Criticism, Critiques, People & Perfection: A Discussion with Jenna & Veronica

Jenna drags Veronica back into the world of podcasting to discuss one of the last articles written by Pauline Kael. Called “The Movie Lover,” from 1994 in The New Yorker, it’s a bit of a nostalgic reflection on her own career as a film critic that muses a bit on some of the difficulties she faced from both fans, filmmakers and colleagues. You don’t have to read it before listening but it might be interesting to see if you felt the same way Jenna did, because she was sort of disturbed by it. Pulling select quotes from the article, Jenna and Veronica launch into a conversation about Pauline Kael’s reputation, receiving their own hate mail, dealing with various personality types, facing work place difficulties as opinionated women, and the concept of what constitutes true perfection in cinema. They also touch upon both how to give and receive criticism – OKAY!? Stop nagging us already! GOD. Subtweet retweet sideye #laaaaame

So enjoy this bit of shop talk and feel free to leave us a comment!

A new episode of Notes From the Back Row will be released every other week. If you have a new movie premiering, drop us a line – we might be interested in setting something up with you too!

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Jenna Ipcar

In the time of chimpanzees, Jenna was a monkey. Also, she is the co-founder of this website, a writer, an artist, a lover of the surreal, and a native New Yorker with strong opinions about most things.

Jenna has been writing about film since 2013. Find her on CherryPicks, or published in BW/DR and The Female Gaze. Listen to her other project, Cinema60, a podcast all about 1960’s cinema. Follow her Letterboxd profile to see what she's been watching recently, or just keep reloading the site, man!

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Reevaluating Toxic Genius in Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's Hemingway Documentary

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Female Anxiety Films: Women's History Month Edition