An Important Thing to Know About Critics! - Issue #39
tommerritt.substack.com
Hey folks,This week I was watching Raised By Wolves for Cordkillers and I realized something. I would enjoy it more if I didn't have to watch it.You see the episode wasn't that great. But I realized that the part of my reaction had to do with the fact that I was imagining talking about what I was seeing on the show. Which made me analyze things closer and question things more than if I was just watching for my own entertainment.If I was just watching, and my attention drifted, I wouldn't feel bad. I could rewind or not. But because I was watching for a show, I fel a responsibility to pay attention. And that attention was not always rewarded. And that made me resentful. I mean not a lot but a little.Which made me realise this is why we often don't understand the opinions of critics. They feel that responsibility when they watch everything. They never get to just relax and enjoy.Don't get me wrong I'm not asking you to feel bad for them. I'm just sayin that the act of watchign something, or reading something for that matter, with the purpose of critiquing it, changes how you experience it. The only way aroudn this would be to not tell someone they'd be critiquing it. Like blind studies but for movie reviews. And I don't think that makes critiques useless. The attention and even the responsibility can really be beneficial in noticing things we wouldn't. Which can help us make our decisions about what to spend our time on. I think we just all need to be aware that there's a sort of Heisenberg uncertainty principle for watching tv and movies or reading books. The act of criticism will chaneg the perception of the art being critiqued.Now off to watch The Batman.Tom
An Important Thing to Know About Critics! - Issue #39
An Important Thing to Know About Critics! …
An Important Thing to Know About Critics! - Issue #39
Hey folks,This week I was watching Raised By Wolves for Cordkillers and I realized something. I would enjoy it more if I didn't have to watch it.You see the episode wasn't that great. But I realized that the part of my reaction had to do with the fact that I was imagining talking about what I was seeing on the show. Which made me analyze things closer and question things more than if I was just watching for my own entertainment.If I was just watching, and my attention drifted, I wouldn't feel bad. I could rewind or not. But because I was watching for a show, I fel a responsibility to pay attention. And that attention was not always rewarded. And that made me resentful. I mean not a lot but a little.Which made me realise this is why we often don't understand the opinions of critics. They feel that responsibility when they watch everything. They never get to just relax and enjoy.Don't get me wrong I'm not asking you to feel bad for them. I'm just sayin that the act of watchign something, or reading something for that matter, with the purpose of critiquing it, changes how you experience it. The only way aroudn this would be to not tell someone they'd be critiquing it. Like blind studies but for movie reviews. And I don't think that makes critiques useless. The attention and even the responsibility can really be beneficial in noticing things we wouldn't. Which can help us make our decisions about what to spend our time on. I think we just all need to be aware that there's a sort of Heisenberg uncertainty principle for watching tv and movies or reading books. The act of criticism will chaneg the perception of the art being critiqued.Now off to watch The Batman.Tom