Critical condition analysis

Time Out Chicago ran a piece about a panel of Chicago critics, well, critiquing themselves and their opinions.

Here is the article.


While all of the critics brought up valid arguments, a majority of them agreed that passion in whatever particular field you are critiquing is key. And passion and education play two important roles for critics.

Sam Jones, book blogger, Golden Rule Jones brings up a great point when he stated, “Critics are like statistics—what they say is almost meaningless without the underlying story.” This makes sense because, even though there might be super fans within the target audience, if there are readers who are unfamiliar with a particular author or artist, it would be best to look beyond that and help them understand some background information

He then goes on to say “We come to trust critics by reading them…” It is true. If you pay attention to several pieces by a particular critic, you learn to trust their opinion, whether you agree or disagree with the review, you are still looking for them to give you a solid foundation to work with when forming your own opinion.

The panel transitioned into a discussion about the “rapid evolution” of the websites and blogs and the disappearance of print pieces. Jones asked an interesting question about whether or not readers appreciate the editorial content enough to pay money for it. Of course, there was much skepticism. Why pay for something when you can have a dozen reviews of a particular album with a few clicks of a mouse.

Jones went on to discuss a positive thing about being an online critic, “Well on the web I can treat my readers more intimately, because I know them.”

Kris Vire, Time Out writer agreed with Jones’ point by adding that it is easy to get feedback and interact with readers through comment spaces and message boards. Jim DeRogatis, music critic, added that nothing but the mode of delivery has changed. While this is true, responding to writers and readers is simply easier online.

The discussion bounced back and forth about the validity of Internet readers and writers. Jones said, “For many people, the Internet is a vast internship opportunity.” This is very true. Head writer for The Onion’s A.V. Club Nathan Rabin said, “I’ve always seen criticism as an extension of fandom.” Which brought up one of the initial topics of the discussion; being passionate in the critical field is one of the most important things you can do as a reviewer.