Armond White

Armond Allen White (born 1953) is an American film and music critic known for his provocative and idiosyncratic[1] film criticism, which some have characterized as contrarian. He currently writes for National Review and Out. He was previously the editor of CityArts (2011–2014), the lead film critic for the alternative weekly New York Press (1997–2011), and the arts editor and critic for The City Sun (1984–1996). Other publications that have carried his work include Film Comment, Variety, The Nation, The New York Times, Slate, Columbia Journalism Review, and First Things.

Early life

Armond Allen White[2] was born in Detroit, Michigan as the youngest of seven children. His family was the first African-American family to move to a primarily Jewish neighborhood, where he grew up. Raised Baptist, he later became Pentecostal, and identifies himself as "a believer".[3]

His interest in journalism and film criticism began as a student at Detroit's Central High School, when he first read film critic Pauline Kael's book, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang[3] whom he cites for "her willingness to go against the hype", along with Andrew Sarris, for his "sophisticated love of cinema",[4] as being a major inspiration on his choice of professional career.[5][6][7] White received a Master of Fine Arts degree in film from Columbia University's School of the Arts in 1997.[8][2]

Career

White was the arts editor for The City Sun, where he wrote film, music and theater criticism, for the span of its publication from 1984 to 1996. He was hired by New York Press in 1997 and wrote for the paper until it ceased publication in August 2011. He then assumed the editorship of the Press's sister publication CityArts starting in September.

White is a member of the National Society of Film Critics[9] and New York Film Critics Online.[10] He was the three time chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle (1994, 2009 and 2010),[11][12] and has also served as a member of the jury at the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival and Mill Valley Film Festival and was a member of several National Endowment for the Arts panels.[8] He has taught classes on film at Columbia University and Long Island University.[5] White claims to watch "five to 10 movies a week"[6][13] and "as many as 400 films a year".[3]

In 1992 White won the 25th Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for music criticism for "The Gloved One Is Not a Chump", his essay on Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video.[14][15]

In January 2014 White was expelled from The New York Film Critics Circle for allegedly heckling director Steve McQueen at an event for the film 12 Years a Slave.[16][17] White maintained his innocence,[18] and characterized his expulsion as a "smear campaign".[19] White received an "Anti-Censorship Award", as a part of the 35th annual American Book Awards, because of his being "unfairly removed" from the New York Film Critics Circle.[20]

Major themes within White's criticism include: Evaluation of a movie's audio-visual language within specific cinematic traditions (White advocates that viewers/critics cultivate "cinematic literacy," learned from "knowledge of a form's history and standards"[21]); the importance of cinema as a religious, spiritual, and moral vehicle (he has often called for critics to use standards of "morality, culture, and continuity" to assess film quality[21]); and the state of what he calls the "broken film culture" of the United States, in which divisive politics have come to supersede humanistic, non-cynical, film storytelling which could otherwise unite viewing communities (thus destroying "art, social unity, and spiritual confidence"[22]). In his online column for Out magazine, "Our Bud at the Movies," he also analyzes LGBT films and LGBT film history, gay-cinema-relevant mainstream cinematic works, and international cinema aimed at gay and lesbian audiences.[23]

Though White recognizes many internationally respected, cinematic auteurs such as Jean-Luc Godard (a quote from whom is centrally featured on White's Twitter page[24]), he is known for defending populist, blockbuster filmmakers as visionary movie artists, especially action-oriented auteurs such as Brian De Palma (director of mainstream genre works such as Mission Impossible; Scarface; and Carrie),[25] Walter Hill (action and Western movie director-producer),[26] Michael Bay (big-budget, sf-action director-producer of the Transformers film series),[27] Justin Lin (and other directors of multi-racial, internationally oriented The Fast and the Furious franchise),[28] and Neveldine/Taylor[29] (writer-directors of the visually edgy, low-budget Crank film series). White has frequently praised the work of Bay--maker of profitable tentpole films, which, over time, have gotten more and more negatively reviewed by American film critics[30]--over that of more critically acclaimed, art-film-styled action directors such as Christopher Nolan.[31] Such unconventional critical positions over contemporary theatrical films[32] have earned White the label of a contrarian, going against his movie reviewer peers much, if not most, of the time (for instance, his agreement with Rotten Tomatoes "Tomatometer," which aggregates professional and popular film reviews, is currently at 52%).[33]

