The Same Old Story

Just as journalists bemoan the fall of newspapers in general, so do print film critics worry about their profession, figuring its glory days are over.

I guess they have a point--many newspapers don't think they need reviewers on staff any more. But film critics have been moaning about how their field no longer matters for as long as I can remember. Maybe there was a golden age somewhere between 1955 and 1975, but, apparently, it's been all downhill since then.

But I wonder. Yes, I suppose it's a bad time for print, but as far as movies are concerned, there's more writing about them--much of it in depth--than ever. Sure, amateurs are mostly the ones doing it, and they often have "bad" taste, but is that so awful? Seems to me film criticism is livelier and more widespread than ever.