Were critics of WWI un-american?
Protest of war is not an unAmerican activity. It is the right of every American to exercise their right of self expression. If the expression of ones belief is in opposition to the current politically held ideals then it may be the others would tend to call it unAmerican activity by virtue of being in opposition even if it is not unAmerican.
Do you trust movie critics?
I’ve always loved movies, not just watching them, but more like devouring them.While I was growing up I used to slavishly follow the movie critiques of Siskel and Ebert, first on PBS, then through syndication. I wanted to know how people who were educated about film, and had the lexicon to discuss movies talked about my favorite films.What I learned was that I agreed more with Roger Ebert than Gene Siskel. And I learned something else too…They often didn’t like the films I enjoyed the most.The internet became ubiquitous in the 90s but it’s really been the last ten years that movie critics have become mostly irrelevant. Most people look at the aggregated viewer scores on Rotten Tomatoes or the aggregated critic scores on Metacritic to get some idea of how good a movie is.However, even that is a poor indicator, at least for me.My minor in college was Film and Video Studies under the English department. My compositions for six years were based on watching movies and figuring out what worked, and what didn’t. Now I’m educated on talking about films. I have that lexicon, and I’ve absorbed movies from long ago until the present.So, now I’ve become a critic myself. I share my reviews here on Quora. But unlike a lot of professional critics, I try hard to not forget that films are meant to entertain you. My own reviews have been shaped by my experience with critics in the past.One of the things I don’t like about professional movie critics is that they watch so damn many movies that they get jaded about the films they watch. They become stone-hearted.They are so concerned with being critical that they lose the ability to simply be moved by a film unless it challenges them intellectually. I get it, because I enjoy that too, but if that’s your sole criteria for a movie then you’ve got a blind-side the size of Kim Kardashian’s backside.The reason why people don’t trust movie critics is because they routinely miss the heart in a film, or how much fun a film can be.The internet has brought out a lot of cynicism in the movie-going public as well. Much of the aggregated movie reviews miss the mark for me too—and I suspect for many others.What I still enjoy about reading the reviews of professional movie critics is getting that deep dive debate on film technique and themes of a film, and how the creators presented their unique art form.But I don’t trust critics to decide on whether I go see a movie or not. Most of them are too jaded to enjoy many of the movies I love.
Who are some of the best living art critics from the US?
I can only really answer for fine art. It depends if you're looking for someone who's more journalistic or academic. Basically a light read or a heavy read.The most famous is Jerry Saltz, lead critic for the New Yorker. He's a very flamboyant writer, but he mostly reviews shows and doesn't seem to have much of an underlying philosophy.Peter Schjedahl also writes for the New Yorker, he's an older and slower writer who has a better knowledge about poetry. He's also published quite a few artist biographies.David Hickey is maybe the most accessible. He's a sort of rough Texan art dealer who writes about the Art market and contemporary culture. He comes from a background of dealing with conceptual art in the 70s.If you want someone more academic then Robert Storr is probably the most renowned. He was director of Yale School of Art until last year. He's much more of an insider and really knows the workings of the system. He's curated a few biennales in his time.Another brilliant Academic writer who's one of my favourites is Hal Foster. He was part of the ‘October School', a group of writers who split from Art Forum magazine in the 70s to found the journal ‘October'. Its still probably the most respected Art Journal, apart from Art Forum. He and Rosalind Krause are the two best well known from the October School, both post-structuralists and very high minded. Some people would consider them more as contemporary art historians than critics though.Finally, Sarah Thornton is a really good writer. She describes herself as an ‘Art Sociologist' because basically she conducts dozens of interviews with contemporary artists to try to find out what the contemporary art world is like. Her books ‘7 days in the art world' and ’33 artists in 3 acts' are both brilliant.
Why do we need professional critics?
good question, we actually don't need professional critics purely due to the popularity of the internet. Rating websites for movies such as imdb and equivalent sites for music and video games will give better ratings for movies than a critic will ever do. It is the result of "collective intelligence", which is superior to a single person's intelligence. So critics are dead.
Why is self criticism so important for us?
Criticism, especially practiced with priority as self-criticism is a wonderful idea to hone our thinking processes. When we critically view our thought patterns, leads, plans and schedules, we in fact are doing double favor to ourselves. WE ARE EXPOSING OURSELVES TO ALL STATES OF EVENTUALITIES TO REDUCE ERROR MARGIN AND CONTROL OF ERROR OCCURRENCE PROBABILITY. In addition, we are cleaning our brain pathways ridding ourselves of toxins and waste products by allowing more blood flow in particular areas that become active in our day to day dynamic life activity.While criticizing others is a bit risky affair, self-criticism is a boon. We play our game with control in our hands. We may exercise neutrality and take actions accordingly. An internet search can be made to get the material:Why Being Self-Critical Can Make You a Stronger FounderThe importance of criticism - David CampbellHope this helps, Daniel.
Has the Internet Changed the Propaganda Model?
Noam Chumpsky would know. He is a famous communist propagandist.