Music

Music

Hello everybody and welcome to this cinephiles live episode. For right now it is just me, the outlaw, John Roca, but I know my partner Steve Morris will be jumping on here in just a second.

We're going to get into this big conversation here about film criticism or fans rather versus film criticism and without further ado, let's bring on my co-host here who has popped on Steve Morris.

Hello. Hello. Hello. Listen, it wasn't that easy getting here. I was in the mountains. There was snow. There was a river. There were two kids. There was traffic. There were constant root changes and yet I care.

I care about the cinephiles family and I am here for all of you. So I'm ready. I'm ready to go. What is it we're talking about again?

We're talking about fans versus film critics and a pining and talking about whether this is leading or ushering or hastening the death of film criticism.

This is something that I pitched to Steve because of the A.O. Scott article that he wrote about a month ago and I talked about it on the nation on one of my episodes last week and I wanted to dive in further with Steve about it. He was gracious to be like, yeah, hell yeah, let's make this our main topic for this cinephiles live episode.

Because as a person who has a feet firmly planted in both worlds, I have found myself in such a weird position in between the fandoms, the fans and the critics being part of both and I'm just so concerned about what's happening because as I've been doing research for this episode,

this is the 2222 was the biggest divide between critics scores and fans scores in the history of film and that is causing me a lot of concern as we approach this and I thought Steve and I would have a fantastic conversation discussing it.

I just let you all know the stream labs and super chats are open so if you want to send your questions, thoughts and comments and guarantee they'll be read send in super chats and stream labs and they will be so Steve when you when I propose this idea to you when I when I floated this possibility to you,

what made you be excited about talking about this here as a cinephiles live episode?

Well, I think that what's happening with fans and movies and fandom is a symptom of what's happening everywhere and that and that's sort of why I wanted I was good to talk about it is I think first of all, I think we've lost track of what film criticism or what criticism is supposed to be.

We've lost track of because of things online we've lost track of a certain sense of of decorum and sensitivity and humanness and compassion and all of those things and the desire to attack is just so destructive and you know I've gotten my share of it you've gotten even bigger.

And it's like it's not that I don't believe that people shouldn't be passionate about the things they're passionate about.

Sure, I think passion about movies, books, ideas, politics, philosophy, everything passions great attacks are not and I guess that's why it was something I wanted to talk about.

Yeah, I agree and that's something that I'm I look at and I see and listen, it's not like we I mean part of becoming a film fan right let's just stop there a fan of films a cinephile which is of course our namesake for a podcast but part of becoming a fan of films is finding those other people who are also fans of films and then sitting at school lunch sitting outside after school going out hanging out going to the bike ride or hanging out.

Planned video games and you debate the film what do you like the film we didn't like the film what you enjoyed about the film those are the beginnings of film criticism for the people that become film critics those are the places where that those seeds are planted those ideas are born and then you go and seek out other film critics that have already been established have already been part of the pop culture zeitgeist of film critics and you read their reviews to give you a better idea of how to analyze film.

And how to break it all down I think too much nowadays we're lost in this idea that I can do it if he can do it I can do she can do it I can do anybody can do it.

And that's why you've had the birth of 700 million YouTube channels but the truth is being able to actually analyze the film and break it down and take a piece by piece and understand the themes and the symbolism and what the filmmaker was going for is very different than something like yeah I enjoyed that that was fun or it was fun.

That was fun or it was cool you know there's more to it and I think what's happening now is what you've said Steve I think so well is that fans are starting to feel attacked by critics and they're starting to fear that critics are causing problems for their franchises.

And I mean all fans right the more toxic fandom elements are starting to see and set their sights on critics and start to go after them for as you said painting them as the elite the snooty the dismissive.

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