Reviews deepen engagement with art
What follows is the refined version of a stream-of-consciousness piece I wrote during the writing session of IndieWebClub.
Humans are deeply opinionated creatures1. Give them an outlet, and they will share their opinions on anything under the sun. Reviews can serve as recommendations, they can function as a litmus test, or as a qualitative filter. A cursory glance at the ratings and overall sentiments can help you decide what book to read, or movie to watch, saving you the effort of sifting through a never-ending stream of consumable media.
As I write this, I'm at the 19th meetup of IndieWebClub Bangalore, and today, we're talking about reviews. There were several deep discussions on reviews as a concept, creating reviews, consuming reviews, and frameworks for reviewing media.
Given my tendency to stray away from prompts and dive unnecessarily deep into topics, it's no surprise that I became fixated on my mental model of reviews. My mental model explains how reviews can become a part of the process of consuming media, augment the experiences, and deepen the engagement with art.
Reviews as a means of augmenting the experience
With art, the focus is on letting the work speak for itself. My view is that reviews can augment the experience of consuming art. The consumption of reviews becomes part of a bigger experience - a ritual, of sorts. Reading the Letterboxd reviews after I've watched a movie is an extension to the experience of watching the movie. Scrolling through those witty one-liner reviews - no matter how pretentious - is a way to deepen my engagement with the work.
On Letterboxd specifically, such one-liner reviews are a means of accruing clout, but passive consumption of such reviews is a form of impactful entertainment. Those inside jokes help recall the crux of the movie, they help me contextualise what I've just seen while it's still fresh on my mind.
Reviews as a means to deepen resonance with art
Couple this with a thorough exploration of the context surrounding art - the cultural backdrop, the themes and motifs, the subtext, and you have a subjectively superior way of resonating with art. Even if this exploration does not retroactively affect your experience of consuming art, it can still influence future occurrences of experiencing art.
For me, this exploration of context usually takes the form of video essays that are media analyses. They are reviews, after a fashion. Those Every Frame A Painting videos where Tony Zhou does deep-dives into the directorial styles of Satoshi Kon, David Fincher, and Edgar Wright provide additional context which can elevate future re-watches. I typically enjoy Hayao Miyazaki's movies, but learning about his longstanding fascination with airplanes deepens my understanding and helps me appreciate his movies in a way I previously could not.
In seeking out Just Write's review of Andor, the additional context provided by the video - Hannah Arendt's concept of the banality of evil - helped me view the show in a new light, something that elevated my enjoyment during a re-watch. This scaffolding provided by critical reviews aids in expanding my own media literacy in a way.
Closing words
Reviews can serve as an extension to the process of consuming art. They provide context - what I am calling intellectual scaffolding - that can elevate the experience. They deepen your engagement with media and how you resonate with it. It might not be a perfect mental model, but it's one that's served me well.
Citation needed↩