The Tragic State of Film Criticism
It is safe to say that the last year has been one of the most challenging years many individuals, including myself, have ever faced. In the time of quarantine, when simply leaving your house became both a life-threatening and illegal activity, many have fallen into vats of depression and sorrow simply trying to make it through the day. This year also has easily been the biggest year I have ever had as a critic, truly becoming part of multiple sites and making connections through Film Twitter like never before. However, in this, a darkness started to present itself and though Film Twitter is far from the only thing in the world to lead me to a negative spiral, it was clearly a major piece of the puzzle. Coming off of a 3am panic attack, I decided I needed a change and made a plan for action which included taking an extended break from writing reviews and features. Yet, I am also someone who cannot truly deal with something without expressing it which leads me to this piece. While I truly hope not to offend or hurt anyone with these statements, the state of film criticism has become genuinely one of the most frustrating and awful pieces of my day, and in order to move on with my life as a critic, I need to air my grievances.
In no way do I claim to be the all-knowing god of film criticism who can do no wrong. I am just a kid who likes talking about movies. I started reviewing films during high school in October 2015 and, since then, I have bounced between mediums and services to do what I enjoy most: talking about films. I spent years on Youtube doing video reviews before switching over to writing for a personal blog and then joining forces with some truly incredible people on some amazing sites. This reflection comes strictly from my personal experience and observations and, although I am sure this will rub plenty the wrong way, it truly feels like it needs to be said.
If there is one word to describe the vast majority of the discourse on Film Twitter anymore it would be "mindless." Of course, when I started film criticism I was quick to buy into trends and hype for various films; and I still stand by most of my opinions on those. Sure, there was the occasional film, on which I swayed against the general public, but largely I seemed pretty ok with the so-called "popular" opinions. Recently that has changed. I find myself becoming more and more confused and taken aback by takes I find on Film Twitter, and I have thought recently as to why this has bothered me so much. The obvious answer would be that I simply disagree with their opinions and think that they are wrong, but I genuinely don't feel like that is it. My friend Jakub Flasz (@talkaboutfilm) has some of the craziest opinions regarding film I have ever heard and we disagree much more than we agree, yet Jakub quickly has become one of my favorite people to talk to regarding film. So if Jakub can disagree with me and I find our interactions rewarding, but not Film Twitter, what is the difference? Simply put, Jakub is competent regarding his own opinions.
Film Twitter has strangely started to resemble a group of white women following Jared Leto to a deserted island to form a cult more than a group of reasonable humans discussing art. There are clear leaders in the Film Twitter world and largely it seems like everyone blindly just follows what they say. It has become increasingly harder to find hot takes, but even worse, it has become even harder to find individuals who can competently explain why they have the opinions that they do. Instead, they blindly follow either individuals or subscribe to a stan culture, which speaks to a much larger issue within Film Twitter: the pathetic desperation to become popular.
It genuinely feels lamentable how many people have decided to dedicate their online identities to playing the game for empty likes and follows. I know multiple people personally who fake opinions and jump between takes depending on whatever will make them seem the coolest and most relatable in a situation, as if being famous on Letterboxd truly meant something. People are so afraid that they might offend or alienate possible followers that they have sold their souls to trends and mindlessly regurgitate the most popular takes. There is no critical thought in this, no true criticism, no brain cells, just worthless messages and takes that do absolutely nothing for anyone.
Worst of all, these takes do nothing for film itself. The ability to attend online film festivals has brought out truly the worst when it comes to the world of modern film criticism. Not only have these festivals proved themselves as jokes who fail to actually support diverse voices in multiple ways and then claim like they actually are doing something, like TIFF bragging about only 57% of their accredited press not being straight white men (meaning 43% are straight white men), but those who are accredited often fail on epic proportions to even come close to doing their responsibility justice. Countless critics brag about their acceptance as press – something incredibly hard to come by – only to limit their viewing and reviews to the most popular films, leaving the smaller and often more diverse voices in the bin with no attention or love! Again, this is a clear sign of valuing popularity over actually being a good critic and having a love of film. These are the films that are going to get the most likes and clicks, so why even bother with the other films, no matter how diverse their perspectives are or how much they can benefit from the exposure.
The most frustrating part is that this mindset works. It genuinely destroys me to think that pathetic, so-called critics who take their accessibility and opportunity for granted get thousands of likes and followers while someone like Alina Faulds (@alinafaulds) – an incredibly well-written woman of color who attended TIFF on her own money and made it a point to seek out diverse voices – is stuck under 300 Twitter followers. The Film Twitter machine is genuinely one of the most unrewarding and worthless systems out there that continually does more harm than good to the state of film criticism.
Yet there is no way around it for critics who want to participate in the conversation surrounding films and have their voices heard. Naturally, this becomes self-sabotaging, as I feel inadequate at 600 followers when others who take the cheapest and least respectable route gain thousands. With each passing each day, it becomes ever more apparent that film criticism is dying. While I would never wish or support gatekeeping of any hobby or industry, the influx of the mainstream population entering film criticism with the goal of simply becoming popular as quickly as possible while also doing as little work as possible has made the system toxic and largely worthless.
With this outlook, a natural question arises that I have asked myself recently: why not just quit? There is nothing legally keeping me in the hobby of film criticism, and I don't make a substantial amount of money from the activity, so why continue? Well, the first answer is simply because I love it. I love talking about films, and I would feel empty not expressing myself (something I clearly need to do, I mean look at this statement I am writing now!). But also it is because of those I have met along the way. For every stan account or idiotic individual, there is some smaller critic trying their best and it genuinely is an honor to know some of these people. Those at websites like Clapper and Filmotomy genuinely have kept my fire burning as a critic and talking with these individuals reminds me why I love talking about film so much. Even as the world of Film Twitter is on fire, these individuals, among a handful of others, truly are why I love this at all.
This statement will change nothing and I am not delusional to that fact. This is a machine that will turn until it eventually self-destructs, but with that understanding, I have taken a new outlook to my online presence. Simply put, I don't care. I have never been into this for the money and clearly that isn't going to start now – though if someone wants to pay me, I would definitely take it! I know who I respect and I will continue to enjoy the time I get to spend with them talking about an art I love. From podcasts to reading their reviews, this is the true magic of movies. They have the ability to bring us together and allow us to push each other and when both parties are not just respectful but also competent in their views, no matter how different those are, it can be a beautiful thing to interact with them. If you are someone who is doing this for cheap likes, I hope you take a moment to truly think about this and hopefully change your ways. But again, I don’t expect it and, at this point, I really couldn’t care less.
