorism?

limon — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 11:40:12 -0800

Have any literary theorists or critics, or professors of literature, written about literary terrorism? By literary terrorism, I mean the use of flash violence to shock subvert political or cultural structures. I will especially appreciate studies that explicitly analyze these techniques in comparison with concrete terroristic acts.

Academic writing on video games?

danb — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 18:04:40 -0800

Where can I find smart, theoretical writing about video games? I'm interested in the analysis of video games from an academic perspective. Any discipline is okay -- sociology, psychology, narratology, literary criticism, whatever you've got. I'm just looking for a bit more substance than some two-bit reviewer babbling about the awesome graphics.

Any suggestions? Quality non-academic writing is good too; for example, I enjoyed this essay, which argues that EarthBound has roots in postmodernism.

It snowed last night. I got lucky last month. What's the deal with his handbasket?

es_de_bah — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 06:40:11 -0800

Where is this line from? "I've seen some weather. I've had some intercourse. I don't know where I'm going." I remember writing down the quote, and that it was either about country music (used to sum up the basic themes of the genre) or an actual song lyric. Any ideas?

I know I'm reaching here, but I've brought some pretty obscure, half-formed inklings here before and you guys have always come through, so I figured it was worth a shot.

I'll by the first person who can crack it a drink. Honest!