Thanks for being you, David Eggers

Posted by Kyle Francis in Francisism

This interview with David Eggers brightened my morning. The entire thing is worth reading, but the really relevant bit is isolated here.

Also, huge kudos to the interviewer for releasing the correspondence into the wild. I've been utterly demolished by subjects with wrecking-ball egos in the past -- I think everyone has -- so the person on the receiving end of his tirade certainly has my sympathies. That isn't to say Eggers -- and all the folks who've impaled me on my own words -- aren't totally justified in their frustrations, just that sharing your embarrassment this openly is a tough thing to do, and it deserves respect.   

(via RPS)


more in Books     |     posted Dec 6th, 2009 at 11:39am     

Comments: 2

Peter Hemminger wrote:

Very worth reading. He's a bit harsh on criticism in general -- not all of it comes from the nasty, dark place that he ascribes it to -- but I agree with him completely about the issue of authenticity. One thing I've learned from doing interviews over the years is that even the people you think are cynical in-it-for-the-money types are, more often than not, every bit as sincere as the guy with the guitar in the coffee shop. Even if that's not always easy to remember.

on Dec 6th, 2009 at 8:05pm Report Abuse

Kyle Francis wrote:

I tend to agree. I think that he makes the easy mistake that many artists do when criticising critics. His suggestion that you shouldn't "criticise a film until you've made one" etc., carries an assumption that only artists are capapble of meaningfully interpreting art. If art was made primarily for consumption by artists, this might be true. But it isn't, so it isn't.

He also forgets a much more pragmatic reason for media gatekeepers: Not everyone is capable of making $12,000 from one article for Time. Most consumers have limited entertainment budgets, so -- as he admits himself -- they reduce. Critics are just a part of that equation.

That said, his larger anti-snobbery point is well-aimed, well-spake and more than relevant to the working ethos of more than a few critics I could name.

on Dec 7th, 2009 at 10:57am Report Abuse


Post comment: (Login or Register)


All Content Copyright © Fast Forward Weekly 1995-2011

About Us Contact Us Careers Privacy Policy Terms of Use