the.com/critic
a connoisseur of other people's nerve, fluent in the autopsy of dreams.
means A person who judges the merits and faults of art, performances, or ideas — often professionally, sometimes just loudly.
from From Greek 'kritikos,' meaning 'able to discern or judge,' from 'krinein,' 'to separate, decide, judge.' That same root sifts through 'crisis' (a decisive turning point), 'criterion' (the standard you judge by), and 'discern.' It entered English in the late 16th century via Latin 'criticus.' At heart, then, a critic is simply a sorter — one who divides the worthy from the worthless, the same way 'krinein' once meant separating grain from chaff.
- origin
- From Greek kritikos, meaning able to discern or judge.
- power
- A single review can sink a Broadway show overnight.
- paradox
- Most have never made the thing they dismantle.
- history
- Roman critics were often paid claques or hired hecklers.
- survival
- Statues exist of artists, rarely of their reviewers.
roger ebert — film critic who reviewed movies for chicago sun-times for 46 years and won pulitzer prize in 1975
michiko kakutani — new york times book critic for 30 years, won pulitzer prize for criticism in 1999
james agee — film and book critic at the nation and time magazine in the 1940s-50s, also won pulitzer prize
anthony lane — film critic at the new yorker since 1993, known for witty movie reviews