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Armond White

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Armond White
Born1953 or 1954 (age 70–71)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materColumbia University (MFA)
OccupationFilm critic

Armond White (born 1953 or 1954 (age 70–71))[1] is an American film and music critic who 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.

White is known for his provocative, idiosyncratic[2] and often contrarian reviews, which have made him a controversial figure in film criticism.[3]

Early life

White was born in Detroit,[4] the youngest of seven children. His family was the first African-American family to move to a primarily Jewish neighborhood on the city's northwest side, where he grew up. Raised Baptist, he later became Pentecostal, and identifies himself as "a believer."[5]

His interest in journalism and film criticism began as a student at Detroit's Central High School, when he first read the book Kiss Kiss Bang Bang by film critic Pauline Kael,[5] whom he cites for "her willingness to go against the hype," along with Andrew Sarris, for his "sophisticated love of cinema,"[6] as being a major inspiration on his choice of professional career.[7][8][9] White received a Master of Fine Arts degree in film from Columbia University's School of the Arts in 1997.[10]

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 its sister publication CityArts starting in September.

White is a member of the National Society of Film Critics[11] and New York Film Critics Online.[12] He was the three-time chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle (1994, 2009 and 2010),[13][14] 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.[10] He has taught classes on film at Columbia University and Long Island University.[7]

In 1992, White was one of nine newspaper and magazine writers to win the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for music criticism.[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 at the 35th annual American Book Awards for being "unfairly removed" from the critics' organization.[20]

Views on film

White has notably given negative reviews to widely acclaimed movies such as The Dark Knight, There Will Be Blood, Up, WALL-E, Toy Story 3, 12 Years a Slave, and Get Out.[21] He has also championed critically disliked films such as G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Jonah Hex, Grown Ups, Jack and Jill, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.[22]

White has referred to A.I. Artificial Intelligence as the best film of the 21st century[23] and considers Alain Resnais, Zack Snyder, Clint Eastwood, and S. Craig Zahler to be the four most important filmmakers of the 2010s.[24] In 2020, White compiled his favorite films of the preceding decade:

In 2021, he listed Don't Look Up as the worst film of the year.[25] White also described 2021 as a turning point in film culture, "where the glut of content, streaming or in theaters, overwhelmed concerns about quality, craft, and the destructive messages being sold to us." He then created his own list of 17 great films of 2021,[26] to watch as an alternative, which included:

Personal life

White is gay and a Christian.[28]

Public reception

White's work led film critic Roger Ebert to label him as a "smart and knowing [...] troll" in his 2009 essay Not in defense of Armond White.[29] White has in turn criticized Ebert, stating "I do think it is fair to say that Roger Ebert destroyed film criticism. Because of the wide and far reach of television, he became an example of what a film critic does for too many people. And what he did simply was not criticism. It was simply blather."[30]

In 2014, film critic Walter Biggins of RogerEbert.com penned an essay titled In defense of Armond White, a reference to Ebert's earlier essay. Biggins criticizes White's combative style, but defends him as a critic, describing White as "an important, distinctive, and...necessary voice in film criticism". Biggins states that "He's no troll, and he's one of the few critics capable of noting the inherent—and latent—racism of much of cinema and its discourse... he has provided a rare black voice, and perhaps an even rarer conservative voice, to film/video commentary."[31]

White has responded to negative criticism of his reviews stating, "If there were a whole bunch of critics who I thought were doing a good job, then I would stop...Because really, the reason why I do what I do is because I think there are things that need to be said about movies, about culture, about the world, that nobody's saying.[30]

Critic Thelma Adams has cited White as an influence on her work.[32]

Books

  • The Resistance: Ten Years of Pop Culture That Shook the World, 1995 (ISBN 978-0879515867)
  • Rebel for the Hell of It: The Life of Tupac Shakur, 2002 (ISBN 978-1560254614)
  • Keep Moving: The Michael Jackson Chronicles, 2009 (ISBN 978-0984215904)
  • New Position: The Prince Chronicles, 2016 (ISBN 978-1536878561)
  • Make Spielberg Great Again: The Steven Spielberg Chronicles, 2020 (ISBN 978-0984215911)

