Title: MovieTok Creators Challenge Traditional Film Criticism
Subtitle: A New Generation of Influencers Redefines the Role of Film Critics
Date: [Date]
In recent years, a wave of young creators on the social media platform MovieTok has been revolutionizing the world of film criticism. These individuals, mostly in their 20s and early 30s, have carved out their own niches and amassed significant followings by offering unique perspectives on various genres. With their fresh and entertaining approach to movie reviews, they are redefining the role of critics in an age of digital media.
Among the notable MovieTok creators are Joe Aragon, Monse Gutierrez, Bryan Lucious, and Seth Mullan-Feroze. Joe Aragon, known as Cinema.Joe, with 931,000 followers, specializes in breakdowns of coming attractions. Monse Gutierrez, known as cvnela, and Bryan Lucious, known as stoney_tha_great, demystify and rank horror films, boasting 1.4 million and 387,000 followers, respectively. Seth Mullan-Feroze, known as sethsfilmreviews, leans towards art house and foreign cinema, captivating an audience of 256,000 followers.
Unlike traditional film critics associated with major newspapers or magazines, MovieTok creators do not aspire to review every noteworthy film. Rather, they focus on the genres they are passionate about and offer their perspectives to entertain and engage their followers. While recognizing the value of traditional critics’ knowledge of film history, many MovieTok creators tend to view the profession as a whole as possessing false or unearned authority.
Bryan Lucious, 31, expresses his skepticism towards critics, stating, “A lot of us don’t trust critics.” He highlights the disparity between the scores of “Top Critics” on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes and those of casual users as evidence of the critical establishment being out of touch. According to Lucious, critics often watch movies solely to find faults, while fans watch movies for sheer entertainment.
The rebellion of MovieTok creators against traditional film criticism is not the first in history. In the 1950s, writers such as François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard disavowed mainstream French criticism through their journal Cahiers du Cinéma. Similarly, in the 1960s and ’70s, Pauline Kael, a New Yorker critic, challenged the moralistic views of critics like Bosley Crowther from The New York Times. More recently, in the 2000s, movie bloggers criticized print critics for their indifference or hostility towards superhero and fantasy films.
Mattias Frey, head of the department of media, culture, and creative industries at the City University of London, sheds light on this ongoing clash. He highlights the tendency of new critics to denigrate their predecessors as old-fashioned and elitist while positioning themselves as the vanguard of a new era. Frey defines criticism, regardless of its form, as “evaluation grounded in reason,” drawing upon the philosopher Noël Carroll’s perspective.
The emergence of MovieTok creators signals a shift in the landscape of film criticism. Their unique perspectives and entertaining reviews are reshaping the way audiences consume and engage with movies. While the clash between traditional and new forms of criticism is not new, it reflects the ongoing evolution of this vital aspect of cinema.
As MovieTok continues to gain momentum, it remains to be seen how traditional critics will respond to this new era of film analysis. One thing is certain, however: the world of film criticism will never be the same again.