Last spring, I wrote an article about how to critique pro wrestling better aka "a guide on how to improve wrestling criticism". I got some positive takes on it but the question is, why did I produce the second edition?
Well, you have to thank the awful videos and articles that I, unfortunately, consumed but at least, I wrote down some notes that contained the number of bad critiques that I was passionately blasted down on.
Like I mentioned in last year's piece, I am just an average fan that doesn't claim to be an expert in any form of criticism because YouTube will definitely give you the "I'm right, you're wrong" type of content.
This is just a learning process for not only the viewers reading this but myself as we all are trying to get better.
Without further explanation, let's guide you to a better critique in wrestling (at least I hope so) numbra dos.
#1. Focusing Too Much On Logic (and no, I'm not talking about the rapper in case you were curious).
Depending on each individuals' tastes, fans of any medium of entertainment have a level of tolerance when it comes to handling certain weak points of particular content. Those weak points can include logical flaws.However, As the post geek singularity community grows, so it's wave of quote "logical wrestling fans". Their toxic "mission statement" is to prove to the masses that their opinions are "right" or "logical". Absurdity at it's best.
There's nothing wrong with expressing your feelings about a piece of content you just consumed. I mean at the end of the day, you saw the whole thing so why not talk about it amongst your peers?
The issue I have with focusing on logical defects is that it builds a negative consequence which is, it makes a fan believe in themselves that what they're stating is a "fact".
The cold hard truth is, your "logical" analyses are based on your emotional response to a product, not a logical one because the definition of that word is different from the next person.
In other words, wrestling like any art form, is subjective and telling others that the way you saw the content is THE WAY, is just you being a dick.
#2. Using Slurs In Your Critiques.
Where do I even begin with this? As a fan, I've expressed some passionate takes on certain characters and storylines both negatively and positively.And yet, I've not uttered a slur in my reviews that would make the reader or the viewer uncomfortable. Why? Because, those words are straight-up disrespectful and more importantly, offensive.
Slurs are more than just "mean words", they're words that hold a certain power that leads to silence from minority communities that, unfortunately, can't speak up about their experiences.
"So, what's the solution", you may ask? Expand your vocabulary. And, This is coming from me who always starts describing the match saying, "during the match".
I wish the people that spit out slurs left, right and centre could hear or see it and change that mentality all together but that's just me being optimistic.
#3: Only Talking About What You Hate.
There are sections of every fandom that has a type of fan. The type that talks about the things that they dislike and produces a gazillion amount of content based on it.Yes, I am mentioning the fact that they're known for one thing, what they hate.
Bashing content gets a lot of clicks and this ain't just an opinion that's been thrown around by people.
According to a 2014 study from Outbrain (an online advertising company), they took over 65,000 headlines with the paid link ads from April to July of 2012.
If you believe that hate content gets a lot of traction like myself, the results won't surprise you. Here's what the site "Business 2 Community" describes because the actual study link doesn't exist anymore:
- "Headlines containing positive superlatives (“always” or “best”) performed 29 percent WORSE than headlines with negative superlatives.
- Headlines containing negative superlatives (“never” or “worst”) performed 30 percent BETTER than headlines with positive superlatives.
- Outbrain’s study concludes, “The average click-through rate on headlines with negative superlatives was a staggering 63 percent higher than that of their positive counterparts.”
- Outbrain also states, “These results were replicated in a subsequent headline study that included data from the months of August – September 2012.”"
Not liking something is fine and I'm not saying that you shouldn't be your authentic self when you talk about content that you saw. The difference, however, is the way you say it and the amount of times you've said it.
For example, I stated in my Super showdown 2020 review that the show was awful but I kept on moving and will only bring it up if it's relevant to the conversation like this one.
Based on what I've seen, they also do not understand that the idea of criticism is to give that person a path to improve on.
Please, don't be one of those people because if you do follow that path (which I obviously don't encourage), you're only going to make the community that is built to talk about the things we enjoy more of a disgusting waste-pool than anything.
I hope you find this informative and if you did, please share it around. Follow me on the tweets @omartheplayaguy and follow the blog for honest pro wrestling opinions. Anyways, stay safe smarks.