Alyson Camus wrote recently about just how, well, pointless rock criticism is. Certainly with a last name like Camus, a lack of usefulness should come with the territory. But while I think what we do has a usefulness, I don't care enough to argue the point. How many people do you think buy a record because of a good review in 2012? Writers are more like mood enhancers but… whatever.
And, really, have a look at last weeks box office charts, a much more accurate snapshot of sales than Billboard is any more, and what do you see? "Taken 2", an action packed Liam Neeson sequel that got a stunning 21% favorable rating from Rotten Tomatoes and "Argo", a "based ona true story" about the saving of American hostages in Iran, which received a 94% approval rating.
Neither movie were runaway hits, but "Taken 2" was number one in its SECOND WEEK, and "Argo" was number two, suggesting how a consensus of movie critics, 147 OF THE LITTLE SUCKERS, could be roundly ignored by an entire country. Congrats to Chris Sawin of examiner.com, for being the only critic to call out the movie (I haven't seen it yet myself) "You can only watch people talking, having things go wrong, and them scrambling to figure out a last minute solution so many times before you figure out where things are headed. It really seems difficult having knowledge of the events the film is based on and how everything turns out and still being able to enjoy the film. It seems like knowing the answer to the riddle beforehand would make it less enjoyable"
My bet is millions of people saw that pix of Ben Affleck with a beard and thought, "not with my $14, you don't". There is something smug about the entire enterprise. And while movie critics probably got too caught up in the hype, it is difficult to convince people what they know not to be true.
Still, if we are condemning George Bernard Shaw (and Charles Dickens) profession out of hand, perhaps it is worth repeating that: in a sea of accolates Chris Sawin disagreed. How much you appreciate the voice of dissent is up to you.