I found this great article on shirky.com - I think it is a pretty good example of what pop-culture criticism can be. Being a critic is more than just attacking an idea, rating a movie or album or pointing out flaws in logic. As you'll read in the Ivie article and as I think you'll start to realize after reading this fun piece is, criticism is productive, not just constructive. Criticism shed new light on ideas, open new pathways for understanding and relating to our surroundings. It gives perspective and invites revision and reconstruction.
This article by Clay Shirky, about cultural surplus is a hybrid of film and cultural criticism. When you read it, ask yourself a few questions.
1. What is the artifact in question? What made it significant or interesting to discuss?
2. What are the main ideas or arguments of the article? What is Shirky trying to communicate to the reader and what impact does it have?
3. Does it spark any questions from you? How does it conform to or oppose your definition of criticism and/or the role of a critic?
4. Ivie and to a certain extent Foss argue that criticism is productive, that it produces new social knowledge and poses new questions. Think about Ivie's short article -- what is produced in this article?
OK, enough of the instructions! On to the article. I hope you enjoy it! Click here to read the article.
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