A. O. Scott, film reviewer for the New York Times, says one of the motivators for writing Better Living Through Criticism was Samuel L. Jackson on Twitter criticizing Scott’s review of the blockbuster, The Avengers. Scott and Jackson traded tweets for a period of time. I think Jackson had the better of the exchange when he dropped this word bomb: “#Avengers fans” that “AO Scott needs a new job! Let’s help him find one! One he can ACTUALLY do!” A. O. Scott spends much of this book writing about what criticism is (and isn’t), how to write insightful criticism, and what critics do right (and wrong). I enjoyed this thought-provoking romp. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
• What is criticism? (a preliminary dialogue)
• The critic as artist and vice versa
• The eye of the beholder
• Self-criticism (a further dialogue)
• Lost in the museum
• The trouble with critics
• Practical criticism (another dialogue)
• How to be wrong
• The critical condition
• The end of criticism (a final dialogue).
I usually enjoy reading Scott’s reviews, even though I don’t always agree with them.
Granted, he’s no Pauline Kael.
Jeff, I’m with you on A.O. Scott. Good, but not great.
He has a little of the Paul Giamatti look.
Jeff, that’s exactly what I thought when I saw that photo!
My shelves are filled with this sort of book. Better for browsing than reading straight through for me. Pauline Kael’s were the exception. And I like Nick Hornby’s.
Patti, you’re right about BETTER LIVING THROUGH CRITICISM being a browser’s delight. A. O. Scott covers a lot of ground in these chapters. Pauline Kael was great!
He lost me at “Twitter War”? Is there anything more pointless? (And Samuel Jackson should know better too.)
Deb, I suspect (but can’t prove) that this “Twitter War” was just a marketing strategy to get people to view THE AVENGERS. I bet Samuel Jackson knew exactly what he was doing when he flamed A. O. Scott. Scott admits his Twitter followers increased by 500 after this incident.
Sounds interesting to me. I just watched an old tonight show that had Siskel and Ebert on. They totally panned the movie the Hitcher, and told of a scene that totally proved they were right on. I don’t remember hearing about the scene originally. One of the things they mentioned was wanting to like movies. I don’t know enough about Scott to comment on his reviews.
I do know that (for me) I do mostly positive reviews as I don’t want to read a book I don’t enjoy.
I agree Deb, about twitter. I did join for coke rewards, but never again participated
Maggie, my students love Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat. That’s how they spend most of their time.
…and waste it.
Rick, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat all seem to be time-wasters to me. I’d rather be reading.
My brother and one of my sisters live on Facebook, and they’re way older than the usual demographic.
We were discussing last night how poisonous an effect so-called “social media” has had on society in general.
As Bill Crider always says, I miss the old days.
Jeff, many of my students are addicted to social media. They are constantly working their iPhones or Android devices and ignoring everything else.
I prefer A.C. Scott!
Bob, so do I!