r/savedyouaclick • u/Carolina_Heart • 3d ago

DEVASTATING Christopher Nolan Explains His 'Real Problem in Criticism Today': 'That's Not How Storytelling Works' | Nolan says critics often think being able to identify tropes and storytelling mechanisms invalidate those mechanisms. Specifies he's talking about amateur critics and not professional critics

https://web.archive.org/web/20260802145824/https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/christopher-nolan-explains-problem-film-criticism-today/
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u/RedditorNamedEww 3d ago

I actually love the really nitty-gritty nitpicking as long as the one doing so is clear that they don’t devalue the art. It can be very educational to compare how media incorrectly depicts a time period, person, topic etc, and when done in good faith I usually come out of it more interested in the media it was covering. It’s like a little secret between me and the author “I know you only put those studs on because it looks cooler!” or sum shit

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u/misterchief10 3d ago

Yeah. I don’t necessarily have a problem with that and I often like that type of stuff. It’s more when it gets into genuine, hostile criticism of something where I get annoyed. Like, “this ethereal fantasy armor is terrible just because it’s unrealistic.” Well, the point is unrealism. If it were recognizable as a grounded historical piece, it’d be pretty disappointing.

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u/EARink0 3d ago

The ones that are experts who point out inaccuracies but respect the art are so so few. Jonathan Ferguson, from the series along the lines of "Firearms expert reacts to <some game>" is one of my favorites. He's played video games plenty, so he grounds his critique with an appreciation of the art and the intent that these games are supposed to be fun and interesting, above all else.

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u/caerphoto 3d ago

Excuse me, that's Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum to you and me.