(apologies to Joe Friday from Dragnet for mangling his line 🙂 )
I recently read a review/opinion piece on one of the big tentpole movies out now in which the reviewer tore open several issues the movie dodged.
They prefaced the piece by saying they hadn’t seen the movie yet and wrapped several core pieces of their argument around reviews and opinions they’d read written by other people who (presumably) had seen the movie.
Their arguments were passionate and most likely correct knowing the subject matter and Hollywood’s stance on just about anything outside of their whitebread world.
But …
I wonder how they’d feel if someone reviewed something they’d written/filmed/recorded and prefaced it by saying they hadn’t read/watched/listened to it?
Credibility. At the very least, damaged. Right there.
***
You want me to be moved by your passion, be motivated to think deeply about the points you’ve made, be inspired to make change?
The reviewer reminds me of classmates in grammar school who wrote their book reports from reading the book jackets. Never understood how that could be done.
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I don’t get it either.
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At least the reviewer admits it. But it does seem unfair to the artist as well as the readers. I received a review once where the reviewer admitted skimming the book. The review said that the book was “confusing.” Well, duh! Ha ha. I think reviewers need to be respectful, and that means reading/watching/listening before making a judgment. 🙂
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**gasp!!!** … what a novel concept! 😀
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I think it’s customary to at least watch a movie before criticizing it. Possibly, I’m just being hopelessly old fashioned again.
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Indeed. How bothersome us old-fashioned persons must be. 😀
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Yes, we’re practically Victorian antiques. 🙂
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Couldn’t agree more with you!
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Hiya Eths … such a waste of what was a really insightful piece.
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