Friday, April 5, 2013
The Jaded Empire: The Contemporary Attitude of Criticism
I'm not sure how this happened, or why, but it's disgusting. Our world has become saturated with criticism. It has reached a point such that any work that is published gets immediately attacked by vast amounts of hate, both online and offline. For example: The Dark Knight Rises. Was it a perfect movie? No. Was it really well crafted and, well, entertaining? Yes. People have gotten to a point where they criticize every new release, and it's really surprising to me. When I watch a movie or play a game, I usually ignore a lot of the media and fan feedback until after I've completed them. This means that I, as an optimist, get really surprised when I get online, or talk with other fans about these works. A couple of examples: The ending to Mass Effect 3, the ending to Assassin's Creed 3, or the Dark Knight Rises. People just cannot be satisfied anymore. We are just saturated with so much media, and specifically with so much criticism that it has become second nature, though most of us are no good at it.
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Could it be that the "contemporary attitude of criticism" is a sign of human progress? Might it indicate that the human intellect is expanding such that people generally long for better explanations and better stories?
ReplyDeleteIt may be that the (growing) human capacity for critical thought is an important force that improves our entertainment. Of course, that's not to say that we can't find value in the old stories; I simply mean to say that our stories make appeals to our intellect, and if the human intellect demands greater stories, we might expect to see our stories improve.
Perhaps, but I think it has more to do with a growing cynicism among the human race, a capacity not for intellect, but for negativism. We've been trained more and more to only see then negative, and that is where the focus of our feedback lies. We fail to see the greatness and beauty of contemporary art because we are so caught up in the human faults and flaws. Of course art is flawed, including narrative art, but how can we afford to sacrifice the joy and beauty of celebrating that art for the cheap and base experience of superiority one gets when criticizing it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that a tendency to see only the negative is very detrimental. The human capacity for critical thought can only serve the function I've described above if it takes in multiple perspectives.
DeleteI agree that there is probably a significant trade-off between criticism and positive enjoyment. However, I think that our concern should be to address the need for multiple perspectives within the critical mindset, rather than ruling it out as a form of enjoyment. If consumers can consider the merits and the downfalls of a work, they can come to know it more intimately and enjoy their exposure to it in a particularly human fashion; however, if they haphazardly dismiss the work simply because they find themselves capable of identifying flaws, then they may never appreciate art again.
I love that you are an optimist. It is one of your best features.
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