Announcing Plato’s Cave, a Triple R film criticism podcast

21 June 2011

Plato's Cave

I’m very excited to (somewhat belatedly) announce the launch of a new film criticism podcast that I am part of. It’s titled Plato’s Cave and new half hour episodes are currently being uploaded weekly, early Tuesday mornings (Melbourne, Australia time).

Plato’s Cave is an official podcast from Melbourne independent station Triple R (102.7FM) and my co-hosts are the very knowledgable and talented Tara Judah and Josh Nelson.

I’d love you to take a listen, or better yet subscribe, as we cover far more films than I am able to do so here at Cinema Autopsy.

You can view the contents of previous podcasts at http://tinyurl.com/platoscavefilm, where you can also listen to individual episodes (left click the ‘direct download’ link to play online or right click to save the episode to your computer). But, the best method is to simply subscribe:

Subscribe via Triple R’s podcast RSS feed | Subscribe via iTunes

Plato’s Cave also has a Facebook page and a Twitter account.

I hope you enjoy what you hear!
Thomas

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Posted by Thomas Caldwell

Critical thoughts

12 December 2010
How to be a clever film critic

Matt Groening's 1985 cartoon "How to be a clever film critic"

Is there an art to film criticism, and does it serve any real purpose? Reading the comments on reviews online you’ll find no shortage of  “movies are just 4 teh entertainment and u should’nt think about them LOL” type comments. Perhaps it’s an attitude that has grown in response to being exposed to unambitious and uninformed reviewing. The “everyone’s a critic” mentality is lovely and non-elitist but it suggests that anybody who can string a sentence together can write reviews by summarising the film’s plot and stating a like/dislike opinion. If you’re writing for an older audience then you should complain about the soundtrack being too loud. If you’re writing for a younger audience, then be pithy, smug and snarky. Easy.

I’d rather hear from somebody who has watched and read about a range of films from various nationalities, cinematic movements and time periods, than somebody who thinks The Dark Knight is the greatest film ever. Neither do I want  to read celebrity gossip, casting news, box office figures or marketing campaign analysis – leave that for the entertainment reporters and accountants.

I want criticism that appreciates cinema aesthetically; recognising it as a form of mass entertainment with enormous cultural impact. Good critics offer insights into a film’s visual, technical and storytelling accomplishments or failings. They probe a film’s underlying ideology by examining representations of class, gender, race, sexuality, politics and religion. Good critics share their knowledge, make their passion contagious and provide context and informed interpretation. This is the purpose of film criticism. There absolutely is an art to doing it.

Originally appeared in The Big Issue, No. 368, 2010

© Thomas Caldwell, 2010

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Posted by Thomas Caldwell

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