Bumble Bee Tuna

People, people, people, please! If something could have been done better, it would have been, because the Perfect Just and Holy GOD does not allow imperfection. Fools!

We live in the best of all possible worlds!

Sol

I must be a snob, I'm critical of mom's criticisms.

DMB

It's an irregular verb:

I discriminate intelligently;
you criticise snobbishly;
he/she displays raving bigotry.

philechat

I am severely critical, and it applys to myself and my own works. I don't know if it be an assent or a problem. But sometimes I went depressed from being overly critical of myself and others.

And I have an extremely snobbish taste in about anything (music, movies, novels and poetry, you name it). I remembered watching movies with my mom only to pick the movie apart out of distaste. My mom, on the other hand, was happy with whatever movies that were feed to her.

It sucks sometimes.

southernhybrid

I think that hypercritical people tend to be perfectionists. Perfectionists are not usually very happy people. My father is the perfect example. Nothing ever pleases him and he's very miserable most of the time. I don't know if a perfectionist can change or get medications for the problem. I think it may be similar to OCD. I'm just very happy that I'm not one. Accepting the imperfections of others makes it easier to accept one's own imperfections.

Bree

Anyone know if this is an option?

Swoop

If there was no criticism, how would anything improve? There always has to be a will to "better", though the forms it takes could do with some "bettering" itself sometimes

Oxymoron

Does your mother have an inferiority complex? Some people find criticism difficult or even impossible to deal with, and it often relates to their self-esteem.

Criticism can be used both constructively and destructively. If it's ever the latter, it matters not whether someone sees it as snobbery or legitimate, you can be sure the recipient will be pissed off. In which case, the criticism will be returned with interest.

Taking and giving positive criticism is a skill. It takes effort and care to exercise, and if done correctly along with corrective actions and praise for all that's being done right as well, it's a powerful tool for improvement of self and others.

diana

DMB:

:notworthy

Oxymoron:Hm. While I have no beef for positive criticism, if the subject in question can be criticized positively, I think this concept gets taken too far.

First, I readily admit to being hypercritical. However (southernhybrid), this doesn't interfere with my joie de vivre. The two do not necessarily go hand in hand.

I've worked a lifetime to develop an ability to discern between good hamburgers and soggy, greasy ones; between the string-sawing efforts of an amateur violinist and the polished strains of a virtuoso; between clunky, plodding movies and the subtleties and smooth, effortless transitions of good films; between Thunderbird vinegar and a nice bottle of Robert Mondavi Coastal Cab; between the self-aggrandizing writing attempts of self-styled intellectuals and artists, and the clear expressions of a true writer.

Criticism, IMO, is my ability to say not only what I like and don't like, but precisely why.

As far as "positive criticism" goes, I don't always know how something can be improved, but sometimes it's enough to explain what about it doesn't work for me. This became a major pet peeve for me in college, when I couldn't get people to just tell me what (precisely) that I wrote that didn't work for them and why; they seemed terrified they'd hurt my feelings, but goddammit...if I don't know what's broken, I can't fix it.

Furthermore, when I ask a person's opinion of a film (say), what I don't want to hear is a leaden, "Good" or "Bad," or "I liked it" or "I didn't like it." What I do want to know is what that person thought were assets of the film and why, and what the person didn't like about the film and (again) why.

You might take a sip of wine and declare it tastes like grapes, but you'll pardon me, I hope, if I sip from the same bottle and taste blackberry with oak overtones, with a hint of strawberries.

If anything, Bree, my idea of snobbery is to declare that everyone should be like you. If you have simple-minded enjoyment of films, and you insist that anyone who can tell you precisely why they didn't like the film is being a snob, then you are, in effect, being a snob. Your condemnation of their taste is your way of belittling them. Your mom is the snob here.

d

pounceinternational

the power of keen observation is often viewed as cynicism by those who don't have it.

be critical, just don't be a dick.

ps: i'm not going to go see a movie with you now.