At the start of every calendar year, the beginning of film critics' awards season, White publishes his famous "Better-Than" list of recommended movies released the previous year. Reflecting both his emphases on cinematic literacy/cinematic morality, as well as his rejection of what he considers nihilistic, partisan movies, White's "Better-Than" list frequently sparks controversy in the film criticism community. It praises little-seen international or independent films, or highly recommends otherwise critically condemned popular or blockbuster films—usually in sharp contrast with the majority of year's-best choices offered by mainstream film critics for the same period,[34] many of which White goes on to reframe as the year's worst movies.[35]

Books

References

  1. ↑ McNeil (2015), pp. 61-78
  2. 1 2 "Columbia University – Online Directory". Columbia Alumni Association.
  3. 1 2 3 Jacobson, Mike (February 15, 2009). "No Kiss Kiss, All Bang Bang". New York. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  4. ↑ Staff (2004). "The Critic". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Kipp, Jeremiah (April 2002). "Beyond Entertainment: An Interview With Film Critic Armond White". senses of cinema. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Lingan, John (May 15, 2008). "INTERVIEW: Armond White". Splice Today. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  7. ↑ White, Armond (July 3, 2012). "Armond White's Mid-Year Awards". New York Press. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  8. 1 2 Staff. Armond White. IndieWire. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  9. ↑ New York Film Critics Circle. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  10. ↑ New York Film Critics Online. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  11. ↑ Goldstein, Gregg (October 16, 2008). "N.Y. Film Critics re-elect Armond White". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  12. ↑ White, Armond (2010). "Message from the 2010 Chairman". New York Film Critics Circle. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  13. ↑ Nesterowich, Casey (March 3, 2010). "Film critic uses quirky taste to set self apart". The State News. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  14. ↑ ASCAP. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  15. ↑ Dolowicz, Caz (October 5, 2009). "Armond White’s Michael Jackson: Keep Moving (At St Felix & Dekalb)". Who Walk in Brooklyn. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  16. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (January 13, 2014). Why Armond White got kicked out of the New York Film Critics Circle. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  17. ↑ Child, Ben (January 7, 2014). Steve McQueen heckled as 'garbage man' at New York film awards. The Guardian. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  18. ↑ Feinberg, Scott (January 7, 2014). Embattled Film Critic Armond White: I Never Heckled Steve McQueen (Exclusive). The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  19. ↑ Chen, David (January 8, 2014). The /Filmcast Speaks to Armond White About Heckling Claims: “It’s a Smear Campaign”. /Film. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  20. ↑ Staff (August 26, 2014). "Jamaica Kincaid, Armond White win American Book Awards". Daily Mail. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  21. 1 2 "Do Movie Critics Matter?". First Things. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  22. ↑ "Across the Ungreat Divide". National Review Online. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  23. ↑ "Armond White - the provocative film and music critic". www.out.com. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  24. ↑ "armond white (@3xchair) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  25. ↑ "Objects of Appalling Beauty: An Appreciation of Brian De Palma | The House Next Door | Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  26. ↑ "Walter Hill Forum: Armond White and Gregory Solman discuss Bullet to the Head for CityArts - New York Film Critics Circle - NYFCC". www.nyfcc.com. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  27. ↑ "Bay Watch: Armond White’s Transformers 2 review for CityArts - New York Film Critics Circle - NYFCC". www.nyfcc.com. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  28. ↑ "Furious 7: A Trip to Action Movie Utopia". National Review Online. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  29. ↑ "The Lost Dimension". First Things. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  30. ↑ "The Simultaneous Rise and Fall of Michael Bay". Minnesota Connected. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  31. ↑ "5 Christopher Nolan Movie Criticisms That are Totally Valid". Screen Rant. 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  32. ↑ Seitz, Dan (2010-09-10). "Armond White Is Right (Sometimes): 5 Reviews We Agree With". AOL Moviefone. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  33. ↑ "Armond White Movie Reviews & Previews - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  34. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin. "Armond White Says 'Macbeth' Is Better Than 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' In Annual List". The Playlist. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  35. ↑ "The Eleventh Annual Better-Than List". National Review Online. Retrieved 2016-04-20.

Sources

External links

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