“To my home girls here with the big butts,
Shaking it like we at a strip club,
Remember only God can judge us,
Forget the haters cause somebody loves ya”
-Miley Cyrus
I started the first part of this essay with a quote from Aristotle and now I’ve begun the second part with a Miley Cyrus lyric to illustrate something they share (other than a poetic way with words, of course) and that is that they both received criticism.
In Part I we discussed Professional Criticism, that is, people that do it for a living or receive monetary compensation in some form for their critiques, their relationship to artists, and how they influence the way art is received by culture.
In Part II we’re going to cover Non-Professional Criticism by the general public, the “wannabe” critics, haters/internet trolls, and overly-sensitive/moral outragers and their relationship to art, artists, and censorship.
Much like the first part, this can be used as a primer for any aspiring artists out there if you’re wondering what to expect. I’ll be sharing some of my own experiences with non-professional criticism I’ve received with my debut, short story collection Black Flowers.
Non-Professional Criticism
A month or so after my book was released it had received a positive professional review from the online review site Reedsy Discovery and it was selling fairly well, but I had only received a handful of customer reviews on Amazon and I felt that I needed more to boost the book’s reputation (as well as its ranking in the mysterious Amazon algorithm) so I posted a free copy on another website for honest reviews by the general public. That’s when I had my first real encounters with negative criticism and I won’t lie, it hurt a little bit. The first two readers I got did not finish it and left comments stating why, the first was vague and the other quite detailed. I was starting to feel a bit down until my first full review came in and it was quite charming, the reviewer admitted that she liked the book so much that she actually purchased it in paperback after reading the digital review copy for free (for me that was the highest of all compliments). The next review I received, though rating it three out of five stars, seemed to be the most nit-picky and negative of all. This reviewer I would consider to be a case of the “wannabe” critic, which I will explain further in a bit.
As this was taking place I also took impromptu polls from friends and coworkers who had read my book to ask them their favorite and least favorite stories and received completely contradictory advice from one person to the next. One person’s favorite story would be the next person’s least favorite story and so on until I realized that these conclusions were mostly coming down to genre preferences rather than anything inherently wrong with any of the stories. Thankfully though it seemed that the general consensus was that I was a skilled writer, some people just don’t care for open-ended stories or particular genres very much and that’s fine.
My book is still receiving reviews as we speak, but my current take on the general public is partially what I already knew and that is that most readers prefer to read only one or two genres and rarely venture outside of those. The majority of people seem to prefer action-heavy, plot-centered stories with unambiguous endings. These are the same traits you will find in most commercial fiction that tops the best seller lists each week. There are readers that prefer a more flowery, “literary” writing style that centers more around character development and the complexities of identity, but I would say these folks are in the minority though a higher number of these books will go on to become lasting classics than their commercial brethren.
Black Flowers contains commercial, mainstream stories alongside more “literary” stories, which can be a mixed bag for those that prefer one or the other, but since I like both it’s exactly the book I wished to create and I couldn’t be more proud of it. With that being said let it be known that if you are going to try something different or be experimental a lot of the general public may be confused, not “get it,” or simply just not like it because it’s not what they expected or what they’re used to. If you’re lucky public perception may change with time, as for myself I think it’s still a little too early to tell because a good portion of the reading public has yet to read my book but that’s just the way of life for the indie artist.
Now I’d like to discuss the “wannabe” critic, the “wannabe” critic has mistaken their pretentiousness and negativity for true criticism. Unlike actual critics that can often appreciate skillfully told stories even when they exist outside of a genre they personally prefer, these “wannabes” consider something bad if they simply don’t care for that genre. Instead of having a list of pros and cons like many actual critics and attempting to provide constructive criticism for the artist, the “wannabe” takes pleasure in mercilessly tearing apart other people’s works while hiding behind the veneer of “elevated language” that they stole from an actual critic’s review that they read online one time. Another common aspect of the “wannabe” critic is that they often operate in anonymity not realizing that actual critics, much like artists, build a following based on their reputation and are held accountable for the things they say. You can’t take pride in providing “brutally honest” reviews when you shield yourself from any criticism or no one is going to take you seriously.
This lack of accountability paired with their negativity creates a very thin line between them and the haters/internet trolls currently plaguing the internet who merely wish to antagonize and demean others due to their own low self-esteem.
Let’s talk for a second about the importance of accountability when it comes to artists and criticism, if you hide behind a fake name and fake picture and harshly criticize or insult the art of someone that put themselves out there, I’m not going to mince words here, you’re a coward. You fire shots from a safe distance then slither back into the shadows while others put their names and reputations on the chopping block for their work. If you have a harsh critique to give then stand by it, put your name and face on it, otherwise you’re proving you can dish it out but you can’t take it.
Though the internet has made it much easier, the cowardice of the anonymous critic is nothing new, as this quote from the 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon illustrates:
“Never write what you dare not sign. An anonymous letter-writer is a sort of assassin, who wears a mask, and stabs in the dark. Such a man is a fiend with a pen. If discovered, the wretch will be steeped in the blackest infamy.”
One of my personal favorite responses to anonymous critics, online haters, and internet trolls is the music video for “The Sound” by The 1975. The video shows the band performing in a glass box as a crowd of people gather round hurling insults at them while humorously flashing quotes pulled from the internet. The video ends on a high note with the band calmly watching from outside the box their critics have now placed themselves in:
Since this has been a hot topic as of late, the last thing I’d like to discuss is the overly-sensitive, moral outragers and their relationship to art, artists, and censorship.
Before the film Joker was released it received a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, which made it seem like it would have a smooth, easy road ahead on its way to the box office. Then came the controversy…
During the film’s pre-release viewings for critics both Time and Vanity Fair published reviews calling the film “irresponsible” and worried that the film’s depiction of a mentally ill loner turning to violence would inspire real-life acts of violence. Later, the military stirred the pot even further by issuing warnings to law enforcement based off of online threats that resulted in an increased police presence at theatrical showings of the film. Ironically, all of the controversy only seemed to help the film rather than hurt it since, at the time of writing this, it is on the verge of making $1 billion dollars worldwide.
I bring up the Joker film controversy in order to show the latest example in a long history of moralists attempting to censor art that they disagree with or that makes them uncomfortable. This type of moral outrage over art is not exclusive to either side of the religious/political spectrum. For example, conservative Christians have a long history of boycotting/protesting musicians they disagree with, such as Marilyn Manson, Judas Priest, Slayer, or even the Beatles.
On a personal note, I’ve received criticism for sex in my book from both sides. Prudish Christians don’t like the explicit nature of some of the sex scenes while one “hyper-woke” reviewer apparently felt I wasn’t explicit enough when she commented that I used a “problematic” sexist trope by closing a scene when the female character was about to receive pleasure. This would be a perfect example of the old adage “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” Something I’ve learned as an artist is that people are going to bring their own personal baggage to their interpretation of your work. They sometimes interpret something you do as a political or moral statement when it actually isn’t meant to be one. There are genuine cases when issues need to be discussed and people should be called out for things they do and/or say, but for some people these days it seems like getting offended is their new favorite hobby or like it’s some new type of social currency. In many cases I think it is just a cry for attention and the need to feel “better” than someone else.
“You’ve got to always realize that you’re being criticized by the fashion of the day and when the fashion changes everyone forgets about that.” -film director, Brian de Palma
Ultimately, if you ever want to feel empowered as an artist when the critics, professional or otherwise, are trying to tear you down just tell them the same thing that football players say to those on the sidelines:
“I’m making plays on the field as you make comments from the bleachers.”