Reading McClay's great essay, I was reminded of the book Living Better Through Criticism, and my own someday desire to become a better snob... But then I stumbled upon this piece https://every.to/cybernaut/the-anti-fan-phenomenon which seems to jibe with the trends that McClay notes. It seems like the future of art and criticism is all tribalist 'engagement', not calm appreciation.
Very interesting...yes there is a whole culture of anti-fandom. To over-psychologize, I would guess it has something to do with recognizing oneself/one's shadow in the Other and being fascinated/repulsed/attracted to it all at once. So the parasocial relationship you're in is essentially with your own dark side--your particular envies, lusts, insecurities, etc. Whatever that is, it's not criticism! Though plenty of my literary crushes are probably in large part parasocial coping mechanisms, so I'm not one to talk.
Could be. Although it's weird to me that both types of fans describe their activities as 'entertainment'. It's not criticism and it's not entertainment, is it? It's something very new, or very old perhaps.
The Writer's Desk... magnifique!
🙏
Reading McClay's great essay, I was reminded of the book Living Better Through Criticism, and my own someday desire to become a better snob... But then I stumbled upon this piece https://every.to/cybernaut/the-anti-fan-phenomenon which seems to jibe with the trends that McClay notes. It seems like the future of art and criticism is all tribalist 'engagement', not calm appreciation.
Very interesting...yes there is a whole culture of anti-fandom. To over-psychologize, I would guess it has something to do with recognizing oneself/one's shadow in the Other and being fascinated/repulsed/attracted to it all at once. So the parasocial relationship you're in is essentially with your own dark side--your particular envies, lusts, insecurities, etc. Whatever that is, it's not criticism! Though plenty of my literary crushes are probably in large part parasocial coping mechanisms, so I'm not one to talk.
Meanwhile I'm trying to read T.S. Eliot's The Sacred Wood, on criticism, and mostly it is way over my head. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sacred_Wood
Could be. Although it's weird to me that both types of fans describe their activities as 'entertainment'. It's not criticism and it's not entertainment, is it? It's something very new, or very old perhaps.
But speaking of criticism, I found this review by Nathan Heller helpful in understanding what is and isn't good criticism: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/critics-in-the-age-of-opinion