My brother Hamish had a film come out in New Zealand cinemas yesterday (Uproar - please go see it) and I've been reading a few of the reviews on Letterboxd. Most of them are very positive but there are a few critical ones. I just have to keep reminding myself that they're just someone's perfectly legitimate opinion!
Synopsis: A 17 year-old is forced to clamber off the fence he has actively sat on all his life to stand up for himself, his whānau (family) and his future.
As someone who writes book reviews, both for fun in my newsletter and professionally (but anonymously) for trade outlets, I loved this piece. I couldn't do reviews if I didn't love books. Sometimes you read something and you like it, knowing its flaws, but even that is a recommendation in itself. In fact, I have a review due tomorrow that is very much mixed but I'm still glad I read it. I could have written this same column about my relationship with BookTok. Props to you, Tony.
(Yay, Mister Organ release!! Boooo, horrible bad review of it!!)
BookTok is a strange beast. I'm on it myself (@lottiebadottie) and mostly I keep to my side of BookTok which is weird fantasy, sci-fi and horror, with other genres occasionally sprinkled in. The difficultly often arises from authors stalking TikTok looking for mentions of them and then sending their fans to attack whoever said something "mean".
Like most of TikTok, it's important to find the part of it that speaks most to what you like, and ignore the rest. Sometimes I see the "drama" when someone I like is dragged into it, but I keep my head down. Like most of social media, TikTok is what you make it and what you engage with.
Am now following you on Letterboxd and feeling re-energised into finishing my editing on my own substack writing. I review films on Easternkicks.com as an amateur and, though I do get to see screener from festivals, I pay my own way to see films I review from NZIFF and still buy a lot of physical media for more obscure titles. I'm sure a lot of other reviewers who do it for the love of cinema also do this.
In using Grant for token "balance", every week Stuff gets to loose off one of NACT's most effective foot-guns. I'm sure that's no accident: they're getting cheap entertainment click-bait, from a stereotype whose well-known background makes every column a caricature of the libertarian Right. Read him in the morning and you'll start one day a week with a guaranteed belly-laugh.
If you want an extra laugh whenever you read Grant, think of this. NACT can't beg him to stop taking the fee and harming their credibility every week, because they use the fig-leaf of free speech to appeal to the worse angels of our nature.
I always enjoy seeing pieces like this from Tony and Co. Whilst I adore and am always here for the pieces of Webworm that are crusading for justice, it's sometimes nice to open the newsletter and not be horrified by the latest bunch of nonsense being committed by churches or deeply unwell people who are just, for some unknown reason, allowed to be out and freely roaming the world unchecked.
And yay for Mr Organ coming to the UK in some format! Best thing I have heard this week
“It should go without saying that having a negative opinion about something popular is allowed. I’d go so far as to say it’s a crucial part of the whole cultural shebang.”
This! This part of the piece hit the nail on the head. It’s something I’ve been sitting with and reflecting on for a long time. We’ve lost the art of being able to have a conversation with someone where we disagree and then can still walk away and be friends! It’s so sad because as Tony writes we need this for the “whole cultural shebang”.
Had a real hankering for some decent film criticism and essays recently. It's hard to wade through the endless plot synopsis (no)thought pieces online. Then had a hot tip that Vincent Ward (Vigil, The Navigator, What Dreams May Come...) had sold a bunch of his film book library to a local second hand shop. So had to pick some up including a copy of "Roger Ebert's Book of Film" collection of film writing. What pushed me over the purchasing line though, other than it coming from VW's library, was the note written inside the front cover. The book was a gift celebrating the end of a very difficult production and wishing him well for the post-production phase. "I got you this book book because I know Ebert is a big fan of yours and has done a remarkable job of accumulating a century of film literature".
