New media film critics should stress spiritual guide.

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Film criticism plays an important role in improving the quality of films. With the development of new media, film critics from Internet forums, blogs and WeChat public accounts have gained a large following among Internet users.

Nevertheless, this new form of criticism is characterized by a number of problems, such as an entertainment orientation, extremist views and a lack of social responsibility. We should be aware of these problems and guide the healthy development of new media film critics.

First, they should stress spiritual guidance to the public. Compared with traditional forms of film criticism, new media criticism has its advantages, including the ability to spread rapidly and reach a broad audience, while the strong personalities of critics appeals to readers. However, this form is inadequate in terms of spiritual guidance.

Film is a popular art, and film critics should have social functions. New media critics should comment on the merits and flaws of films in an objective way to guide film creation. And they also should pay attention to the balancing of artistic and commercial aspects of films, stressing the function of shaping social spirit and advocating positive power.

Second, new media film critics should strive for credibility. They should not regard commercial success as the only metric for judging a work or be bribed to offer their support to low-quality films. They should explore a sophisticated and comprehensive evaluation system based on an analysis of the film industry, the psychological features of the audience and other related aspects.

Film critics should have independence and dignity when commenting on films. They should hold fast to their conscience and principles to resist the corrosive influence of consumerism. New media film critics should also utilize scientific and rational standards to evaluate films, which will encourage the production of films with high artistic quality that are also popular with audiences.

Traditional film criticism has strong theoretical value, but it relies too heavily on Western theories and tends to use too much jargon and esoteric concepts, distancing critics from the audience. While inheriting the traditional theories, new media film criticism should innovate in the discourse system in the industry by carrying out equal dialogue with Western film theories. Hence, they can contribute to building critical theories with Chinese characteristics, styles and manners.

Third, new media film critics should promote fair competition by exposing and opposing unhealthy competitive methods like box office fraud to help optimize film management policies. China’s Film Industry Promotion Law officially implemented March 1 this year requires cinemas to calculate box office earnings honestly and also laid out punitive measures, which undoubtedly will facilitate orderly competition and healthy development in the industry.  

It should be noted that professionals should have a rational attitude toward negative comments on the Internet. For one thing, some of them are malicious attacks by rivals, and some are only an emotional assessment of the audience. They do not necessarily reflect the quality of films. And for another, they also have significance because they to some extent reflect the audience needs and their dislike of crudely made films, which can serve as lessons for professionals to draw upon.

 

Huang Yongjun and Liu Qian are from the School of Media and Communication at Chongqing Normal University.