Critiquing the Critics: Are they critiquing, criticizing, or just paid shills?

[battlewraith]

1 hour ago, Excraft said:

Again, what well is being poisoned?

Maybe look up the expression if you still don't get it? The well in this instance would be the conceit that he is an impartial critic. 

A one-word review is a crap review. However the "appalling" is not a review, it's a tagline. There's a link to the slightly longer full review, which is also succinct and dismissive but was done in 2015. 15 years after the movie was released, so it's hard to really see that as poisoning the well. And the example you're using here is ....Battlefield Earth. 

 

Having or sharing an agenda doesn't mean agreeing on everything or behaving the same way every time. 

 

Like I said, I've watched a couple videos and looked over his review titles (eg. "The Message" is Dead--Snow White was the Funeral). I don't hold him to the same standard as other critics because he's been referenced here to pre-shit on movies. If people were leaning on other people to the same extent, I'd scrutinize them as well.

 

All good? 

 

[Excraft]

45 minutes ago, battlewraith said:

Maybe look up the expression if you still don't get it? The well in this instance would be the conceit that he is an impartial critic. 

 

I don't see anyone suggesting he's impartial.  I certainly don't think he is.  I don't think anyone offering up their opinion on any topic is impartial.

 

46 minutes ago, battlewraith said:

A one-word review is a crap review. However the "appalling" is not a review, it's a tagline.  There's a link to the slightly longer full review

 

Right.  Just like Critical Drinker having "The Message" is Dead--Snow White was the Funeral" in his tagline and thumbnail imagery, and then has a longer full review in his video.

 

47 minutes ago, battlewraith said:

I don't hold him to the same standard as other critics because he's been referenced here to pre-shit on movies.

 

Again, that's his schtick.  You know it's his schtick.  Pre-shitting on movies is his thing.  Let him do it and don't watch his content.  It doesn't prevent you from enjoying a movie.  If people out there want to like his content, let them. 

 

[battlewraith]

6 minutes ago, Excraft said:

I don't think anyone offering up their opinion on any topic is impartial.

Then you miss the point of a lot of human endeavor. 

8 minutes ago, Excraft said:

Again, that's his schtick.  You know it's his schtick.  Pre-shitting on movies is his thing.

Yes, he's a grifter. He's delivering a formula to his audience. That's what I've been saying.

If people want to enjoy that,  whatever. If they mention it here, I feel like I can comment on it.

Is that okay with you?

[Excraft]

1 minute ago, battlewraith said:

Then you miss the point of a lot of human endeavor. 

 

Whatever.

 

1 minute ago, battlewraith said:

Yes, he's a grifter. He's delivering a formula to his audience. That's what I've been saying.

 

I understand.  I don't disagree.  I also don't see anyone else suggesting otherwise.

 

1 minute ago, battlewraith said:

If people want to enjoy that,  whatever. If they mention it here, I feel like I can comment on it.

 

No one suggested you can't comment on it. 

[Excraft]

I forgot to mention in my earlier post, the link to the Battlefield Earth review was just an example to show that even these "legitimate/major" outlets are doing the same thing as these "hacks" to get clicks.  They could promote are more subtle and nuanced bad review right on the listing page, instead they went with a 1 word tagline from a "top critic".  They're all doing the same thing. 

[El D]

2 hours ago, Excraft said:

I forgot to mention in my earlier post, the link to the Battlefield Earth review was just an example to show that even these "legitimate/major" outlets are doing the same thing as these "hacks" to get clicks.  They could promote are more subtle and nuanced bad review right on the listing page, instead they went with a 1 word tagline from a "top critic".  They're all doing the same thing. 

 

A one word review from ten years ago for a move released twenty-five years ago is not remotely equivalent to the context of modern internet 'reaction critics' whose entire personas and ad marketability are built around culture war nonsense. That one word review is actually a surprising comment - not by someone who has seen Battlefield Earth, but from the author. For modern 'critics' like Drinker (and reactor-types, like Tyrone Magnus, StarWarsTheory, etc.) there is no surprise in their reviews because it's the same regardless of the movie. They repeat the same script each time because the script is their revenue stream. 'Female character? UGH, girlbosses am I right? More like M-She-U' is what gets them ad money and clicks, it's what keeps their audience coming back to feel validated, so it's become what they have to say each time. Which is why, inevitably, they run the same script on something where even their return audience goes 'Hey, that's not what happened' - like with Thunderbolts. Or with Andor, where the overall reaction and objective quality of the content is so sterling even they can't spin the usual pablum about it.

 

To tighten focus back, all that ties into why there was even a 'We know where this is going...' comment posted about Superman in the first place, referenced earlier in this thread. Before the film has even released these 'critics' are priming their audience to expect the usual reaction, inherently attempting to pivot to their spiel and preemptive apply it to a movie they haven't even seen. It's what @battlewraith has been posting about via poisoning the well. They can't ever go 'hey, see it without thinking of my comments and find out for yourself' because, as with Thunderbolts and Andor, their audience getting an unbiased viewing might mean they don't agree with the revenue script anymore.

[Excraft]

19 hours ago, El D said:

A one word review from ten years ago for a move released twenty-five years ago is not remotely equivalent to the context of modern internet 'reaction critics' whose entire personas and ad marketability are built around culture war nonsense.

 

You've misunderstood.  This isn't what I was suggesting.  The comment was regarding video titles and such of these YouTubers immediately being negative and "poisoning the well".  This was just one example from another source including immediately negative words or sentences from a full review.  That's all.  There are plenty of others there for modern films as well.  It was not meant to say modern internet critics are right and everything they say is true or to validate their cultural beliefs and other nonsense they promote.  That's all.

[TTRPGWhiz]

A small but relevant FYI on the topic of fake quotes:

https://thatparkplace.com/lois-lane-actress-rachel-brosnahan-never-said-superman-is-not-for-everyone/

A Superman For All Seasons.

Edited Monday at 09:05 PM by TTRPGWhiz