Al-Madhyam

Film reviewers and critics

Film reviewing for a daily newspaper is a complex and personal journalism. The writer observes a variety of audience and there are film critics and reviewers. A film critic is like or similar to a literary critic. S/he writes an essay about the film usually for a specialized magazine or journal for sophisticated readers. A film critic has a great deal of experience as a film watcher and has a sophisticated knowledge of history and techniques of film making. Film critics write for people who consider film as an art form.

Film reviewers on the other hand write for large circulated newspapers and weekly magazines. Their primary job is to help the reader decide whether to see or not to see a particular movie. The second purpose of a film reviewer is to help the reader appreciate film as an art form. Technical jargon must be avoided by the reviewer.

Tips for film review:

Love the medium.
Be objective.
Pay no attention to the director.
Ignore any stories or rumours you might have heard about the filming of the movie.
Compare the films to others of its kind.
Give a synopsis of the movie without divulging the climax.
Comment on the performance of the actors/actress. If they steal the movie, specifically mention it.
Comment on the director.

Format for a film review

Headline

______________________________

Title

Director

Cast

Rating

_______________________________

Profile or personality interview

The focus is on the individual or person. The key to a successful interview is knowing what one wants to know about the person. Profiles are written about people in public life; politicians, sports personalities, businessmen etc.

Guidelines for a successful profile:

Prepare carefully.
Know the subject matter and person to be interviewed.
Listen carefully and watch attentively and be alert towards what is being said and how it is said.
Observe the surroundings to know more about the subjects interests, tastes etc.
Questions should be simple and direct.
Body language and gestures should also be taken into account.
When the interview is conducted in the subject’s own office, the pictures on the wall and magazines on the coffee table reveal the person’s interest, taste and concern.

Comic strips

Comics are a forum of literature which is less expensive, easily available and entertaining. It doesn’t strain one’s mind; they are like stories told through both pictures and words. The words are printed in speech balloons. Comics can be classified as gag, continuity strips and panels.

Gags are introducing funny ideas or situations. Eg: Blondie
Continuity strips appear in a series
Panels are single drawings containing single thoughts or ideas.

Comic strips are enjoyed by both children and adults alike. They are easy to understand. The first comic strip came out in Feb 16, 1896. It was called ‘The Yellow Kid’. It was published in New York World. Some of the earliest comic strips are ‘Tarzan’, ‘Superman’ (by Jerry Segal) and ‘Peanuts’. In india, we have ‘Indrajal Comics’, ‘Phantom’, ‘Krishman’, ‘Amarchitra Katha’.

Comic strips were used by the Americans as propaganda during the 1^st World War. Feature films were also inspired by these comic strips. Most artists sell their works to syndicates which resell it to different publications.

Cartoons

It is a satire in art. It brings in humour and satire into the newspapers and magazines. They are funny drawings of people, animals doing funny things, day to day events. But cartoons may not always be funny. They address the burning issues in a satirical form. The word cartoon was first used more than 400 years ago. Famous artists like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo made use of cartoons. A cartoon is of artistic measure based on humour and satire and suggests an organizing frame on how to think about a specific issue. They may have captions. They usually appear in newspapers, magazines, popular journals and books. It is a mode if mass communication. England is the Father of cartooning. William Bohogurth, Patridge and David Law are the famous cartoonists. David Law is the most famous cartoonist for international politics. In cartoon, the subject matter covers a wide range of ideas and problem which have political and social significance. Pencil Mania Gazette, published a cartoon called “Join or Die” by Benjamin Franklin in 1754. Keshav Shankar Pillai is known as the Father of Indian Cartoon. He contributed cartoons to Hindustan Times. Then he started his own publication called “Shankar’s Weekly”. R. K Laxman, is an eminent cartoonist in Times of India

Feature Syndicates

A syndicate is an agency that sells to newspapers and magazines or other media. They provide special writings and other art work often written by noted journalists or eminent authority or drawn by a well known cartoonist. A syndicate is also known as a non-wired agency and its fundamental purpose is to spread the cost of expensive features among as many newspapers as possible. In simple words, a syndicate is an agency which distributes news collected from different sources. Individual ownership, corporate ownership and trust ownership (different patterns of ownership) provide services in one or more languages. The subscription is charted on a monthly or yearly basis. They are more concentrated in metropolitan cities.

Examples:

Elite Feature Syndicate - it is an independent source of comics, crosswords, puzzles, quiz, columns etc.
Amrita Bharati - it is an agency specialized in children’s features and features of general interest.
United Media – it provides political commentary, editorial cartoons and comics to several electronic and print publishers.
King Feature Syndicate – they distribute 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to thousands of newspapers all over the world. It was founded in 1915. Dennis the Menace and Blondie are some of the comic strips distributed by them.

Art or theatre criticism

In theater or art, the critic should be a careful observer as well as listener. A critic of live performances should not count or dwell on minor mistakes. If the audience has a problem, it should be pointed out. The critics have an obligation to honestly appraise the live performances. In music and art, the critic should have broad knowledge of the subject. A critic must not be prejudiced. To become a critic of art or music, one must study history and the works of the greats of the field.

Book Review

This is a highly technical task. Books on engineering, the arts, sciences, nature, politics, economy and sports are reviewed quite often. Magazines and newspapers devote compete sections to book reviews. Such reviews are published on weekly or fortnightly basis in newspapers and magazines. TV channels have their reviews in a different manner. TV channels invite specials to their studios who give expert comments on the books under review. The author of the book may be present in the discussion/ review session.

In order to become a competent book review expert, the person must take the following precautions:

Review only those books that are compatible with your academic background and experience.
While reviewing a fictional book, describe the nature of the book and not the turning points of its plot.
The setting of the book-whether the subject is mystery, history, humour, sports, psychology, defence etc. must be mentioned in the first few lines of the review.
Give details of the major characters.
Give some dialogues from the book in your review.
Read the entire book in one go before writing the review.
Be impartial; even if you hate the author of the book, give a rational opinion of the book.
Give an average rating. The readers of today are wise enough to grasp the gist of your review.
Pass clear comments on the content, style and presentation of the book.
Pass clear comments on the creativity, plot and handling style of the author.

Format of a book review:

Headline

_____________________________

Picture of the book (Image)

Title

Author

Publisher

Year of Publication

Price