Who’s A Critic Now?

I found this when I was cleaning a file cabinet of old writing. I wrote it almost 20 years ago. I thought it was a hoot to read. Little did I know that one day I would be a blogger doing her best to change the situation.

“I have some harsh and critical opinions about critics. They never get anything right. I’m convinced that all movie critics are 25 year old still-pubescent males whose critical frame of reference doesn’t extend beyond gross, cool, or bad attitude.

“My problem with critics stems from the unmistakable fact that I’m not a 25 year old still-hormonally-overwhelmed male. I am a 55 year old barely-hormonally-reminiscent female.

“I willingly grant space in the universe to those who think Nine Inch Nails sound better than Sarah Vaughn and to those who find Sylvester Stallone more entertaining than Robert Redford. But the voice of the critic, the voice of the opinion shaper, the voice that sends-in or keeps-out the audience, is the voice of a 25 year old you-know-who.”

The essay went on at length, but I won’t bore you with more of it. I merely use it to illustrate how long I’ve been stewing over this sort of thing.

In the years since bloggers took over the written word, I found critics that seemed to speak to me. They were usually women, but often older men. They are ordinary people like me, not rarefied professional critics in far off New York. And the best part is, bloggers have influenced the media landscape and helped to bring changes. So, who’s a critic now?