Criticism: A Dying Art

In Sam Anderson's "Why Criticism Matters", he talks of how the new-age critic should write to catch the attention of the shortened attention of the "Ipocalypse". He compares criticism across different genres to give the point that when one criticizes someones writing, they have the opportunity to write with a prose and style of their own. Much like criticising a poem with another poem. The author of the criticism is therefore creating one combined super poem. The style mustn't be the super boring dry styles of old, but a new way to catch the reader's attention.

When reading this I instantly thought of a game critic that has been nicknamed Zero Punctuation. He creates a short flash cartoon of himself playing the game and criticises it with a voice over that can involve vulgar language as well as apt descriptions incredible compliments of the game's finer points. When it comes down to it, if he gives the game an overall good rating then the game usually ends up being a hit anyway, but his style in which he criticises the game makes the person want to go back and watch them again. Because they are funny to us. Therefore I agree with Anderson that the new-age critic must find different styles in order to catch the attention of the younger generation of reader. Be that shorter sentences, longer sentences, vulgar jokes, or flash cartoons with apt desciptions of things that we know inside and out.