![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Suicide Squad Storm
Understanding the role of professional criticism in movie reviews
Wikimedia Commons
Suicide squad had much fan enthusiasm and professional backing for a hit movie. Despite this, it recieved negative revews from professional critics
August 29, 2016
For the last two years before this summer, I have gone to every movie theater using pre-purchased tickets that I received as a birthday gift from a relative. If I wanted to see a film, all I needed to do was open a drawer with the small stack of golden slips of paper and exchange them for tickets at any time, no questions asked.
But like all good things, my movie-watching bliss came to an end. When every trip to the theaters meant a nearly $15 ticket with an explicit monetary transaction, bad movies stung a bit more, and a forgettable movie’s only lasting impression was the memory of a waste of time. Soon enough I was browsing critical reviews before every movie I saw.
Then came Suicide Squad, a movie with fan enthusiasm, effective marketing and promotional backing and a star-studded cast; a movie that had the potential to be the savior for a rather disappointing summer season.
Instead, movie-goers got a film that at best is a fun blockbuster with a simple plot and at worst a “double cop-out, disappointing both fans of the source material’s grown-up gloom-and-doom aesthetic and discerning adolescents,” according to Michael O’Sullivan from the Washington Post. With a 42 percent difference between critical and fan approval according to Rotten Tomatoes and a petition to take down the review aggregate site, viewer reviews were split, and many revolved around whether specific comments critics had made were right instead of their actual overall thoughts on the movie. The narrative of the average viewer versus the critics is a wholly unnecessary and unproductive endeavour which defeats the purpose of professional critical analysis.
If people see critics and their reviews only as an avenue for self-validation of one’s own opinions or dismiss them as pretentious snobs with some sort of disconnect with what people like, they miss opportunities to gain or at least consider pursuing a deeper appreciation for films they already enjoy through the lens of professional film criticism while learning to enjoy other types of widely unknown films.
By blindly defending our film preferences and refusing to recognize problems in the works we may love, we become unable to differentiate truly great films from the rest, and slowly, every movie can become the same average experience. Going into a movie with the mindset that one needs to deflect every negative comment critics have made will often reduce one’s enjoyment of the movie and inhibits one’s ability to develop one’s own independent opinions. Having preferences which are fundamentally different from those of critics is OK. Just don’t go charging after critics with a vendetta every time a movie comes out.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on August 26, 2016.
