The trouble with movie critics today is that they are writing long
essays to an audience with short attention spans.
They're not as irrelevant as
we might think they are. They are a throwback to the old days when giving
one's opinion on a subject was a true "art form."
In the old days,
writers and artists lived and died by the opinions of critics because
critics were the true middleman -- even gatekeeper -- between the artists and their audiences.
When movies came alone, audiences still relied on critics because,
otherwise, it was a huge investment in time for them to actually drive
out to the theater to watch a movie that they might never get another chance to see. This was especially true before the advent of television. But even when every home had a TV, it could still be years before the movie made it to the free channels.
Today, studios saturate the airways
and the Internet with trailers, advertisements, music
and merchandising tie-ins, and countless other movie-related marketing gimmicks. By the time the movie hits
theaters, audiences already THINK they know what the film is about -- or at least feel more secure in stating an opinion about it. It doesn't matter if they're wrong. They'll always have a chance to see it on any one of the many post-theater venues accessible to them, from sites such as Netflix and Hulu, to cable channels and even network TV.
That tiny, almost inaudible chatter from critics have little impact on
moviegoers today.
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