The New York Times: It’s an odd time to be a theater critic. There are fewer of us writing for institutions than ever before — just a handful now across the country. In February, less than a month after I joined The Times, the Washington Post laid off almost every arts writer they had, capping a period of brutal attrition.
2 comments:
This is definitely a hot take, but I think in an ideal world we wouldn’t have people who are designated arts critics. In some sort of utopia, art is accessible enough that everyone can go see it at their leisure and therefore everyone can talk about it. I also think that arts critics have such a unique perspective, having seen so many shows, that their opinions aren’t necessarily reflective of the show’s impression on the audience. Arts critics are in an elite position - they get to consume art all day and get paid to write about it. Their opinion of a show is going to be different than the working class audience member who finally saved enough money to see just one show, and that person’s opinion matters to. Sometimes a show is for a certain demographic, and arts critics are such a small group that they might not be the target audience for a lot of things. We should welcome more criticism from normal people.
This was really interesting to read since I have recently been considering the idea of nuance in modern media, how often the polarization of opinions in our fast paced world with a lack of attention span sweeps up any and all individual, critical thinking. This shows up a lot politically, but also just in little micro trends we see every other month. If someone gets popular enough in a mini skirt, everyone’s wearing a mini skirt not to do something enjoyable, but to be on trend. Critics are so vital to getting diverse opinions on artwork, which is vital to developing better work that well reflects the human experience. Criticism is key to growth and improvement and as we lose that we lose development. We've reached a time in which people are scared to dislike something, criticism is often considered a negative thing instead of a tool, and I am eternally grateful for participation in a program where feedback is normalized, and not as something negative. In the same breath, I agree with Sid. We should all be critical thinkers, who provide criticism and participate in the arts. (I would love to live in this Utopia.)
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