Siskel & Ebert on Film Criticism

This is an interesting discussion about the nature of criticism in journalism, particularly film criticism. This clip is used in an instructional video series for high school and college students. It is from part 12, called Column Writing and Editorial Writing. .

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Siskel
• Ebert
• Film
• Criticism

[CoolerKing37]

Both these dudes rule. I wish Siskel's written reviews were available online somehow...

[TheMan3579]

I agree with both of them. A review must contain your personal feelings as well as the facts. You should tell the reader or viewer what you witnessed but at the same time what you felt when witnessing it.

[GuernicaByPicasso]

Happy Birthday Gene Siskel! We miss you.

[shteeeeeven12345]

These all reign so true. It doesn't matter how intelligent you are when you watch a movie or how much insight you have, just as long as you create some kind of response to it, no matter what it is. 

[pkingo1]

Great advice, every writer/critic should listen to this :)

[featheon]

@paxpaul I'm most interested in why it was so prevalent in the Anglo-American school system. My German language teacher was always expressing confusion about these admonishments, like avoiding "passive voice," that aren't taught in European universities. My younger friends are in college humanities and they are still told not to use first-person and "don't look at Wikipedia." The idea that we can act as objective observers is an ideology that pervaded 20th c. theory in the US.

[paxpaul]

@featheon Once they get to college, we teach them to use first person whenever it is needed. For most students, this is the most important first step toward improving their writing. Some disciplines still exclude the first-person "I" but most writing in life is centered around that personal perspective. Students already know that the "Never use I" rule is BS because it runs contrary to natural communication.

[featheon]

They still tell kids not to use first person pronouns in school; the big positivist ideology still floating.

[Moviewhiz1]

You can really see Siskel is ailing here. So sad he's gone.

[hemanshera777]

with all the criticism they gave to films, good criticism, or bad, I can't blame them for ending up feeling like that

it's hard to know a good, or bad film when you see one, but they could tell which films were just that. even if some of US knew if they were good, or bad.