Week 2: Critics

The three critics that I enjoy the most are Roger Ebert, Elvis Mitchell, and Peter Travers. Eberts is probably one of the most famous critics out there. I've actually started reading his critics since last summer when I took a different criticism class. Ever since then I have started to follow him more closely because like a good critic, he describes the flaws in films that I would have never known if he didn't bring it up. He would also describe the deeper meaning of the movie and what the film is actually trying to pertray which I just feel not a lot of critics do. I also like Elvis Mitchell becuase he seems like a smart man who knows what he is writing about. From what I recall, he has worked with several different newspapers in the past and is now writing  commentaries for films which I actually enjoy reading from time to time. The last person I picked was Peter Travers. I know of him because he writes for "Rolling Stone." He is also a film critic who I find very trustworthy. You can read about his critics in the magazine or if you're like me, you can watch his  videos on the rolling stones website. I actually find myself agreeing with him more often than not but unlike Ebert, he doesn't seem to be focused on the deeper meaning of films but rather he just depicts if a movie is enjoyable or not. However, if you watch his videos or read his articals, you can tell he is a very smart man and knows what he is talking about.

 I don't always follow up on what theses guys are writing because I don't always have time for it but when I'm about to go see a movie, I like to check one of these three critics to see if the film is even worth going to. If I had to suggest just one, I would tell you to go look at Ebert's stuff. As I stated before, he is one of the most popular critics out there and defintaly knows how to write a critic.

week 1 Assignment 3

I thought these readings were quite fun and interesting to read. The articles touched base on critics being biased towards a certain television show. The two articles shines a light on the ethical actions of the critics. You shouldn't try to praise a television show just because you want to please the fans of the show or just because you were in the cast. When you are a critic, your job is to write about what you truly think about the show whether it's good or bad and it shouldn't be influenced outer source. Like any other job, critics have a a personal duty to tell the truth no matter what the outcome might be because of it, even if it means losing readers. Besides, if it weren't for critics pointing out flaws then directors and actors might not know what they need to improve on.

For the first link that I had clicked on was called "Pop-culture scholar." It was basically a short article about cultural learnings which is a blog that places the show "within the context of the series, the season, its genre, and on occasion broad literary and cultural philosophies." The thing that I found interesting about this is that it doesn't spoil anything for the readers and is subjective for them. The second link that I clicked on was "cameo appearance on Community." It's basically a blog about how this critic enjoyed this show right after being casted as one of the extras. I just found this interesting because it was part of the discussion about how critics can sometimes be biased and I think that this is a fine example of that.

First Assignment

1.) Shows I'm watching these days: I haven't been watching too much television lately but I have been watching shows like Modern Family, Taboo (on Nat Geo) and the basketball playoffs.

2.) Peripheral shows: Reds Baseball, the news, Lockdown and It's always sunny in Philadelphia. For some reason, my friend thinks 'Its always sunny in Philadelphia' is the funniest show on television. I just don't get it.

3.) Guilty No-Gos: Mad Men, Breaking Bad, all the CSI shows and Game of thrones. I really don't get why everybody likes all of these CSI shows. For me they're just too dramatic and sometimes just plain unrealistic. If I was going to watch a show about somebody trying to solving a mystery, I think I'll stick to Scooby-Doo thank you very much.

4.) Guilty pleasures: Teen Mom and Pawn Stars. Please don't tell anyone.

5.) All time favorites: The Office, The Simpsons, and Futurama. I don't care what anybody says, I still love these shows. I get why people say that these shows aren't what they used to be and I would agree but for me, I still find them entertaining.

6.) Shows I used to like: House and American Idol. I used to watch these all the time in high school but now its just getting old.

7.) Shows I resisted: 30 Rock, Hoarders, and Dexter.

8.) Shows I'd rather eat charcoal than watch: The Jersey Shore and all of their spin off shows, and toddlers and tiaras. These shows are killing our society and I feel like I just lost some IQ points just typing their names.

9.) Shows that I liked as a kid: Doug, Hey Arnold, All That, Rugrats, Kenan and Kel, Rocko's Modern Life, and of course Spongebob Squarepants. I can still remember first watching Spongebob on the very first day it aired.