Where I Judge My Classmates
I wouldn't say its hard to say nice things PER SE, but I would say that it is less fun. I can tell you for sure that I can write a blog bashing something about twice as fast as I could praising it. It's all about finding the right words and making sure the review does the thing me (justice) and gives the accurate representation of said thing. That is why I decided that I wouldn't pick favorites! It's too mean! It's like saying the one classmate you picked is the best one and everyone else sucks. I decided I wouldn't pick ONE classmate, but FIVE. And I'm not reviewing their whole blogs either. I'm only reviewing one blog post per person and the blog post I pick is one I think best represents each person's writing style as a whole (and which one I liked the most (so yes there is bias in here.)) Without further ado, here are my favorite posts from five of my classmates:
ARRIVAL MOVIE REVIEW--Anna Kirksey
Here is the reason I very much like this review: I related to it. I know, that sounds like, "Oh, wow, you RELATED to something! How important!" Well, I didn't tell you to read this blog! But I liked that Anna started off with the first time she saw the movie Signs, and how it scared her as a kid. It's funny because I, too, got scared, except it was in my 7th grade history class and we were watching a movie for funzies and the scene where the alien walks past an alleyway made me audibly scream in class and also cemented aliens as my #1 all time greatest fear(That is a completely true fact. Not even kidding. Aliens are scary!)
It's done well because she relates it to another time she saw a movie about aliens and one that is also similarly done when it comes to pacing and tone. By talking about her past experience it gives you a better idea of what her taste is and what she had in mind going into the film. As for the actual review, it's also done really well. When she lists off the critical reception of the film, it doesn't affect her from giving her thoughts on the movie and, had she not liked it, I don't think she would have let the reviews get in the way of expressing her opinion honestly. (I also love how she talked about the music affecting her in the film. Especially since the composer of that piece is also the composer of my favorite tv show, The Leftovers.)
BLACK MIRROR TV REVIEW--Jake Reynolds
The review made me watch the show. If that isn't any indication of what the review did, I don't know what would be. Jake's review of Black Mirror does a good job of talking about a show that doesn't have any one central plot. Even though the show has one big general theme, each episode follows different characters and different stories and it's hard to give anyone the, "What it's about," speech when it comes to these shows without confusing a person and turning them off to the show. Here, Jake does a good job of relating real world issues with issues in the show by asking the reader, "What if.." and then telling the reader, "You can see!"
While the review is a good start, you had to be there in class when he explained the basic plot of a particular episode involving the British Prime Minister is faced with the difficult decision whether or not to fornicate with a pig on live television in order to save a member of the royal family. I heard that and instantly covered my ears, wanting to hear no more, and see for myself.
TECH CRITICISM: Game Consoles--Ariel Little
What is interesting about this article is that it isn't super complicated, it's short and to the point. She wondered what it was that made gamers choose certain consoles over other ones. I'm Playstation all the way, but I, too, am curious why someone would want an X-Box One or a Nintendo Wii (or, now, the Nintendo Switch (Which I understand even less.))
She gave good sources and a great graphic that allows you to see what consumers look for in different consoles and what some of the shortcomings for one console might be another console's greatest strength and it's all presented in a graphic that is readily available and doesn't make you click any links (I link my articles up the wazoo but I don't like clicking links on things I read. I know, strange.)
CRITIQUING A MEDIA CRITIC: grav3yardgirl-- Angela Yandell
What I like about Angela's critique is that it's more than just, "Did she do the thing!? Did I like the thing!? BLEH!" She actually breaks down what the critic does, how the critic does it, how the critic is liked, and why people like the critic for what she does. She even goes as far as to break down the general outline of each of the critic's videos, giving a good idea of what you're going to get on any given episode.
What I also like is that, even though she is "critiquing" she isn't telling you that you'll like the critic because she's good at her job, she tells you right off the bat that this particular critic might be an acquired taste, if not a niche one ("niche" being 8 million subscribers). She talks about what she likes about the critic and why people that like her like her, never once telling you that you will like her for the same reasons or at all. The blog post, overall, gives a good idea of Angela's specific taste while also breaking it down for a person who has no idea what she's talking about from the get go.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA--Makaila Jordan
For starters, I like her interpretation of the topic. Instead of complaining or explaining the next weird thing some country that isn't us likes and why it's weird, she talks about a serious issue that's going on somewhere else and how it affects the people who live there. (Don't get me wrong, countries that aren't us like some weird things.)
Although the blog post is admittedly a downer, it isn't presented in a way that says, "It's sad! Look at it! Look how sad it is!" Instead, the post reports the news and gives little bias and just explains what it looks like on both sides of the story. I like reading new best when you can tell that the person giving it is being as neutral about it as possible while also not taking away from the weight of the situation, and Makaila does this very well.
EVERYTHING-Justice Seymour
Justice is the funniest writer I have ever had the pleasure of reading (if that makes sense.) He has the most insightful and completely correct opinions about all things film and tv. His love of The Leftovers also matches my own love for The Leftovers (Sundays at 9 on HBO.) And this is a joke. Did you really think I was going to be so pompous that I would critique my own work? Okay, fair point, but, still, I didn't!
END OF JUDGEMENT
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