As someone who has made a conscious decision not to care TOO MUCH about the perfect coffee, the perfect hair cut, the perfect outfit, the perfect meal, etc. etc. I am happy for people to love imperfect movies etc. And because I just like what I like regardless of someone's opinion or critque (talking film, music, books etc.) I've never got deep into the world of paid or unpaid "critics" to know who to trust or not, so it is an obscure world to me. But as I intellectually find lots of things fascinating even if not existential, it was quite interesting to read that this aspect of paid/unpaid work has not been immune from the social media trolls and/or the uninformed or performative out to make money or influence there as well.
Aotearoa New Zealand IS weird, David. Weird and very parochial. We hate tall poppies but we are thrilled when the AllBlacksTallFernsWhiteWhatevers win on the world stage.
Thanks for the laughs today, guys! I love laughing.
I don't think you need to shut up about your film. It's your project, you worked hard on it, you're proud of it and this is your platform. Shout it from the bloody rooftops. And I've seen it and it's bloody good cinema if that helps. I still think about it and the implications it left me with quite regularly and I saw it quite a while ago now.
As for Damien Grant, I read precisely ONE of his articles before I knew anything about him and it was clearly evident that he is a massive wanker if nothing else, so I've never touched any of his stuff since. I don't need his fecal drivel in print form in my life, that's for sure.
Well there you go. I have read Damien Grant's columns for years and never knew about his serious criminal history. Or his association with the toxic Sean Plunket. It is indeed weird - and absolutely not ok - that his "review" was published by Stuff. Congrats for the New York award. X
It might have been too much to get into here but I would love a Tony Stamp column focusing on this collective misunderstanding of what art is - feels like it's infesting so much of online culture, especially. If you extend "fan culture" to the (already-realised) prospect of "fan service culture", endless Star Wars shows of variable quality and various horses ridden into the ground, all proliferating in a world of crap AI generators giving you more of what you already like rather than exploring new worlds. AI can give you "more Wes Anderson-alike" but it cannot originate Wes Anderson in a world in which Wes Anderson doesn't already exist. Etc etc, I ramble
literary criticism is an art form in itself that feels like it’s dying even as media outlets are kind of… trying to figure out their place in a digital age.
Anyway, the bit about Gen Z movie fans being weirdly purist got me thinking about how a lot of Gen Z fans in fandom started bringing a weirdlt puritanical vibe to the proceedings. First in whispers on Tumblr and then later with “ship” wars. A two year age gap between fictional adults would be torn apart for being a problematic pedo ship. I think it was a precursor of things to come
A local podcast just yesterday or an RNZ item (it's all a blur!) discussed the boring gen' of U25. It sounds like they're living their best lives. Boring! (Says this dull Boomer). Love your work, Tony. Cheers.
I'll build a statue of Damien Grant
He won't like it
I will contribute $10.
Ok yikes I better start thinking about this
I got some donkey poo I can contribute!
I was thinking of waiting until I got sick and saving all the tissues
Wrap one into the other? 🤷♀️
You'll be continuing a noble tradition:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/90150543/canterbury-artist-sam-mahon-takes-on-nick-smith-again
Incredible.
My brother Hamish had a film come out in New Zealand cinemas yesterday (Uproar - please go see it) and I've been reading a few of the reviews on Letterboxd. Most of them are very positive but there are a few critical ones. I just have to keep reminding myself that they're just someone's perfectly legitimate opinion!
I cannot *wait* to see it. Everything I have heard about it is amazing. It was produced by Emma Slade, who produced Mister Organ!
For any kiwi's in NZ reading:
Tickets: https://www.flicks.co.nz/movie/uproar/#movie-tabs
Synopsis: A 17 year-old is forced to clamber off the fence he has actively sat on all his life to stand up for himself, his whānau (family) and his future.
Awesome film.
I am super excited to see this. Can’t wait!
I loved it. Thank him for a great movie! Julian doing his haka.. super mauri.. chef's kiss.
I am unbelievably excited to see this and waiting for any word on a release date here in the USA!
