Scott’s book ventures far beyond cinema and deals with fundamental questions of art, audiences, and commentary. Economic, social, and technological evolution have made the critic’s function more, well, critical than ever. Today they actually occupy a crucial leverage point in the culture. Yet critics have somehow survived the insults and objections. Scott pushes back at these stereotypes and argues that criticism remains integral to the process of creation in the arts.Ĭertainly, over the centuries, critics have been a beleaguered lot-esteemed among small, sophisticated circles of readers, but widely disparaged, especially by those whose work they criticize. In his 2016 book Better Living Through Criticism, Scott wittily recounts this dustup and explains that it surfaced well-worn objections to critics: they lack joy they rain on everyone else’s parade they are haters, squares, snobs, or nerds. But it had raised issues, even timeless issues, about the place of the critic in culture. It became international news before the fracas burned itself out.
Jackson, who starred in The Avengers as Nick Fury, tweeted that “AO Scott needs a new job! Let’s help him find one! One he can ACTUALLY do!” This kicked off an Internet brouhaha, with Jackson’s followers retweeting the salvo and even adding their own colorful suggestions as to what Scott was qualified to do with himself. The movie quickly took in more than $1 billion in box-office receipts globally. He praised some aspects of the movie and bemoaned others, specifically “its sacrifice of originality on the altar of blockbuster.” Scott called The Avengers “a snappy little dialogue comedy dressed up as something else, that something being a giant ATM for Marvel and its new studio overlords, The Walt Disney Company.”ĭisney’s giant ATM worked flawlessly. Scott) reviewed a big Hollywood release, The Avengers. In 2012, New York Times film critic Anthony “Tony” Scott ’87 (writing under his byline, A.O.