Although absent in week 6 of ‘Everybody’s a Critic’ I never feel set back with the help of the blog and a clear run down of what we do in every session. This week we focused on curationism and the rise of the curator in popular culture. In the book Curationism: How Curating Took Over the Art World and Everything Else, David Balzer says “it’s not just what we like, but how we like it,”. I think for today in the 21st century this is a very valid point in the regards of social media and the impact it has on basically anyone who is anyone lives. We all search online about things we may like, healthy recipes, the latest sunglass trends and we like the photo, share it, buy it and just make everyone else very aware that we have something to do with it. When we find someone we like who do all the things we like, then basically they are our personal curator and someone to “clutch as we make our way through the crowd” (Alexandra Moloktow, 2014) ‘The Globe and Mail’.

Many valid points were made through these 2 articles that we look at in class about the role of the curator, but what I couldn’t help but think is how this will eventually die out. To many people now think they have the power to influence others (and probably do) to the point where “no one will care anhymore about the context” (Molotkow, 2014).

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/arts/the-rise-of-the-curator-in-popular-culture/article21504823/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/18/david-balzer-curation-social-media-kanye-west

A short but productive week towards Project Brief 2! I was unable to attend the Q&A session on Wednesday afternoon due to babysitting, but I personally had a great quick, but effective session on Monday. We again prepared a draft of either a review, or our critical profile to swap around the class and get feedback on. I really like this technique because it not only guides you to how to create a better piece, but you are able to look at structure and language of others. I find this really important and useful specifically for my work as sometimes I feel I get quite lost in vocabulary to the point where my language doesn’t quite meet the reference of what I am saying. I am all for expanding my vocabulary, but for this studio I think the reviews that are most compelling are ones whom uses metaphorical language towards the topic of the review from films to a festival.

From the article I read about a film it gave me guidance about how I like my film reviews to be structured in saying, not giving to much of the plot away. Sometimes I get really lost in this. I like to think, if i was reading this what would I want to see? I would like to see all aspects, from the cast to cinematography and music. At this stage in the course this is what I feel is appropriate for my style of writing about films, but who knows that could change!

I am reasonably happy with the outcome of my critical profile, and I tried to take a different aspect for the draft of my review. Writing about the most testosterone built film from a females perspective- hopefully will work the way I intend it to

In our studio on Monday (31st July) we watched the film ‘City of God’ a documentary about food critic Johnathan Gold whom investigates and critics foods all around L.A. I can’t say that I would be willing to watch this film again, but I am sufficed to have had it ticked off my documentary film list. It was a very investigative and participatory film about a reviewer himself, but I really struggled to see a climax other than his well respected opinion around LA. What this film did teach me about being a critic is those whom are most respected by their audiences are those who are fair and reasonable. It can be painful to read reviews that you do not agree with, but holding that respect of knowing it is honest, truthful and knowledgeable is extremely important.

I really appreciated and took active participation on our Wednesday Studio where we looked at 5 different reviews of the same film, ‘Edward Scissorhands’ (a personal childhood favourite). This gave me insight towards what it may be to be a better critic through different styles. What I really valued the most from these articles was the use of comparison and painting a picture in the readers mind. This is something I really enjoy about reviews, because it gives you the closest rendition of what to expect from a film. Specifically, I really liked this from critic Ray Cassin. He compared Edward Scissorhands to old fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast and Frankensteins, not only me but other viewers would be able to relate to and get a sense for the sort of tone portrayed throughout the film. What was also noticed through these reviews as I can sense that they give to much summary of the film sometimes, rather than leaving the audience the opportunity for their own expectance. In some what this seems fair for a film reviewer as he wants to apply his knowledge and authority to the film, but it can put the audience in a position of weakness knowing to much about the film before watching it.

I feel this was a extremely affective task for myself with my writing as I am beginning to understand what I expect from a review and also what I like to read.