>>The critics should be able to be honest.
I think it's the pinnacle of hubris for a critic to confuse his own personal
taste for reasoned critical assessment ... they are two very separate
judgments and need to be kept distinct, especially when the two don't
intersect, and especially by critics.
The gig is this: to try to understand what the artist's intent is, determine
whether or not the artist has realized this intent and how well or not. In
other words, Joni may not be someone's cup of tea, but to then extrapolate
and say "Therefore, she's crap" is arrogant and inherently uncritical.
Further, although everyone has a right to their opinion it doesn't follow
that everyone's opinion is right.
Beyond that, in Samuel Beckett's masterpiece "Waiting For Godot," the two
main characters, Vladimir ("Didi") and Estragon ("Gogo"), engage in a
name-calling contest which is won by Estragon who tops the vituperation with
the most horrible name he can spit out:
>V: Moron!
>
>E: Vermin!
>
>V: Abortion!
>
>E: Morpion!
>
>V: Sewer-rat!
>
>E: Curate!
>
>V: Cretin!
>
>E: (with finality) Crritic!
>
>V: Oh!
>
>(He wilts, vanquished, and turns away.)
Of course, there are occasional exceptions to the rule, the rare critic who
understands that he is not an arbiter of taste.
-Fred
