“When so many of the best writers are amateurs, does this mean that standards have collapsed? On the contrary, it means that professional reviewers have to lift their game. Now that hundreds of reviews…at the click of a mouse button, the alibi of providing a “consumer guide” is no longer enough.”

A new semester has begun, and with it comes a new studio. Everyone’s A Critic challenges the modern day critic and awakens those abilities within each of us. The Week 1 in-class reading was an article by renowned film critic Jake Wilson, who addressed the rapid growth of critical writing in all forms due to the rise of the internet. Wilson claims that it’s now possible “for anyone with an internet connection to broadcast their opinions about cinema, or any other topic, to friends and strangers alike”. From dissing that new burger joint on Yelp, to writing a glowing review of your favourite hairdresser on Facebook, projection of opinions on any platform is now readily available and accessible to anyone and everyone.

In Week 2 we were tasked with perusing an article entitled Film Criticism: The Next Generation, which features in Cineaste, a popular American cinema magazine. This article also addresses the onslaught of critics that the internet has brought about, as well as looking at excerpts of essays by practicing critics about their profession. In one of the essays, Boris Nelepo encompasses criticism as “[involving] imposing a structure upon chaos, explaining the reason behind all those endless moving images, both celluloid and real”.

As EAC students, we are confronted with questions about what makes an individual qualified to write critically and what makes any review credible. Are we just as competent and knowledgable as certified journalists and critics? Does this make the industry more competitive for those who have made a career out of criticism? Do we have an obligation to be educated on a topic in order for us to have an opinion on it?