Amidst the brouhaha going on, in the fake world of Twitter, over my reporting on the NYFCC runners-up, what struck me most is how herd mentality has infected American film criticism over these last five or so years. The attacks I’ve been getting from close to half the members of this prestigious film body is both depressing and alarming.
My runners-up piece was based on three separate sources, all of whom are members of the NYFCC. For the group to slander me on social media and call me out for “bullshit misreporting” is an absolute indictment of their own elitist attitudes towards “other” journalism.
It’s no secret that the group has been adamantly trying to avoid any runners-up from being leaked, at least since 2013 when a member was kicked out for posting the entire vote tally. My main question here is, who cares? Why are they being so defensive about my reporting? Why are they purposely trying to smear me and call me names when they fully-well know that what I published is, at the very least, 95% accurate.
I know the answer: it’s elitism. They want to be the ones who know what happened during the vote and nobody else. Twitter isn't even a problem on its own, since most genuine people ignore it. The problem is that the media has built a world around it, and taken it as their temple for pompous thought and groupthink.
Maybe the NYFCC folks were also a little irked by my calling their Gaga win a “travesty.” Who cares. It’s fair game. I was allowed to state that. Imagine getting all worked up over something so utterly trivial. These people actually think who the runner-ups are in their little trophy game matters in this world.
With all that being said, I stand by my reporting.
I actually find that number optimistic. Tickets for “Digger” go on sale next Tuesday, and presales will give us a better picture of how bad it’s looking.