Speaking of reviews, the Guardian has just published one of Mr Organ
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/oct/05/mister-organ-movie-documentary-review-david-farrier?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0zH6V85K9OrihAjkdPfwCbjNNLkNx0ry3kS061bCEMR9sgfd_-LFFc3t8#Echobox=1696517037
Oh, fucking A. What a nice day this has been.
As someone who writes book reviews, both for fun in my newsletter and professionally (but anonymously) for trade outlets, I loved this piece. I couldn't do reviews if I didn't love books. Sometimes you read something and you like it, knowing its flaws, but even that is a recommendation in itself. In fact, I have a review due tomorrow that is very much mixed but I'm still glad I read it. I could have written this same column about my relationship with BookTok. Props to you, Tony.
(Yay, Mister Organ release!! Boooo, horrible bad review of it!!)
BookTok is a strange beast. I'm on it myself (@lottiebadottie) and mostly I keep to my side of BookTok which is weird fantasy, sci-fi and horror, with other genres occasionally sprinkled in. The difficultly often arises from authors stalking TikTok looking for mentions of them and then sending their fans to attack whoever said something "mean".
Like most of TikTok, it's important to find the part of it that speaks most to what you like, and ignore the rest. Sometimes I see the "drama" when someone I like is dragged into it, but I keep my head down. Like most of social media, TikTok is what you make it and what you engage with.
Really happy to hear that Molly, thank you :)
Am now following you on Letterboxd and feeling re-energised into finishing my editing on my own substack writing. I review films on Easternkicks.com as an amateur and, though I do get to see screener from festivals, I pay my own way to see films I review from NZIFF and still buy a lot of physical media for more obscure titles. I'm sure a lot of other reviewers who do it for the love of cinema also do this.
Ugh. My husband gives me trigger alerts if Damien Grant has a column out. Why do Stuff publish his silly opinions?
In using Grant for token "balance", every week Stuff gets to loose off one of NACT's most effective foot-guns. I'm sure that's no accident: they're getting cheap entertainment click-bait, from a stereotype whose well-known background makes every column a caricature of the libertarian Right. Read him in the morning and you'll start one day a week with a guaranteed belly-laugh.
I think you're spot on. It's a semblance of bipartisan opinion, when really it's just a wanker being a wanker, feasting on outrage clicks
If you want an extra laugh whenever you read Grant, think of this. NACT can't beg him to stop taking the fee and harming their credibility every week, because they use the fig-leaf of free speech to appeal to the worse angels of our nature.
This.
I am curious where it all started. I think the Herald gave him a home first?
That wouldn't surprise me
I always enjoy seeing pieces like this from Tony and Co. Whilst I adore and am always here for the pieces of Webworm that are crusading for justice, it's sometimes nice to open the newsletter and not be horrified by the latest bunch of nonsense being committed by churches or deeply unwell people who are just, for some unknown reason, allowed to be out and freely roaming the world unchecked.
And yay for Mr Organ coming to the UK in some format! Best thing I have heard this week
Very happy to be writing about comparatively trivial stuff, and glad you like it Susannah. Thanks!
“It should go without saying that having a negative opinion about something popular is allowed. I’d go so far as to say it’s a crucial part of the whole cultural shebang.”
This! This part of the piece hit the nail on the head. It’s something I’ve been sitting with and reflecting on for a long time. We’ve lost the art of being able to have a conversation with someone where we disagree and then can still walk away and be friends! It’s so sad because as Tony writes we need this for the “whole cultural shebang”.
Great piece!
It annoys me how often I find myself nodding along to ol' Tony.
In my particular line of work I always think if you like everything then it becomes meaningless. Better to highlight the actual good stuff.
