OPINIONS AND ANALYSIS: Wenn Deramas thoughts about film critics is nothing new. He is always willing to share his opinions about what he thinks about film critics, especially the ones who give his movies a bad review. But I have to chime in about his opinions about film criticism in Philippine Cinema. Wenn Deramas attitude is exactly whats wrong with how film criticism is viewed in Philippine Cinema. Its not just Wenn Deramas but other filmmakers both from mainstream and indie share the same attitude. When push comes to shove and someone gives them a bad review, the go to defense to dismiss or discredit what a film critic says is to say What are your classification to say my movie is bad? Are you a filmmaker? Have you directed a movie before? Oh youre not a filmmaker, you havent directed a movie, that means you dont know what youre talking about because you dont know how hard it is to direct a movie. I always find this reasoning hollow and petty. Just like in filmmaking where there is no one route to become a director, whether you went to film school, worked your way up on set, or you’re just a hardcore cinephile, anyone can pick up a camera and make a movie. The same can also apply to film criticism. The fact of the matter is a film is made for the audience to watch and experience and because of this, movies and by association, filmmakers, invite criticism. Thanks to the internet, criticism is more widespread than ever. No longer is it confined to academic journals or magazines, but are now on personal websites (blogs), Facebook walls and Twitter feeds, Youtube videos and iTunes podcasts. And that is what Wenn Deramas or any filmmaker who questions a film critic’s credentials doesnt understand; the audience have a right to review or criticize a movie, which means for better or worse, anyone can become a critic regardless of education or social status. It is true directing a movie is very hard and making a movie is very hard. I agree that a film critic who has experience making a movie or has training and education in film production would offer a different perspective and insight when criticizing a movie compared to a critic who has no filmmaking experience or film education. But it is a fallacy to assume that filmmakers are the only ones that have the ability and insight to criticize a movie. Each critic brings with them their history, biography, and psychology whenever they watch and later criticize a movie. But what separates the good critics from the ordinary ones, the wheat from the chaff, is not their background or experience, but how well the critic intelligibly articulates their opinion and the merits and faults of the movie. If nothing is properly criticized, mediocrity triumphs. pep.ph/news/45667/wenn-deramas-lambasts-bloggers-criticizing-his-movies-kapag-sinabi-nilang-pangit-at-least-yung-sa-akin-trabaho-ko-lang-e-sila
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 03:16:24 +0000
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