Justin Chang on Film Criticism

And did you keep it limited to movies? Because I just have this image of little Justin on the playground, like criticizing people's dodgeball techniques.

To do

that, I would have had to have some aptitude for dodgeball myself.

So, no.

But, I mean, no, I was very...

But, you know, there is something to your question because I do think that, you know, again, maybe you are kind of a quiet, not very expressive kid.

You're nerdy, you're bookish.

And to be a critic, there was something about...

the voices of critics who could be very witty and very funny and scathing.

And that was admirable to me.

And it was like, I was, I'd never done anything like that before.

And so this idea that you could be, you know, get kind of bitchy and like in written form or spoken form, whatever.

And it was like an acceptable thing.

I think that people do go into criticism because they, it unleashes their inner hater.

I absolutely had that.

Now it's very funny years later, having done this, That has, it's still fun to hate on something, but I do feel a deeper sense of responsibility to the art, to the movies, to criticism itself.

But I think that, yeah, getting to, getting to like make fun of people and like, and vent, that's how, you know, and, and I think that that is a, that is a pleasure that, um, I think it's still why people hate.

But no, I didn't really, you know, and it's funny, not even like, it was very movie focused.

Even TV, I didn't watch as much.

I really, I guess some people, I'm in awe of, you know, people like my friend, my dear friend, Tim Grierson, who's a great critic.

He's okay.

Who can

write about, he is one of the

best.

He really