Rate Critics, Festivals, & Distributors
Pro or Hack? The Artists Rate Back
Frequently asked questions
Rate the critic is a chance for artists to review back and evaluate whether a reviewer is qualified or not. Just because a person can start a website and post to IMDB, Amazon or YouTube, does not mean they are a qualified critic. We look at critics based on multiple criteria and allow artists to do the same as we evaluate whether the person is a critic or a hack.
A qualified critic is trained and educated in the field they cover. They can be journalists, historians, educators or professionals within the field, but they have both experience and education and are qualified to write a critique of a work. Furthermore, a critic makes an effort to be a journalist by balancing out objective writing with supported criticism.
A qualified festival or qualified distributor proves to have a well-run business, putting the filmmaker first; after all, it is the filmmaker who provides the product to these companies, and it is the filmmaker who should be looked after.
A “hack” is someone who lacks education, experience, training and/or journalistic integrity. The web is filled with people seeking attention, often negative. In most instances, a hack writes for a website that is rarely visited or simply posts to Amazon or IMDB. Typically a hack writes uneducated, non-professional, poorly written reviews and is not an expert in the specified field.
Anyone can sign up and submit a critic for consideration by the site and/or submit their own rating of a critic. We strongly encourage creative artists to be the primary sources of our “user” ratings and reviews.
Rate the Critic is operated by educated and experienced people within various fields. Those who curate the website all have college degrees and make an effort to do a considerate and thoughtful evaluation in deciding whether or not someone is a Critic or a Hack.
Users can rate critics however they see fit. However, if Rate the Critic conducts an evaluation, we do so based on the following criteria:
CRITERIA EXPLAINED
- QUALITY OF WRITING: Does the “critic” show an understanding of language, proper use of grammar and mechanics, etc. In other words, we take into consideration whether the person has the actual skill and ability to write.
- JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY: As taken from Wikipedia “the principles of truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness, and public accountability, as these apply to the acquisition of newsworthy information and its subsequent dissemination to the public.”
- EDUCATION, EXPERTISE, EXPERIENCE: Whether a person is a trained journalist, a historian in the field, an expert in the field or has significant experience of the field, a true critic should present something more than fanaticism or fandom of a topic.
- PROFESSIONALISM: Does the critic present themselves or their organization in a professional manner. Do they work for a professional publication or is this a self-started blog, YouTube channel, podcast or social media outlet.
- FAIRNESS: A critic can be positive, negative or impartial, but are they fair in the approach. Do they present a thoughtful evaluation, maintain journalistic integrity, demonstrate their own education/experience/expertise in the field, and maintain professionalism in the approach? And do they show support of the claims and arguments made?
Rate the Critics works on behalf of Creative Artists everywhere to help identify whether a reviewer is a Critic or a Hack.
Too many critics are no longer journalists, no longer trained in the field they critique, and many can barely string a grammatically correct sentence together. True critics are trained in their craft.
Too many festivals and distributors are focused on their own profits, seeming to undermine those who create the product and allow them to have a festival or distribution business at all.