KLRU
Contrarian for the Sake of Being Contrarian
RECEIVED Sat., Oct. 17, 2009
Dear Editor,
Re: The review of Paranormal Activity [Film Listings, Oct. 9]: I'll never ever believe a review that begins with "[forget] the hype," because at that point, it's immediately clear that the critic couldn't. This review is just a bunch of nay-saying, which is just the worst, considering you actually get paid to write bullshit like this. If you were to offer genuine reasons as to why you didn't like the movie (don't just tell me it's boring, but why; simply support your assertions with evidence), then I might be more obliged to believe you actually disliked it. Which is a totally cool thing, by the way. I love to hear a good argument about the quality of a work of art. But you went out of your way in this review to trash a film because it has hype surrounding it, which is such a gutless thing to do. The level of your vitriol reads like you have been personally harmed by the film, and some of your criticisms don't make sense. (Anti-art? What the fuck does that even mean? It's a horror mockumentary.) This whole piece was contrarian for the sake of being contrarian, which really is unfortunate considering the quality of writing I'd expect from The Austin Chronicle.
Re: The review of Paranormal Activity [Film Listings, Oct. 9]: I'll never ever believe a review that begins with "[forget] the hype," because at that point, it's immediately clear that the critic couldn't. This review is just a bunch of nay-saying, which is just the worst, considering you actually get paid to write bullshit like this. If you were to offer genuine reasons as to why you didn't like the movie (don't just tell me it's boring, but why; simply support your assertions with evidence), then I might be more obliged to believe you actually disliked it. Which is a totally cool thing, by the way. I love to hear a good argument about the quality of a work of art. But you went out of your way in this review to trash a film because it has hype surrounding it, which is such a gutless thing to do. The level of your vitriol reads like you have been personally harmed by the film, and some of your criticisms don't make sense. (Anti-art? What the fuck does that even mean? It's a horror mockumentary.) This whole piece was contrarian for the sake of being contrarian, which really is unfortunate considering the quality of writing I'd expect from The Austin Chronicle.
Zane Gordon-Bouzard
