A Letter to Guru
Guru,
While I agree on some of the issues you raise, I think you are missing the point. A review his a person's personal opinion. It arises from his context and is intended for a purpose. The review which is published in a newspaper or magazine will differ from one that is published on a blog (etc). Form, Context, Audience and Purpose. If a reviewer wants to bring casteism, athiesm, polygamy, monogamy, taxonomy, generalisation etc, its their point of view. It doesn't neccesarily have to parallel your view. (By your I mean the reader, not just you Guru).
Everyone is going to have different views on a film, I've disagreed with you many times. Sometimes I think your reviews are imperfect, sometimes I think mine are imperfect sometimes I think even a proffesional reviewer's structure, message, grammar, use of clauses, phrases, hell even iambic pentameter - sometimes is suitable, sometimes it is wrong.
There is no write or wrong formula to a write a review. Some maybe better trained in literacy than others, some maybe better trained in appreciating film than others but ultimately its a perception of a film and their reasoning behind liking/disliking, appreciating/ not appreciating it. Little touches are always in films (regardless of whether it is a Periyar statue). Shakespeare in Love is perhaps the best example of all this. Those who know Tom Stoppard's style of comedy as well as Shakespeare will find his little homages and nuances peppered all over the film. Those who don't will find it a sappy romantic comedy. I am in the former.
You said some bloggers write "horrendous" reviews. What makes it horrendous? The fact you don't agree with it, or because its gramatically incorrect? I don't know. I don't like every review out there. I don't read most of them. I wouldn't call any review horrendous. Some lack sophistication in the use of English (plenty of NRI blogs) others have abstract ideas, but ultimately this isn't an English exam, it's expression of one's views. I think every review does that in one way or other.
Most reviews don't criticise, they review. I have attempted to criticise your criticism of criticisers!
While I agree on some of the issues you raise, I think you are missing the point. A review his a person's personal opinion. It arises from his context and is intended for a purpose. The review which is published in a newspaper or magazine will differ from one that is published on a blog (etc). Form, Context, Audience and Purpose. If a reviewer wants to bring casteism, athiesm, polygamy, monogamy, taxonomy, generalisation etc, its their point of view. It doesn't neccesarily have to parallel your view. (By your I mean the reader, not just you Guru).
Everyone is going to have different views on a film, I've disagreed with you many times. Sometimes I think your reviews are imperfect, sometimes I think mine are imperfect sometimes I think even a proffesional reviewer's structure, message, grammar, use of clauses, phrases, hell even iambic pentameter - sometimes is suitable, sometimes it is wrong.
There is no write or wrong formula to a write a review. Some maybe better trained in literacy than others, some maybe better trained in appreciating film than others but ultimately its a perception of a film and their reasoning behind liking/disliking, appreciating/ not appreciating it. Little touches are always in films (regardless of whether it is a Periyar statue). Shakespeare in Love is perhaps the best example of all this. Those who know Tom Stoppard's style of comedy as well as Shakespeare will find his little homages and nuances peppered all over the film. Those who don't will find it a sappy romantic comedy. I am in the former.
You said some bloggers write "horrendous" reviews. What makes it horrendous? The fact you don't agree with it, or because its gramatically incorrect? I don't know. I don't like every review out there. I don't read most of them. I wouldn't call any review horrendous. Some lack sophistication in the use of English (plenty of NRI blogs) others have abstract ideas, but ultimately this isn't an English exam, it's expression of one's views. I think every review does that in one way or other.
Most reviews don't criticise, they review. I have attempted to criticise your criticism of criticisers!
This entry was posted by Blogpur, on
Tuesday, August 09, 2005.
You can leave your response.
2:29 AM
Thanks venkat for that lengthy reply. though we have dis-agreed many many times and though i dis-agree with myself many more times, none of us fall short of thinking.
why do I say some reviews to be 'horrendous'. i am not talking about the english literates out there. my reviews have ben blasted for grammatical errors and sometime for the sake of interest i take the language handling in hand and make a better line for the reader than for wren & martin.
horrendous because they not only end up as lengthy spoilers but also don't even come close the idea of a review. without pointing hands, i've seen people tell the story as they saw and name it a review. and i say, the best will remain and the rest will be washed out. i might in the wash out crowd. watch out !!
10:20 AM
I agree with Venkat.Reviews are nothing but the views of the writer.So the culprit is the thought of the writer.Clean up should happen in the mind.One best solution is Think thrice.....
2:49 PM
Most of the 'reviews' in the blogworld are written in haste. It is like people talking over dinner. make an interesting statement and the aim is to carry on the conversation... (who doesnt want comments?)
With the tamil magazines reviewing movies, it is yet intresting to people who want to believe the trash... and mundane to people who have seen other aspects of the movie.
4:03 PM
Completely agree with you there Escape. Thanks Guru and Cipher for your comments. I will make sure to read your blogs.
4:08 AM
"A review is a person's personal opinion" - that pretty much sums it up. so the person's likes, dislikes, knowledge(or lack thereof as in your example), expectations, mood(sometimes) - all go into the review. if everyone felt the same about a movie, there would be no reason for more than 1 review! your best bet is to find a reviewer whose writing and style you like and whose frequency is similar to yours.
7:01 PM
Thanks for the blogrolling, sir. We've changed our blog for now. Please do visit the new one.
http://writesetting.blogspot.com
1:56 PM
What I get from this is, all/most reviews are subjective. Which I think is true. But there also must be a parameter for reviewing. Peppering a review with personal opinions is immature. I've done that mistake a lot myself, hell, maybe I still do it. Film appreciation is a science by itself, and unless until ones knows and understands the finer nuances of cinema, I don't think one deserves to write a review. But maybe it should be divided into serious cinema appreciation and off-the-hat cinema appreciation. These days, even the newspaper reviewers are terrible, they have no sense of what goes into a movie, they are so taken up with the good/bad story, that they forget everything else, and sometimes I do wonder if they are indeed paid for it. But again, to each, his own.
7:07 PM
Hi Mr. Writetrack
I don't agree with you that reviews should be objective. When the film made itself is subjective, why shouldn't the review?
It's all about what you take from the movie. Its all about your context, your purpose and how the film touches those chords. A person from the african continent is not going to connect that well to an Indian movie and vice versa.
BUT he still can appreciate it and critque it. I believe all films need to be critqued because that way we can determine what value we can gain from that film. Not every one like the same movies and with good reason.
Its the same reason why some of us buy Honda cars while others buy a Nissan.
8:22 PM
I agree with our point Venkat. I get too obsessed with the technical details and innovations sometimes. I have seen 'Chungking Express', 'Days of being wild' and 'as tears go by' and 'In the mood for love' (!!!). Have been tring to get my hands on 2046 for a long time now.
9:48 PM
*your point.
10:25 PM
sorry sir, i dont understand your last comment.
10:33 PM
I'd said OUR point in the previous comment. That was a mistake, just corrected it. I agree with the points you made. It is subjective.
12:16 AM
thanks for your comments sir, i really like your blog as well, as such i have put your link on my site.
12:33 AM
It is Abbas Kiarostami.
12:35 AM
thanks Abbas sir.
8:31 PM
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