Quote:
"...a film that was sadly overlooked at Oscar time because apparently nobody had the foresight to invent a category for Best Running Penis Joke Delivered by a Third-Rate Comic."
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"Third-rate comic" sounds like a personal attack to me.
I think that especially with performers, when their work is attacked, *they* are being attacked. When performing, one is offering a view of oneself (to
anyone with a mouth or a pen to respond), and it makes them very vulnerable. Of course you have to understand that if you put yourself out there, you are opening yourself up to any kind of response, for good and for ill, with any number of motivations, and a thick skin is neccessary. Still doesn't make it easy to shrug off. Personally, I think this is one of the reasons many actors have emotional problems. They have to be able to feel/emote strongly enough to have it captured on film, but then they're supposed to have a rhino-hide when it comes to real life, and the camera is off.
I'm not advocating a touchy-feely, "don't hurt the person's feelings" type of critique, but I'd be interested in seeing how many critics actually have done the activity they are critiquing. Not many, I'd be willing to wager. And it's *very* easy to use harsh words to tear somebody down to:
Give your writing an "edge"
Make yourself look better
To be viewed as a trend-setter
To get attention/laughs
Not saying Rob S. responded in the best way, but I don't think what he did was incomprehensible.