1.

Record Nr.

UNISA996496569403316

Autore

Frey Mattias

Titolo

The permanent crisis of film criticism : the anxiety of authority / / Matias Frey

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Amsterdam, Netherlands : , : Amsterdam University Press, , [2015]

©2015

ISBN

90-485-2447-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (194 pages)

Collana

Film theory in media history

Disciplina

791.4

Soggetti

Film criticism

Motion pictures

Journalism

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1. The Birthing Pains of the First Professionals: Promotion and Distinction -- 2. Second-Wave Crises of Proximity and Distance: Relating to the Industry and the Audience -- 3. The Institutional Assertion of Authority: Sight and Sound and the Postwar Cinephile Challenge -- 4. From “I” to “We”: Filmkritik and the Limits of Kracauerism in Postwar German Film Criticism -- 5. The Anxiety of Influence: The “Golden Age” of Criticism, the Rise of the TV Pundit, and the Memory of Pauline Kael -- 6. The Spectre of “Democratization” in the Digital Age -- Conclusion. What is the Good of Authoritative Critics? -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Film criticism is in crisis. Dwelling on the many film journalists made redundant at newspapers, magazines, and other 'old media' in past years, commentators have voiced existential questions about the purpose and worth of the profession in the age of WordPress blogospheres and proclaimed the 'death of the critic'. Bemoaning the current anarchy of internet amateurs and the lack of authoritative critics, many journalists and academics claim that in the digital age, cultural commentary has become dumbed down and fragmented into niche markets. Mattias Freu, arguing against these claims, examines



the history of film critical discourse in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He demonstrates that since its origins, film criticism has always found itself in crisis: the need to show critical authority and the anxieties over challenges to that authority have been longstanding concerns.