18 The reviewer
The critics – you shouldn’t even ignore them. (Sam Goldwyn, film mogul)
Critics are like horse-flies. They prevent the horse from ploughing. (Anton Chekhov)
The best judge of a feast is the guest, not the cook. (Aristotle)
What you need is honesty, the bravery to say what you really feel … you have to forget about being liked. (Aleks Sierz, in an email to the author)
Let’s call them reviewers if they work in journalism and critics if they are academics. Chekhov the creator was mainly thinking of bad theatre reviewers, who didn’t appreciate his new approach to playwriting. Goldwyn, the tycoon producer, could afford to rubbish film reviewers, in imitable style. The two of them remind us that the creator is essential – the reviewer ...
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