Criticism

As our class began to read through Oedipus this week and I witnessed the arguments that took place between the main characters of the story, I constantly reminded myself of the importance of valid criticism. A little constructive questioning and clarification between the characters rather than emotional fights could help ease many of the tensions between the characters. The ability to criticize is something everyone should have in their toolkit. 

When most people think of the word “critic”, they may imagine a middle-aged, frustrated man who hates his life and is planning to tear apart the work and the lives of others through his reviews. For my entire childhood when I heard the word critic, I thought of Anton Ego from Ratatouille - a man who was despised by chefs throughout Paris for his harsh reviews and feared for his even scarier demeanor. By the time I became an adolescent, I began to realize that I utilized the opinions of critics to drive many of my everyday decisions. As a self-proclaimed cinephile, I frequently scoured the Internet for reviews and recommendations on an amazing movie I could indulge myself in next. By the time I turned 15, I realized criticism was an important part not only in deciding what entertainment I viewed but what courses I took, what friends I made, what improvements I could make in my everyday life. Whether it be professional, social, or even personal, criticism has not only been important in my life but holds an invaluable role in our society.

The legendary film-critic Roger Ebert once proclaimed “Film criticism is important because films are important” and I think this philosophy perfectly describes why proper criticism is necessary to propel our society and its people forward. Criticizing our politicians in order to enable change is important because the government and the duties it performs are important, criticizing our technology companies about their security and privacy  policies are important because technology and its power is important, and criticizing ourselves when we make a mistake is important because people and their actions are important. 

Oedipus should criticize, not simply attack his constituents before hearing them out. Good criticism can push ourselves and the people around us forward.