Why I’m not scared of the MovieTokkers
On changes to film criticism.
Last week, The New York Times published an article about the rise of MovieTok, a subset of TikTok where users post their thoughts on recent films. These are largely quick, subjective takes about films, and the personalities are hesitant to call themselves critics. It’s a popular way to talk about movies at a time when many outlets are cutting arts critics, and I thought it was a fascinating read.
As someone who’s been reviewing movies for nearly 20 years and is on the leadership board of a local critics group, it’s probably expected that I have some thoughts on this. After all, my graduate thesis was focused on how the internet has changed the face of film criticism. And I briefly considered going for a Ph.D. in which my focus would have studied the opportunities new media opens for the field.
As the article notes, arguments from cinephiles about the relevancy of current critics is nothing new. It happens every few years. The article highlights the frustrations Goddard and Truffaut had with critics of their day, and that conflict eventually gave birth to the French New Wave. When Siskel and Ebert took to TV, critics like Richard Corliss bemoaned a dumbing-down of criticism. And we’re still experiencing the shifts that came with the internet’s democratization of film criticism, which meant anyone could open a blog and share their thoughts with the world. On the one hand, this means critics who studied film and trained for a career as a reviewer now competed with people who had no training or formal background in journalism, analysis or film studies. On the other hand, it means those who loved film now had a place to join the conversation (and once newspapers shuttered, it meant displaced critics like me didn’t have to abandon the field).
And yes, that democratization has had its drawbacks. It’s partly to blame for the deluge of superhero movies and toxic fans, and I think it also opened up a culture that has its own deep problems. The internet is full of amateur film reviewers whose takes are bad, and the click-driven culture that drives much of it often encourages those bad takes. Every white dude (including yours truly) has a film podcast, and very few of them are worth a listen. And that’s all without discussing Rotten Tomatoes and both the challenges and benefits it poses to critics, whose reviews often get lost in aggregate but who also gain legitimacy from being affiliated with the site.
And yet, I also love a lot of internet criticism. Without the spatial constraints of newspapers, critics can wax eloquent about films and conduct deep analysis. The evergreen nature of a website means criticism also doesn’t need to focus solely on new films; there’s a whole critical industry about vintage films that is often more enjoyable than anything focusing on new releases, and there are websites devoted to genre work that rival anything a mainstream platform offers. Social media has opened up conversation between critics and other film lovers. I love passionate debate about cinema on podcasts, and YouTube essayists now have a tool that allows them to discuss film using the form itself. The internet may indulge some of the worst behaviors of the film community, but it’s also a tool to take some really daring creative leaps.
And so, why not TikTok?
I’ll admit, I kind of had to write myself into defending it. As a middle-aged man who got his start writing for print publications, I was not eager to embrace the platform as a place for valid criticism. I have the TikTok app, but I have a love-hate relationship with it. I like it as a way to deliver funny, bite-sized sketches and skits. But it’s a horrible time-waster. And I’m deeply cynical of influencer culture, which I think speaks to the worst impulses of an attention-seeking, fame-worshiping, capitalism-serving culture. I’ll also admit that when I spend hours crafting sentences and get only a fraction of the audience as people who toss up some pictures on Instagram or a video saying “I liked this” make thousands of dollars, my pride gets a bit wounded. And I haven’t seen the in-depth analysis on TikTok yet that would make me see these individuals as peers.
Nor do the MovieTokkers seem to want me to – as the article states, they don’t want to be called critics. And right now, many of them are not. A subjective “I liked this movie” isn’t film criticism. And if you’re accepting money from studios to make social media content about a movie, you’re a publicist, not a critic. Currently, based on the rules of membership for our critics guild, I can’t imagine we’d let someone in whose only credentials are TikToks. So, yeah, right now, they’re not critics (and if you look at the vast number of fan-driven movie blogs out there, neither are many people who are writing or podcasting about movies).
But one day, TikTok will be a valid place for film criticism.
I laughed at the idea that Twitter … sigh, X … could be a place to have great discussions about film, but I’ve been proven wrong (my only hope now is that the conversation continues at somewhere like Blue Sky or Threads). The conversational nature of the site and the ability to include visuals that illustrate your analysis have led to some instances where I’ve experienced genuinely solid film discussion on the microblogging site (this is not the same as Film Twitter, which is often like a written version of MovieTok). As the platform evolves, people will find a way to use it for legitimate, thoughtful conversations about film. Many MovieTokkers who right now just love to share their subjective thoughts about movies will discover that what they consider subjective is them responding to objective rules about filmmaking and why certain movies work and others don’t. And they’ll find a way to talk about that in 30-second bites that further the conversation.
I don’t think it will be a sole or even primary place for great film criticism, and it won’t be for everyone. That’s part of what’s exciting about the possibilities new media bring to the field: you’ll find a style that you respond to, and critics who are using it to have create a great film community. TikTok will never be my destination for film criticism, but for my son or daughter, it might eventually be the gateway that gets them thinking deeper about the form or sharing their own thoughts. And I welcome that day.
A brief programming note
It’s crazy to think about it, but we’re at the end of summer. It seems like it was just last week that we were debating whether the Guardians of the Galaxy, Indiana Jones or The Flash would be topping the summer box office, but here we are living in a Barbie world. It’s a fascinating summer and I think we’re all going to spend some time studying the box office results to say what it means about audience tastes and what, if anything, Hollywood learns from it.
It’s been a good summer, but also a fast and busy one. I’ve loved doing the summer of ‘93 series, and I’ve written a lot both here and at CinemaNerdz. And we’re heading into my favorite part of the moviegoing season with the fall releases and end of the year rush to come. And outside of moviegoing, my home and professional life has also been good but slammed.
So, what I’m trying to say is that I need a quick break, and I’m going to take just a few weeks off writing here.
There’s still a final Summer of ‘93 entry to come on Friday. And it’s possible that if some piece of big news arises or something sticks in my mind, I’ll write something. But right now, my intention is to take a few weeks off the newsletter to focus on decompressing and gearing up toward the fall. I’ll be back in mid-September, and I really plan on starting the end of year push then. I’m going to do a lot of catching up with 2023 entries I’ve missed, and I want to follow up the Summer of 1993 series with one about catching up with old classics I’ve missed. So, there’s a lot to come – I just need to clear my head while I prepare for it!
Thanks for reading. Like I said, one more post coming Friday and then I’ll be back in mid-September.
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