Your Opinions Suck and So Do Mine

☀️ Reflections on the importance of thoughtful critique... ⛈️

Here’s a picture of my Funko Pops just because.

I remember this one substitute teacher we had in middle school. Actually, I don’t remember that much about him at all. I don’t remember his name, I don’t remember what class he was filling in for, and I don’t even remember what he looked like really. But I do remember the sub was a dude, and I remember a conversation he was having with myself and a couple of my friends during the class.

We were talking about books. Modern books, specifically. And this substitute did not care much for modern writers, especially Stephen King. He was quite adamant about it, and his argument against Mr. King boiled down to this:

“Stephen King isn’t a good writer because he writes too many books.”

Like I said, I remember little else about that day in middle school, but I have thought about that substitute’s criticism many times over the years. When I was a preteen I agreed with the sub. He was a cool guy, I wanted him to like me, and his argument made sense within my twelve-year-old worldview. But now, as an adult, I completely disagree with his notion that the quantity of King’s books somehow disqualifies him as a writer.

A couple days ago, I was walking across the street to get some ice cream for my family, and that memory of the Stephen King conversation with the substitute popped into my head. And, as I am wont to do on these solitary walks to the ice cream shop, I started having a hypothetical debate with that same substitute teacher about why his critique was baloney. And right when I got to the door of the shop, I had a realization:

All opinions about everything are baloney.

Look, it is totally OK for us to like stuff or not like stuff. And it’s totally acceptable (very important, in fact) to figure out why we like or don’t like something. But when we impose our opinions on people as the end-all-be-all, then there’s a problem.

I fully realize that I am not one to talk. I have opinions on almost everything, and I have made a fool of myself more than once defending my thoughts regarding certain movies, books, and video games with other people. And I totally see the irony in this very post wherein I am sharing my opinion on opinions, but I hope you’ll hear me out for just a moment longer.

Something I’ve been trying to do lately when I share my negative opinions is use language that points at my personal taste rather than the quality and qualifications of the art/artist. For example, instead of telling someone I think a particular book is “awful” or “a terrible example of the genre” or that the author “has no idea what they’re talking about”, I’ll say things such as:

• “It wasn’t my cup of tea.”
• “I personally didn’t care for it, but I know that a lot of other people do.”
• “The author’s experience differs from my own, so it was a little hard for me to connect.”

If we can use this kind of language for most of our critiques, not only do I think it could help create less cynicism toward art, but it will also help our criticisms carry extra weight when we do feel it necessary to share stronger language in our critique. I mean, let’s face it—some art just flat out sucks. Except for ska. Ska is always great and I will die on that hill.

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MAILBAG

I’d like to start doing periodic “Mailbag” posts where I respond to your emails, comments, and messages. In order to do that, I need you folks to send me a note. Do you have an idea you’d like me to write about, or a question you’d like me to respond to? Click the “send a message” button below and send it to me! Once I have a handful, I’ll respond to them in an upcoming issue of this newsletter!