Anticipa---------tion.

So I finally got a chance to see Million Dollar Baby last weekend and I think it would have been a much more effective film had a certain big fat Chicago film critic kept his big fat mouth shut. It reminded me of when I was waiting to see The Sixth Sense and I was incredibly careful to avoid any and all articles about the film because I knew there was a twist…and then two people were talking about the film while I was bartending one night and gave the whole thing away. I couldn’t very well leap across the bar and scream, “Shut up shut up!” and the bar was really small so that movie was pretty much ruined for me. The thing is, you could still really enjoy The Sixth Sense even if you knew there was a twist. With Million Dollar Baby all you can do is sit there and go, “When does it happen? When does it happen? When does it happen? When does- Oh. Ow.” You know what I mean?

Now I’m not saying criticism shouldn’t explore the deeper issues behind events that occur in moves. Criticism should. I also realize that in order to do so those events are going to have to be discussed. One could argue that, though I’m skirting the issue of what actually happens in either Million Dollar Baby or The Sixth Sense (or any of a great number of films), this piece is a further investigation rather than an initial criticism. Initial criticism (i.e. those Friday morning newspaper reviews or the weekend showbiz shows and their ilk) should give the broadest of overviews and maybe a touch of personal commentary that either recommends or lambasts the film in question. Simple enough, no? I bring this up because there is always that reviewer that wants to seem more “in the know” and ends up tipping off some point about the movie that is better left to the potential audience’s unadulterated initial experience.

So then I started wondering if this sort of boundary should apply to music criticism as well since many of us who write about music receive albums through the mail months before the rest of the general public. I mean, is it possible to give away the plot of a Kanye West disc or the newest Nada Surf?¹ I suppose that any criticism is going to detract from the potential audiences’ chance at a pure, open and honest experience with the album/film/TV show/play/book/etc. in question. For that reason it’s obviously the choice of the review’s reader/listener on whether they want to muddy the waters with someone else’s critical opinion in the first place. And I think that’s absolutely fine. What bugs me is when a critic uses a pulpit to divulge too much about an upcoming release with the end result intended to glorify them or put them ahead of the pack in some way or another. That’s a fucking abuse of power in my book.

¹For the record the Kanye album is more bland than the hype would lead you to believe but the Nada Surf disc is just a solid little fucker deserving of all the accolades sure to come rushing its way. See? It’s not like I gave away everything about the discs, right?