Filling the gap in film theory and criticism

(NB&CL) The current state of film theory and criticism in our country is considered to be vague, even regressing and creating "gaps". Now, when the film industry is making clear progress, filling those "gaps" needs to be done as quickly as possible.

Criticism is just "stroking and praising" each other?

At the discussion held last weekend on the current state of 50 years of theory and criticism of literature and art in Ho Chi Minh City, the issue of the absence of critics was mentioned by many experts and artists. The general conclusion raised was that current theoretical and critical work is backward in many aspects, far from creative practice, showing signs of stiffness, lack of dynamism, and not meeting the extremely vibrant cinematic life.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Phan Thi Bich Ha - Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Cinema Association, critical theory is an indispensable element to create a complete appearance of an art form. In the field of cinema, critical theory needs to be honest, objective, both "critical" and "commentary", not too biased towards subjective feelings. However, in reality, critical theory does not have many in-depth review articles, but instead there is a situation of "promotion, flattery, praise", due to being ordered or because there is a close relationship between the writer and the filmmaker. Meanwhile, when faced with fierce, hot issues, those working in critical theory have a reserved and evasive attitude. This situation leads to errors in evaluation and creates a "gap" in critical theory work.

“The prevailing trend in film criticism is often to avoid thorny, big issues, and instead focus on introducing films, writing artist portraits, or summarizing events. And most of the criticism tends to lean towards praise for safety,” Associate Professor Dr. Phan Thi Bich Ha commented.

The “weak” and “lack” of film criticism theory has also been mentioned by experts in many forums. Accordingly, in the context of “film review” and “film criticism” content flooding social networks with biased and emotional content, but attracting a large number of young audiences, “orthodox” criticism theory is “silent”. Faced with this situation, a famous director had to exclaim that the film criticism industry in Vietnam is “almost dead” due to the lack of serious, specialized articles.

"Toxic" criticism reigns

Speaking with NB&CL, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phuong, the director of the TPD Center for Supporting and Developing Film Talents, said that not only are there very few film critics, but they also have very little “space to perform”. Currently, there are only a few specialized magazines with columns and pages on film criticism, but they are often not widely distributed and have little influence. It is worth mentioning that most of the articles called “film criticism” are actually just “articles about films”, film reviews or film introductions.

“Articles often tell behind-the-scenes stories, the actors’ personal lives… Even film analysis articles only quote the film’s content, or only briefly analyze a few external things. Film criticism is almost devoid of quality articles,” said Mr. Phuong.

In addition, as social networks develop, the public is getting used to "quick reviews", film critics also have more tools to use for their work. However, these reviews are also full of "toxicity" when they can reveal the content of the film, even have the nature of destroying and "group beating". In the context that everyone has a social network account and wants to say whatever they want about the film, a KOL can completely create streams of praise and criticism of the film regardless of their personal goals. Mr. Phuong said that the internet is "full" of cases of individuals defaming each other, spamming articles criticizing the film badly, using tools to comment en masse to "put down opponents". These actions are intended to influence and guide public opinion, making the public confused, not knowing what is true or false...

The movie "Southern Forest Land" caused a lot of controversy.

Many opinions also say that the film criticism environment in Vietnam is very unsystematic and unprofessional, which is partly the cause of the chaos and unhealthy competition. The so-called "follow-up criticism" and "movement criticism" are becoming a problem for cinema. In that chaos, it is understandable that the relationship between filmmakers and those working in critical theory is not very friendly. Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phuong commented that in Vietnam, "90% of filmmakers hate critics".

Explaining this statement, Mr. Phuong said that filmmaking is the work of many people, from screenwriters, directors, cameramen, actors... Making a film takes a lot of time, effort and passion, but then suddenly being criticized by an individual who is not qualified and lacks knowledge, certainly no one is happy.

“A person who is not qualified enough to criticize a film, and criticizes it incorrectly, will certainly make the filmmaker uncomfortable. Director Tran Anh Hung once said something like, “You criticize my film, but what matters is who you are.” A critic must be good at his profession, good at cinema, then what he says will be convincing. In the US, where the film industry is extremely developed, film critics are all very famous writers, they have high expertise and influence on the public,” said Mr. Phuong.

"Awakening" theorists and critics

Faced with this chaos of praise and criticism, directors and filmmakers often choose to remain silent, not caring about the opinions about their films.

However, as an orientation, critical theory plays a particularly important role. When there is a controversy surrounding a film, the public really needs to hear the voices of experts and critics to balance the situation through professional perspectives and analysis. In addition, when watching a film, the audience can praise or criticize, while the critical theory must point out how good or bad the film is and why it is good or bad. Therefore, it is not good for the filmmaker to "ignore" all praise and criticism.

According to Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, President of the Vietnam Cinema Promotion Association, film criticism is simply expressing opinions, which anyone can do, but if theories do not go hand in hand with people's tastes, Vietnamese cinema will find it difficult to fly far. "When film criticism falls asleep and is forgotten, it will contribute to making the trend of commercializing the values of cinema - including ideology, aesthetics and art - increasingly serious, leading to deviations and loss of development orientation," Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan assessed.

To have a healthy development of the film industry, experts believe that it requires the cooperation of many sides. In particular, the "weakness" of critical theory cannot be overcome overnight but requires long-term solutions. Accordingly, in addition to improving professional qualifications; encouraging and creating conditions for the team of critical theorists, it is necessary to build an environment of dialogue and respect for listening, promoting diversity of opinions and sharing of views, in order to create forums for democratic debate.

“Let’s give those who work in film theory and criticism an environment and an essential space so that they can practice theory and criticism in a legitimate and professional manner and nurture their passion for research... We must create excitement and peace of mind for critics, so that they are not too worried about making a living, and are not pressured by loneliness and isolation in the face of public opinion storms when they speak up to defend standard values. Only when those who write the theory and criticism are not forgotten can we awaken film theory and criticism from its slumber,” Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan suggested.

The Vu

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/lap-khoang-trong-ly-luan-phe-binh-dien-anh-post323234.html