Everyone's a critic

Not to spend all my time here promoting TOC, but this should be of particular interest to readers of the blog. The cover package in our new issue is all about the intersection of criticism and blogging (as well as other user-generated content sites like Yelp and LTHForum).

I moderated a roundtable discussion (in an online chat room, no less) with print critics and bloggers. Excerpts are in the magazine, but you can read the full transcript here. Check out the whole package here.

Comments

[RebeccaZ]

Awesome, Kris. I just read it ... great job.

[Reina]

So, unrelated, but I just got a promotional email from the people who put up "The End," (your review in the current TOC). It had the following pull quote:

" ...it's like Apocalypse Now as penned by Diablo Cody." -Kris Vire, TImeOut Chicago

In context, this was definitely not a compliment.
Misappropriation! It makes me giggle!

[Vance]

In response to Reina's comment about the promotional email for "The End": that was me; I made the offending email. It's funny because our ensemble discussed at length whether or not to use that quote and finally decided that is was a very interesting representation of the perverse little show that we love. I recognize that in the context of the review it is not a compliment, and it is far from my intent to misrepresent. I think that even out of context, not everyone will find the quote appealing, but those that do might like our show. If Kris is in anyway upset by the use of his words in this manner, I will gladly cease use of the quote and will even post an apology on our website.

This reminds me of an anecdote. About ten years ago I was in a play called "Lucia Mad" in which I played a young Samuel Beckett. In this show, Beckett's depressed awkward nature was sometimes played for comic effect. One reviewer described my performance as "farcically morose" and at first (scanning the review only for my name as a young actor might) I believed the mention to be a compliment, since that was pretty much what I was going for. Only upon further inspection, did I realize this was not the case.

Again, please let me know if I have done bad.