Posts
Several times Williams points out how the perceived separation of the audience and the artist/performer affect the degree to which someone gets heckled. In sports, where professional athletes have more known about their lives than ever before, they are being heckled more often. In music, where in one season of American Idol you can go from a regular joe to a singer with a record deal and a built in fan base, there is a sense of a more level playing field.
Since I mentioned it before in pro prac, love him or hate him, Simon Cowell gives pretty straightforward and fair minded feedback on American Idol. Because he doesn't sugar coat it, he has a reputation as overly negative. I would argue that we are coming out of a period where we were so obsessed with political correctness and self esteem, that any negativity sounds like a lot of negativity. I do think that even the people that boo Cowell respect his opinion, and he has helped make it ok to give negative criticism. There will always be those who take that and tell comedians to die, which is hardly helpful. I've learned that my students can take negative criticism when it is warranted, and they know when I am feeding them a line of crap and don't respect that.
Yes, but there was also a suggestion that the price of tickets has some bearing on whether or not heckling occurs. I paid a $5 cover charge...that guy down front is funny! I paid $75 dollars...that guy down front better shut his mouth! Money seems to have a way of turning a level playing field into a mountain beside a valley.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there is a difference between negative and abusive, and I think the scale is beginning to slide too far in the abusive direction, crushing dreams for ratings and laughs...Booo! Call me soft, but I still believe in a constructive criticism. Harsh criticism should be reserved for the likes of BP and Ride the Ducks.
The problem with harsh criticism is that there is no longer right and wrong anymore. If I say it's art then it is. If you say it isn't art then... Too Bad. Therefore I believe that there is less and less good critical writing because there is less of a standard to judge what is good. Not that I'm saying we need to go back to Modernism. I think it is a symptom of the warping of social ethics.
ReplyDeleteI just think it's bad when not only can you not say what is art or not because we can't define it, but also can't say what is good or bad art because we live in a culture where it's not acceptable to say something is bad. If you listen to the things that Cowell says there isn't anything dream crushing there (unless you are one of the assholes who just wants some face time in the tryouts), if he didn't like what you did he will tell you and he will tell you why. That is constructive criticism, and yet he is called abusive and harsh. If you can't say one thing is bad than can you really say something else is good? On that show all anyone ever cares about is his feedback.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. People tolerate the other judges but really listen to Simon.
ReplyDelete