some critical questions to ask about media
mostly when I hear people critique media they use the questions
does this make logical sense?
those are two reasonable questions, but they are geared to serve domestic realism - stories that follow linear narratives, take place within and are meant to be viewed within consensus reality, and are in conversation with other stories doing the same thing.
sometimes the answer to these questions might be “no.” and quite often, people treat that “no” like it means that piece of media is inherently bad. but it’s doesn’t. it just means that media might be doing something else.
the essay “The eaters and the critics: Notes on (restaurant) criticism, 2018-2019″ in @oficmag’s second issue had some other suggestions that got me thinking:
(the whole essay is really great, as is the rest of the issue - go check it out!)
as a fan, I typically engage with low-budget genre fiction. quite often, genre media is not realistic and does not make logical sense. in the last fifteen years, some genre media (like Game of Thrones, the MCU, etc.) has achieved ascendancy in the cultural mainstream, which means that people have begun applying to that media the kinds of critical questions that best serve domestic realism.
now, is the MCU bad? I mean, yeah, I think it is. but not because it’s not realistic, you feel me?
some other useful questions might be:
what does this piece of media make me feel and think?
what do I want out of this piece of media? (enjoy it? hate it? think it’s beautiful? think it’s ugly? feel challenged? feel superior? etc., etc.) why?
do I trust the authors of this piece of media to do what they’re doing on purpose? why or why not?
who is funding this piece of media? could the source of its funds influence its themes, plot, characters, etc.? does this matter to me?
can I get what I want out of this piece of media even if the authors aren’t doing it on purpose? even if they are? if I shift my perspective on this piece of media, will I get what I want from it more easily?
what are the goals of this piece of media? does it achieve those goals? how?
what are the rules of reality the media sets up in its first pages/episodes/etc.? is this piece of media consistent with the rules of reality it sets up, even if those rules aren’t the same as the rules of consensus reality?
if the piece of media is not consistent with its own rules, is it breaking those rules arbitrarily, or is it using that to examine, question, or draw your attention to something?
if the piece of media doesn’t use the rules of consensus reality, do the rules it sets up ultimately serve its themes? do the characters? does the plot?
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