After reading Adam Kirch's essay, " The Will Not to Power, but to Self-Understanding," I've noticed some solid points about criticism. Kirch doesn't believe that a critic writes "to convince, to argue, or to establish his argument" which Alfred Kazin once wrote. Criticism isn't about power in Kirch's mind, but he doesn't deny that there are critics writing out there today. He knows that, but he doesn't consider them to be serious writers. Kirch has a clear definition of what serious criticism is: " A serious critic is one who says something true about life and the world. The critic's will is not to power, but to self-understanding, self-expression, truth." He knows that critics have the power to drive down or up a book's sale, but that's not the reason why we, as readers, continue to read. Kirch belives that we read because of the pyschology, society, morals, and politics in the book. I can agree with this.
Adam Kirch makes a great point in his essay. His point is true for all types of texts. Music and movies can be viewed in the same way. I don't usually read a lot of critics' writings; I don't really trust them. I think a lot of critics today are just writing for power. It's a bummer. I guess the world needs more people like Adam Kirch who want to write for the sake of literary beauty.
When I read this essay, I got the same points as you. I agree, critics can have influence over the things we read, watch, and listen to, but people trust them less and less these days. There are plenty of books, movies, and music that I like, despite a bad review they have gotten. I also liked his point that criticizing should be to find truth and understanding, not just to make an argument. By the way, I love your last line here. I completely agree.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this guy, Adam Kirch. Sadly, I value critics opinions a lot when determining which movies I watch. But you can tell the critics that take into account the ideas of self-expression and truth, and those seem to be the opinions that are most valued and most read. I think that "saying something true about life" is exactly what critics should aim for.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a pretty good article too. I love that your critic raises the same point as mine, that critics need to focus on crafting thier work for beauty, and not just write for the power that is associated with the attention of the masses. Nice
ReplyDeleteI concur, Geof. It's nice to know judgement is going on without influence of an economical sort. Were I a critic, I'd probably end up doing whatever I could to pass unbiased judgement because criticism is usually of pure intention but people see it negatively.
ReplyDeleteParty on, Leif, Party on.