By: James Southworth
Being a critic is always going to come with its own set of contentious problems. You have to remind yourself daily that not everyone is going to agree with your opinion, and that no matter how justified you feel in your analysis of something, that doesn't make your analysis accurate. There is a stereotype around critics being pretentious and highbrow, and that stereotype exists for a reason. There are some critics where it seems there is no pleasing them, unless whatever they are reviewing comes from a very particular thing of their highly biased preference. There are many, many critics out there who don't accept other people's opinions and only consider theirs to be the right one. As a critic myself, I have always attempted to avoid that mentality and just be someone who honestly informs someone what I think. I'll be clear in my opinion, but I will always be interested to hear what other people have to say, as long as their views don't bring out some harmful or clearly hateful mentality.
Let's take the extremist critics out of the conversation for the sake of this commentary. Like all other types of extremists, these types of critics are a fringe group and they deserve the call-outs of their obvious hypocrisy. I just want us to consider right now the critics who are at least sensible people: the ones who won't hide their opinions, but at the same time won't pretend that their opinion is the only one in the sphere of existence. I don't think there's any denying that even these critics are under attack by the artists they talk about. There is clear evidence of this on social media all the time. Just go to Twitter and you'll see a tweet by relatively new singer Lizzo about how reviewers should be "unemployed" because they don't 'make' the music they criticize. I've seen singers from some of my favorite bands saying that practically every aspect of what a reviewer expresses is completely invalid. Some singers have even gone out of their way to say that all critics are "hurtful" or "hateful". Heck, you can't really escape any type of music scene these days without a song that calls out the "haters". I think the term 'hater' is an obvious coding artists use to represent anyone who would criticize their work negatively in any way. While I would say that this mentality is more obviously pervasive in the music community, the movie and TV community doesn't escape it either. The creators of the movie "Unplanned" called out Rotten Tomatoes for trying to censor their movie due to negative reviews. Actress Brie Larson and streaming conglomerate Netflix were quick to call out someone who thought she was doing her directorial debut too early into her career. All of this creates a clear picture of what I would refer to as the "Artist vs. Critic" Mentality.
In its most simple of terms, I would describe this mentality as such: a person is not allowed to critique a work an artist has created, especially if that person does not have experience in creating products from the artist's medium of work. Before I go into my problems with this mentality, let me attempt to be balanced and see where the artist is coming from. It's not easy to have your work negatively criticized, especially if it's something you feel that you've put your all into. For example, I often do appreciate receiving constructive criticism on my acting. However, there is a inner, bitter part of me that wants to say to the person telling me what I need to improve, "You're wrong! What do you know?". And that feedback I'm receiving is often coming from someone who is realistically more experienced in the realm of theater than I am. I'm just saying that I get it. This goes beyond art: it's an inherent truth that most of us don't like to deal with negativity of any kind directed at us. I think most people secretly would rather have people simply give them flowery praise and compliments. But, many people do realize that criticism is just an expected part of life. Nothing is objectively perfect; therefore, no art form is beyond criticism. But, some artists out there seem to think the opposite. There are some out there who seem to think that their art is inherently perfect because they put their all into it. I think some artists may even think that the "flaws" that might exist only add to the perfection of their product that much more. This can be seen as an arrogant mentality from the outside. However, to the artist, I think that they might see criticism of their work as a direct front and personal attack on them. This is where the us vs. them feeling is created. The artist feels like they are being attacked by the critic; therefore, they feel it is justified to go out of their way to attack the critic in the same way.
And this is where the critics begin to feel like they are being wronged, and critics can unleash their own form of hypocrisy, but it's not entirely unjustified. As a critic myself, I just can't understand the idea that because you don't create a certain art, you aren't allowed to criticize it. So, because I don't create my own, original food recipes, I'm not allowed to critique a restaurant when their food tastes bad? I'm not allowed to critique a movie when it has some things that I view as clear flaws that weaken the product as a whole? I think some artists may not even realize that some critics actually do have some experience in the field they are discussing. I would be willing to bet that though some music critics have not explicitly produced their own album, they still extensively delve into music and inform themselves on multiple genres. Or, they laser focus research into one or two genres they're passionate about. And some critics who actually DO make their own music. One critic I occasionally watch is clearly well-versed in playing the piano, and another has released their own EP. The same goes for movie critics, as some critics I watch have made their own short films or have written script ideas. I would still argue that even if critic doesn't produce their own music or films, they still have the right to critique a product if they feel there are problems with it. I would even say it's okay to point out problems with an artist's personality, as it is incredibly difficult to separate artist from their art (but that is a very complicated argument for another time). However, critics do need to realize that they, too, are not beyond criticism from others. I feel like critics (myself included) can get into this rut of believing that no one can understand what we do; therefore, people shouldn't be calling us out for the way we write or discuss our opinions. This is its own form of hypocrisy, and should not be indulged. We look no better than the artists who do the same thing. In fact, in some ways we look worse. In our wheelhouse, we should have an even thicker skin against valid negative criticism.
The bigger question is this: is there a way to solve this rift put between artists and critics? I give a hesitant "yes" to this answer. Realistically, I don't think this solution will be reached any time in the near future. I think artists and critics should be more in conversation with one another, trying to understand each other. These conversations need to go beyond the petty social media feuds I see constantly. It's often the same song and dance, with neither side coming to a satisfying resolution with the other. Both sides are left feeling that they are still in the right, and the other side is in the wrong. I think there has to be a common ground to be found. Artists and critics are both passionate about their crafts, and both feel they pour their heart and soul into what they do. That's why artists passionately promote their (hopefully) unfiltered art, and that is why critics passionately put out their (hopefully) legitimate opinions. There is a clear connection here that makes artists and critics have more in common than we might initially realize. I hope we might be able to start at this base at some point int time. For now, the "Artist vs. Critic" Mentality remains. I will continue to have my problems with it for as long as it continues.
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