Had a real hankering for some decent film criticism and essays recently. It's hard to wade through the endless plot synopsis (no)thought pieces online. Then had a hot tip that Vincent Ward (Vigil, The Navigator, What Dreams May Come...) had sold a bunch of his film book library to a local second hand shop. So had to pick some up including a copy of "Roger Ebert's Book of Film" collection of film writing. What pushed me over the purchasing line though, other than it coming from VW's library, was the note written inside the front cover. The book was a gift celebrating the end of a very difficult production and wishing him well for the post-production phase. "I got you this book book because I know Ebert is a big fan of yours and has done a remarkable job of accumulating a century of film literature".
As someone who has made a conscious decision not to care TOO MUCH about the perfect coffee, the perfect hair cut, the perfect outfit, the perfect meal, etc. etc. I am happy for people to love imperfect movies etc. And because I just like what I like regardless of someone's opinion or critque (talking film, music, books etc.) I've never got deep into the world of paid or unpaid "critics" to know who to trust or not, so it is an obscure world to me. But as I intellectually find lots of things fascinating even if not existential, it was quite interesting to read that this aspect of paid/unpaid work has not been immune from the social media trolls and/or the uninformed or performative out to make money or influence there as well.
Aotearoa New Zealand IS weird, David. Weird and very parochial. We hate tall poppies but we are thrilled when the AllBlacksTallFernsWhiteWhatevers win on the world stage.
Thanks for the laughs today, guys! I love laughing.
Laughing is the best fucking thing. If we can laugh at least a little bit each day, we're doing OK.
HA!
I don't think you need to shut up about your film. It's your project, you worked hard on it, you're proud of it and this is your platform. Shout it from the bloody rooftops. And I've seen it and it's bloody good cinema if that helps. I still think about it and the implications it left me with quite regularly and I saw it quite a while ago now.
As for Damien Grant, I read precisely ONE of his articles before I knew anything about him and it was clearly evident that he is a massive wanker if nothing else, so I've never touched any of his stuff since. I don't need his fecal drivel in print form in my life, that's for sure.
Well there you go. I have read Damien Grant's columns for years and never knew about his serious criminal history. Or his association with the toxic Sean Plunket. It is indeed weird - and absolutely not ok - that his "review" was published by Stuff. Congrats for the New York award. X
I assume Stuff does it for the clicks. He's such an odd man.
It might have been too much to get into here but I would love a Tony Stamp column focusing on this collective misunderstanding of what art is - feels like it's infesting so much of online culture, especially. If you extend "fan culture" to the (already-realised) prospect of "fan service culture", endless Star Wars shows of variable quality and various horses ridden into the ground, all proliferating in a world of crap AI generators giving you more of what you already like rather than exploring new worlds. AI can give you "more Wes Anderson-alike" but it cannot originate Wes Anderson in a world in which Wes Anderson doesn't already exist. Etc etc, I ramble
When I think about it too much I start to feel like I have ants in my brain, but I can try Barnaby - thanks for your faith in me!
literary criticism is an art form in itself that feels like it’s dying even as media outlets are kind of… trying to figure out their place in a digital age.
Anyway, the bit about Gen Z movie fans being weirdly purist got me thinking about how a lot of Gen Z fans in fandom started bringing a weirdlt puritanical vibe to the proceedings. First in whispers on Tumblr and then later with “ship” wars. A two year age gap between fictional adults would be torn apart for being a problematic pedo ship. I think it was a precursor of things to come
https://www.vox.com/culture/23733213/fandom-purity-culture-what-is-proship-antiship-antifandom
It's really fascinating, I'm going to delve into the 'puriteen' phenomenon next month.
A local podcast just yesterday or an RNZ item (it's all a blur!) discussed the boring gen' of U25. It sounds like they're living their best lives. Boring! (Says this dull Boomer). Love your work, Tony. Cheers.
Loved Tony's piece, really fun read.
And well done DF!
I love Tony's stuff. His film criticism on Flicks is great, as is his music stuff on RNZ. Kiwi's are lucky to have him. As is Webworm!
Thanks Amy!