Further reading

  • Roberts, Jerry. The Complete History of American Film Criticism. Santa Monica Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-59580-049-7
  • Lopate, Phillip (ed.). American Movie Critics: An Anthology From the Silents Until Now. Library of America, 2006. ISBN 1-931082-92-8

See also

References

  1. ^ McGraw, Bill (January 18, 2014). "The Baddest Film Critic in New York Grew Up in Detroit and Went to WSU". Deadline Detroit. Retrieved November 10, 2021. This week, White, 60, made news when he was purged from the New York Film Critics Circle, the nation's oldest such group.
  2. ^ McNeil, Daniel (2015). "The last honest film critic in America: Armond White and the children of James Baldwin". In Frey, Mattias; Sayad, Cecilia (eds.). Film Criticism in the Digital Age. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. pp. 61–78. ISBN 978-0813570723.
  3. ^ Moore, Jack (October 31, 2011). "The 14 Worst Movie Reviews From America's Jerk Film Critic". Buzzfeed.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  4. ^ Knipfel, Jim (August 24, 2020). "On the Upstart NYC Alt Weekly That Gave Us Armond White". Literary Hub. Retrieved November 15, 2021. Born in Detroit, Armond first appeared on the New York scene as editor of the Brooklyn's City Sun.
  5. ^ a b Jacobson, Mike (February 15, 2009). "No Kiss Kiss, All Bang Bang". New York. p. 2. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  6. ^ Staff (2004). "The Critic". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  7. ^ a b Kipp, Jeremiah (April 2002). "Beyond Entertainment: An Interview With Film Critic Armond White". senses of cinema. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  8. ^ Lingan, John (May 15, 2008). "Interview: Armond White". SpliceToday.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  9. ^ White, Armond (July 3, 2012). "Armond White's Mid-Year Awards". New York Press. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Armond White, New York Press". IndieWire.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  11. ^ New York Film Critics Circle Archived March 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  12. ^ New York Film Critics Online. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  13. ^ Goldstein, Gregg (October 16, 2008). "N.Y. Film Critics re-elect Armond White". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  14. ^ White, Armond (2010). "Message from the 2010 Chairman" Archived January 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. New York Film Critics Circle. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  15. ^ "ASCAP Deems Taylor winners announced". Variety. December 1, 1992. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  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. UK. 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. ^ Cornish, Stephanie (August 27, 2014). "Jamaica Kincaid and Armond White win American Book Awards". Afro. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  21. ^ White, Armond (February 24, 2017). "Return of the Get-Whitey Movie". National Review.
  22. ^ White, Armond (July 25, 2007). "Bosom Buddies". Archived from the original on January 3, 2012.
  23. ^ White, Armond (June 30, 2021). "A.I. Is the Best Film of the 21st Century". National Review.
  24. ^ White, Armond (January 8, 2020). "Best Movies of the Decade". National Review.
  25. ^ White, Armond (January 12, 2022). "'What Is the Worst Film of 2021?'". National Review.
  26. ^ White, Armond (January 7, 2022). "The Better-Than List for 2021". National Review.
  27. ^ White, Armond (May 14, 2021). "Army of the Dead — Zack Snyder's Political Nightmare". National Review.
  28. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (January 13, 2014). "Why Armond White got kicked out of the New York Film Critics Circle". Entertainment Weekly.
  29. ^ Ebert, Roger (August 14, 2009). "Not in defense of Armond White". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  30. ^ a b Chen, David (July 20, 2010). "Armond White: "I Do Think It Is Fair To Say That Roger Ebert Destroyed Film Criticism"". Slashfilm.
  31. ^ Biggins, White (January 14, 2014). "In Defense of Armond White". RogerEbert.com.
  32. ^ Sollosi, Mary (January 30, 2014). "Profiles in Criticism: Thelma Adams". IndieWire.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  1. ^ White had previously criticized the film.[27]
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