Critical Inclusions | Последние новости сегодня в мире культуры



Critical Inclusions
Critical Inclusions
Культура

There has been much discussion of a recent USC study suggesting that film critics, as a group, are disproportionately white and male. You could quibble with methodology (some say Rotten Tomatoes is a useful, easy-to-access measuring stick but far from comprehensive; I think it’s a fair cross-section of the critical community) if you wanted to, but, honestly, it feels pretty accurate to me. Women, non-white writers, and, as I have noted elsewhere, conservatives, are pretty underrepresented in the world of film criticism.

There has been much discussion of a recent USC study suggesting that film critics, as a group, are disproportionately white and male. You could quibble with methodology if you wanted to (some say Rotten Tomatoes is a useful, easy-to-access measuring stick but far from comprehensive; I think its a fair cross-section of the critical community), but, honestly, it feels pretty accurate to me. Women, non-white writers, and, as I have noted elsewhere, conservatives, are pretty underrepresented in the world of film criticism. So lets grant that the numbers are accurate and move on. The question is, then, what do we do with the information? And, honestly, Im not really sure. Is Brie Larson right when she suggests that certain critical voices shouldnt matter for certain movies? Heres the future Captain Marvel: Larson elicited applause when she said she didnt need "a white dude to tell me what didnt work for him about ‘[A] Wrinkle in Time." "It wasnt made for him," Larson said. "I want to know what that film meant to women of color, to biracial women, to teen women of color, to teens that are biracial. And for the third time, I dont hate white dudes. These are just facts, these are not my feelings." And while this is very woke of Ms. Larson, I sense two issues with her theory of criticism. The first is that she doesnt actually have to read old white men to find out A Wrinkle in Time is not particularly good; there are plenty of women and minorities who are happy to fill her in on that fact: But theres a bigger, more troubling issue with Larsons line of thinking: the presumption that certain people are more prone to appreciating specific works of art because they fit into some broader category of gender or race or whatever. As Jessica Ritchey noted in Mel Magazine after an Internet gadfly suggested Vertigo is only considered a good movie because "lol white men amirite," this is kind of gross: One of the most exhausting aspects of our current cultural moment are the "ugh, only straight white men like this" takes that completely erase the voices of female critics, critics of color and fans who don’t fit neatly into binaries of who "should" like/dislike something. It’s part of a larger and much more pernicious problem — mistaking pop-culture consumption for moral worth as opposed to, you know, how we carry ourselves every day; how we treat other people; and how we support (or don’t) the causes that matter to us. Instead, we equate what someone watches on Netflix as the mark of a good/bad person. Art is complicated; art is messy; art doesnt fit into neat little boxes. Sure, A Wrinkle in Time got hammered. But Moonlight is a film about a gay black man that was nigh-on unanimously praised by the straight-white-male critical corps. Girls Trip is a film about black women that clocked in at 90 percent fresh. Black Panther? 97 percent approval rating. Im not sure a more diverse array of voices would actually change that much when it comes to a bad films reception, at least in the extremely reductive sense of a films RT score. In a less reductive sense, however, we can see why more perspectives are better than fewer. The best piece of film writing Ive read this year was Moeko Fujiis essay on Isle of Dogs for the New Yorker. Fujiis rumination on the ways translation can add to, or detract from, our understanding of the world, one of the films key themes, was particularly good: Anderson is a white, non-Japanese director, but had he not been interested in the power dynamics behind translation, and instead made a twee fever dream imitating Japanese aesthetics, "Isle of Dogs" would have looked and sounded a lot different. His commitment to showing the daily rhythms of a living, breathing Japanese people reveals itself not only in his cast of twenty-three Japanese actors but in his depictions of how exactly a Japanese TV-news anchor transitions to a new topic ("This is the next news"), what milk cartons for elementary schools look like (labelled "extra-thick"), or how a couple of scientists might celebrate—with a clink, "Yo—oh!," and a clap. … Language is power. "Isle of Dogs" knows this. It shows the seams of translation, and demarcates a space that is accessible—and funny—only to Japanese viewers. One of the most potent shots in the film is of graffiti on gray cement. A large black scrawl asks, "Douyatte bokura wo korosu tsumori?" How on earth do you plan on killing us? For most viewers, it’s a mark on the wall. For Japanese ones, it’s a battle cry. So, by all means, try to find a way to achieve a greater level of diversity in the world of criticism. The critical corps could use a better mix of men and women, black and Hispanic and Asian and white, left and right. But lets not presume that critics of a certain race or gender cant see a mediocrity for what it is—or that mediocre works will suddenly become critical darlings once we open up the floodgates.
Free Beacon
    2018-06-14 22:42:58


Tamino: The new Sound of the Nile?
Tamino: The new Sound of the Nile?
Культура
The singer and grandson of celebrated Egyptian star Moharam Fouad on mixing his European upbringing with his middle eastern roots.
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Blackfishing: The women accused of pretending to be black
Blackfishing: The women accused of pretending to be black
Культура
Newsbeat speaks to two influencers accused of blackfishing and looks at why its so controversial.
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Katie Price: The ups and downs of her life
Katie Price: The ups and downs of her life
Культура
From a £1million wedding to narrowly escaping bankruptcy - the Pricey has had a turbulent life and career.
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RuPaul’s Drag Race coming to BBC Three in 2019
RuPaul’s Drag Race coming to BBC Three in 2019
Культура
The global reality TV hit will be on the hunt for a new Queen of Great Britain.
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BBC drops plans for Brexit TV debate between May and Corbyn
BBC drops plans for Brexit TV debate between May and Corbyn
Культура
The broadcaster offered to air a debate, but Labour had criticised the proposed format.
BBC
    2018-12-05 01:35:18


Cromer Pier a star of BBC One this Christmas
Cromer Pier a star of BBC One this Christmas
Культура
Cromer appears in BBC One idents before programmes and a short film about spending time with family.
BBC
    2018-12-05 01:07:05


Turner Prize 2018: Film-using art activists in the running
Turner Prize 2018: Film-using art activists in the running
Культура
Video and film dominate the shortlist for this years prize, whose winner is announced later.
BBC
    2018-12-04 13:36:16


YouTube top earners: The seven-year-old making $22m
YouTube top earners: The seven-year-old making $22m
Культура
An American boy who reviews toys is this years highest-earning YouTube star, according to Forbes.
BBC
    2018-12-03 22:05:34


2018 WAFCA Winners
2018 WAFCA Winners
Культура

As a film critic of medium-low importance, one of my most sacred duties is participating in the Washington Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) year-end awards extravaganza. During this hallowed time of year, I watch dozens of movies and mine my own recollection of the good, the bad, and the ugly to determine what, precisely, the best films of the year were. At the end of this grueling process—this death march through endless stacks of DVDs, searching for the rarest pearl in an ever-increasing sea of muck—we WAFCA members nominate up to five films/people in each category. The five films/people who earn the most votes in every category are then voted upon by the whole of the membership, the winners are chosen, the press release is sent out, and blessed, blessed relief descends upon us as we put the exercise to rest for 11 months.

Free Beacon
    2018-12-03 18:07:03


PewDiePie in battle with T-Series to keep top YouTube spot
PewDiePie in battle with T-Series to keep top YouTube spot
Культура
PewDiePie is battling Indian channel T-Series in a bid to remain the YouTuber with the most subscribers.
BBC
    2018-12-03 15:36:30


Take That have fastest-selling album of 2018 so far
Take That have fastest-selling album of 2018 so far
Культура
Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owens greatest hits tops the UK chart on its first week of release.
BBC
    2018-11-30 20:06:52

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