The problem, as I see it, comes down to discernment and judgment, objectivity and prejudice.<\/p>\n
I hold a degree in literary and critical\u00c2\u00a0studies. This has prepared me for putting forth strong analyses on just about any subject. It has formed in me a critical mind, capable of understanding the difference between taste and truth, the ability to create rational arguments based on the irrational subject of aesthetics.<\/p>\n
Thus, when I decide to form an opinion beyond like or dislike, I tend to discover reasons, right or wrong, but well-founded reasons for the stance I take. People will often accuse the critic or skeptic of pedantry or cynicism, but that is not always the case; rather, most critics I know have already considered the other side of the argument, and provided clear information to support their own side, while refuting \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not negating \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the opposing view.<\/p>\n
The new female-led Ghostbusters,\u00c2\u00a0the politics of Hillary v. Trump, even just a minor criticism of a board game or theatre piece, these all seem to lead to the critic being hated for simply stating a well-reasoned opinion. “Can’t we just like what we like?” come the cries. The answer is “Of course,” but with the addition that you could also demand better. What if instead of wading through the cloudy murk of poorly thought-out concepts designed to put butts in seats, you could actually find the things you want without wasting your time on pablum? What if the worst art of the future was better than the best art of the past? Progress: it is what drives my every action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The problem, as I see it, comes down to discernment and judgment, objectivity and prejudice. I hold a degree in literary and critical\u00c2\u00a0studies. This has prepared me for putting forth strong analyses on just about any subject. It has formed in me a critical mind, capable of understanding the difference between taste and truth, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p73iP8-Li","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":684,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=684","url_meta":{"origin":2932,"position":0},"title":"Poem-a-day, #6","date":"11\/7\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"A sonnet is to me a sort of test A sonnet is to me a sort of test One which you only take to please yourself Its purpose not to show whose work is best But just to wipe some dust from off the shelf It takes a mind obsessed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poetry"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":409,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=409","url_meta":{"origin":2932,"position":1},"title":"10 reasons why gay marriage should be illegal","date":"10\/12\/2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey, this makes sense! 10 reasons why gay marriage should be illegal","rel":"","context":"In "Found Art"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":188,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=188","url_meta":{"origin":2932,"position":2},"title":"Ideas Happen: Good Title.","date":"9\/16\/2004","format":false,"excerpt":"This kid got $25,000. Meanwhile, I can't pay my rent. God bless America. Before you start with me, Alice, look at the kid. He is obviously latching onto political ideals, writing \"rebel\" work against \"society\" all while getting the added benefit of being the kid in high school who gets\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ennui"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":334,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=334","url_meta":{"origin":2932,"position":3},"title":"Revisiting my pain…","date":"6\/20\/2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Thank you PCIE for being a complete prick when it comes to the box model. I have always wanted my job to take me twice as long as it should for reasons inexplicable to the common man, and you...you have provided me with just that opportunity. Why does Hallmark not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ennui"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":608,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=608","url_meta":{"origin":2932,"position":4},"title":"Diary entry transcribed from paper, written during a fantastically busy time","date":"11\/13\/2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Writer. It is a title I have surrendered and abandoned in the past few years. I think my reasons are many, but my excuses are invalid. I am afraid of criticism. That is what has kept me from pursuing it further. It is a strange conceit to fear criticism. It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ennui"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":168,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=168","url_meta":{"origin":2932,"position":5},"title":"Forgive me some liberties, Ms. Smartypants.","date":"7\/28\/2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Because nobody believes me when I say it, please listen (read) to (a bit of) mimismartypants. In particular, pay attention to the third footnote. As a mother (an adoptive mother to boot), a wife and an intellectual, she better phrases my entire argument about why marriage and child-rearing is so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ennui"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2933,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932\/revisions\/2933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}