Critics, Cretins
I’m in the second year of a M. Phil. in Cinema Studies. My dissertation will focus on the work of the Ramsay Brothers, Bombay’s forgotten horror maestros.
For the largest film industry in the world, India is yet to produce an equally formidable phalanx of film journalism. National newspapers have film critics who who are essentially stooges of big movie studios, and notoriously pillage reviews off the internet. This terrible scenario seems unlikely to give way to anything new or improved, given the rate at which newspapers are shutting down and cutting corners. I think it's time we ask the hard questions: can film criticism survive in the traditional way? Film-making itself has been revolutionized over and over, so why not film journalism? Newspapers may be dying, but does the art of film criticism have to die with them?
Blogs and Internet Forums are currently some of the most active, vital places where amateur film critics are in dialogue with one another. It is my belief that we need to talk about possible future directions that critics need to be aware of if we are to avoid becoming irrelevant and obsolete.
As someone who is desperate to see a meaningful, serious culture of film criticism in India, I have tried my hand at writing movie reviews - for a now near-defunct website! It was an inconclusive experience: I wrote my reviews with great excitement, but to an unresponsive audience. Cinema does indeed need the right people, and coming to Berlinale will give me the chance to meet other aspiring writers and get a sense of the scenario for young writers in other parts of the world. Berlinale represents the world's largest coming-together of film technicians and film journalists. The festival's commitment to young filmmakers and critics, and its support for those from countries not traditionally associated with filmmaking is a very encouraging sign in an otherwise depressing climate. The Berlinale is the best possible place to discuss the ways in which film-making and film-criticism can interface with one another in meaningful, productive ways.
301 Moved Permanently