Word: criticize
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Kant has pointed out, "One must not be in the least prepossessed in favor of the real existence of the thing...in order to play the part of judge in matters of taste." Often, however, dwelling on an individual's feelings is gratuitious and self-indulgent, and when a critic is far removed from the theater he tends to forget that...
Sure, some guys have axes to grind, but if they are conscious of their responsibilities and have a little self-awareness, most personal attacks are eliminated in the first draft. (You could probably learn a lot about a critic's personality from his first drafts.) Then there are the lonely critics: may be they have friends in the theater and would like to be friendlier, or maybe they would like to have more friends in theater, or maybe they would just like to have more friends. They love writing a rave review, but better yet, they love visiting with...
...critic I know was so upset when a musical got a vicious review from someone else, that he wrote a review of the review, and sent it, along with words of praise, to the cast. Then he went backstage during intermission to say hello. Some guys just want to be loved...
Second, they provide a forum for artistic debate. This sounds bloated and silly, but an intelligent, experienced critic, even a peer, can sometimes give you a lot of insight into a particular branch of the arts. If more people responded to reviews (or if more reviews were stimulating enough to respond to), some lively debates could be generated...
Sometimes, when an actor or director loses perspective, a critic is the only person who will suggest he is doing something wrong, and that kind of judgement is vital for the artist to consider if he wants to develop...