Art critique before Art feels : A one direction and sabrina carpenter case study
How many of you still allow art to move you before commenting it ?
Nowadays, a person could be watching a movie with the intention, of criticizing it, looking at what is lacking, are the characters deep enough ? Is it woke ? is there enough inclusivity, is it nuanced ? one movie, one book, one song, has to make up for every other art form's lack ..
But that creation is only that, a creation, with a purpose, with an intention, with the creator's soul and contradictions. It is not about checking cases, why dont you feel their art, before critiquing it ?
By doing so, you allow the multitude of artists free to explore whatever story THEY wanna say, what they KNOW, their WAY, understand the unicity of this particular art before projecting what you wish it was on it ? that art is not responsible, for art in general, and if you have something to say, say it instead of blaming someone else to..
I am auto criticizing myself as well, i know i have had my own limiting beliefs before engaging in an art before, it is a trap that forbids you from engaging with art, have you forgotten what is supposed to be ? something we feel ? i find it sad when lyrics are taken literaly, as if it was an essay, or if a character's complexity is reduced to a black and white perspective, a stereotype, a manifestation of the artist's self .. oohh and every song has to be based on true experience ? really ? mmm lets find out the ex it is written about..
looked back at one direction's song What makes you beautiful, why did those teenage girls empathise with that song aaa its so stupid ! People who taught that, simply listened to the song in order to make fun of it, but they are not teenage girls, who shall not be blamed, for being moved by it. Teenage girls who maybe were used to music directed to a certain kind of beauty, who felt like they didnt not adhere to it, that songs werent meant for them .. who simply didnt feel beautiful, but one direction said its what makes you beautiful, if you dont understand, again you are not a teenage girl, or you simply prefer that kind of theme potrayed differently, and you know what? it is okay !
Art can be political, a social critique, a lot of things ;; it is true .. but it is art first, it is art .. it is where you go when you are heart broken, or angry, or in love .. it is where morally grey characters get to exist, it is where imagination can lets its wings fly, it is where one concept can be molded differenly over, and over again ..
When sabrina carpenter dropped her album, everyone was ready to say she is setting feminism back, her lyrics were taken litteraly and she was labeled as not deep enough to be satirical ?
She doesnt potray herself as a bombshell, she acctually potrays herself as a misandrist, so i still dont get it.. She wrote emails i cant send ? which is a heartbreaking tale of a girl unable to love because of the tale of her father .. Very soft melodious in piano ..
- I really dont want to spoil the lyrics in case you havent heard it,its a gorgeous heartwrecking song and its MUSIC , the lyrics AND melody AND voice are in a POLYAMOUROUS RELATIONSHIP ! -
in her last album, it is not her fault that only Juno and Bed Chem was popularized, ( ohh i wonder who kept streaming them ) her lyrics have always been poignant, fun, and every album is an artistic exploration .. ohh .. and THIS IS MUSIC ; and musically, her voice is strong, jazzy, she did broadway, she harmonizes with herself, and modernized 70s pop and it sounds so honeylike to the ears, it is MUSIC, do you go back to pop stars and tell them heeey wheres the feminism ? acctually yeah you do lol
when its supposed to be about feelings, imagination, an individual experience rather than a social one, unity by unicity .. i
Why do you listen to a song, an art, with the intent of hating it ?
i really dont want to defend the lyrics of the album a man's best friend just to prove a point, but i think it is a clear reflection of heterofatalism, it is barely love songs, it is how doomed falling in love with men is, she is not male centered, you see her with the male gaze .. instead of trying to feel it, trying to dance maybe, trying to empathize, or maybe realise you prefer metal or rap better, which is fair..
but the point isnt really whether the critcism is valid .. not now .. introspection and questionment are important in this anti intellectualism rising era .. im discussing how art is not engaged with properly anymore and how the critique that precedes the experience is merely projection..
Expecting the romantic movie to be ... , expecting the dark romance book to be.... , expecting the taylor swift song to be .... expecting the teen serie to be ....
well lot of those things are loved by a certain demographic whose hobbies are always deemed silly ( ;-; ), but projecting and critiquing in advance , it is a universal thing, you can also expect the classic book or movie to be boring, or expect a story written by a man to be sexist, or a compelling man artist to be performative, there is no 'buts', sometimes you may not have engaged with enough of that art form to conclude that limiting perspective, it is just becomes the truth, but it is beautiful cause it can always be subverted and that is ART !!
Now again, art is political, but not by stating things directly, the satirism of sabrina carpenter's song for exemple is that rather than villanizing it is simply expressing the sad reality of heterofatalism, the low standards, the tragedy of being attracted to men regardless, so it is not something you have to dissect the lyrics for, you have to be a woman and sadly sighs, or be gay and be happy its not your experience, or simply enjoy the vocals and melody and understand it is not her final or only album and it is music not an academic essay and if critique is good but please, please, please, ... no pun intended ..
Next time you watch a movie, allow yourself to love it, give yourself permission, to feel it, to empathize with a character, to move your hips to the chorus, to self reflect on an abstract painting, to find out new animation is not so bad, or that romance movie is loved for a reason, to find something that moves you, and see the humanity of this art rather than a bad bad artist ^^ , there is comercial art, there is recycable art, and it is okay cause some love that formula, im just over here saying everything is valid, and to encourage you to engage with art in a more heartfelt way, i bet there are some oppressed feelings out there, that you intellectualize too ? art is the one thing you can allow yourself to drown in you know, so do it, you will have more thoughtful critiques and understanding of it if you let go ..
you after i changed your life (im kidding, not everything is literal, for example ART )
