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From: leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper)
Newsgroups: net.movies
Subject: Re: REVIEW: The Color Purple - Are you kidding?
Message-ID: <1683@mtgzz.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Feb-86 13:57:29 EST
Article-I.D.: mtgzz.1683
Posted: Thu Feb 20 13:57:29 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 22-Feb-86 00:59:15 EST
References: <456@houem.UUCP> <1672@mtgzz.UUCP> <148@heurikon.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Labs, Middletown NJ
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 >My opinion
 >is that in order for any review of any type to be useful to
 >the readers of that review it must help to inform them of
 >whether they would like the movie or not.  If a reviewers
 >opinions consistently disagree with the average movie
 >viewers is that reviewer really providing a service by
 >reviewing movies?  
 
Speaking as someone who agreed with most of the general public on TPC
but who is often in stark disagreement with most people.  (I really
liked LIFEFORCE, for example, and I know of about half a dozen people
at most who could stomach the film.)  I would say (and have several
times on the net) that a reviewer has two responsibilities only.  They
are to give his/her true opinion of the film, and if the reviewer knows
of some reason that he/she would be prejudiced for or against the film,
to say so up front.  I think a critic has more of a responsibility to
be objective, but few really are.  A critic really evaluatates the film
based on the critic's broad base of knowlege.  A reviewer simply gives
the general public one more data-point to judge a film on.  Besides,
before I see a film I don't want to know very much about it.  That is
why I rarely want to read reviews before seeing a film or I just want a
capsule review.  After I have seen it, I want to read why a reviewer
disagreed with me about a film as much or more as why one agreed with
me.

				Mark Leeper
				...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper