Take That, Critics!: Difference between revisions

* The entire reason [[Morbius]] was even created was done as a Take That to the [[Comics Code]]; his first appearance was only months after the Code had relaxed many of its policies, including one that forbid depictions of supernatural beings like vampires.

* On a similar note, the series ''[[Afterlife with Archie]]'' and its sister series ''[[Chilling Adventures of Sabrina]]'' combined this with [[Self-Deprecation]]. Originally, [[Archie Comics]] was the company that argued loudest for the [[Comics Code]], and years later ended up the last mainstream company to abide by it. Eventually, even they decided to abandon the Code, introducing a title that had numerous elements that would have violated the original Code, simply to mock a system they now considered an [[Old Shame]].

 

== [[Fan Works]] ==

 

== [[Film]] ==

* In ''[[Gremlins]] 2'' the titular monsters overrun a TV studio. In one scene a critic is ranting about how horrible the original ''Gremlins'' is, using actual lines from a bad review, is mobbed by gremlins and starts yelling "I was just kidding! It was a 10! A 10!" Unusually, the critic was actually Leonard Maltin, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtUA810cUhk playing himself] and reading out his own review; a rare case where the producers ''and'' the critic seem to be taking things in equally good humour. (The entire sequel could be seen as a [[Take That]] to the original, despite being directed by the same guy.)

** Elsewhere, the sequel demonstrates its own self-effacing good humour by including a scene where people discuss the inconsistencies in the "don't feed them after midnight" rule (before being mauled by gremlins) and another scene where Kate (Phoebe Cates) is prevented from launching into a maudlin speech about why she doesn't like Presidents' Day, parodying her speech about Christmas in the original film.

* [[Kevin Smith]] responded to criticisms of his film Jersey Girl by stating [http://www.viewaskew.com/news/mar04/2.html "it wasn't made for critics"].

** He said that about ''[[Dogma]]'' too. Or maybe he only said that about ''Dogma'' and it was still in response to critics not liking ''Jersey Girl''. Either way I'm positive he said that about ''Dogma'', which is interesting since [[Insult Backfire|critics loved the movie]].

* ''[[History of the World Part One]]'' begins by showing the artist of the first cave painting, followed shortly by the first critic. The critic's response? He pisses on the painting.

* A guy who shows up at the beginning of [[The Asylum]]'s ''The Hitchhiker'' was based on a critic who writer and director Leigh Scott hates. He's depicted as an [[Ambiguously Gay]] porn reviewer.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* Showing that this is [[Older Than They Think]], the works of [[Ovid]] might qualify, as he had nothing but contempt for the government and it showed in his works. Despite already being popular, Ovid was exiled by Emperor Augustus for unspecified reasons, possibly for criticizing his controversial marriage laws and - maybe - sleeping with his daughter. As a result of this, Ovid's later works have a clear anti-authority bent to them. It's hard to spot unless you have access to earlier versions of the myths he writes about, but the most glaring example might be the story of Perseus and Medusa, where both Poseidon and Athena are victims of [[Adaptational Villainy]], the former raping poor Medusa and the latter cursing her because of it. Previous versions of the myth had Medusa born a gorgon, a daughter of Typhon and Echidna, much like many other famous monsters. By changing Medusa's backstory so drastically, he changed the narrative from "gods aid heroes in slaying monsters" to "gods are jerks who toy with the lives of mortals without fear of repercussions." And that's far from the only example.

* In Michael Crichton's ''[[Next]]'', Crichton wrote a minor character into his book that was currently being tried for raping a toddler, with the commentary that while his penis was fairly small, he still did significant damage to the child. Strangely enough, the rapist's name was almost identical to that of a man who had criticized Crichton's last book. The critic found this very funny.

* SF&F author and Vietnam veteran [[David Drake]] was reviewed unfavorably early in his career by reviewer Charles Platt, who said that Drake wouldn't write the things he did [[Did Not Do the Research|if he'd ever seen war]]. In response, many of his works feature a reprehensible character named "Platt" who typically dies violently. About the best any "Platt" can hope for is to be stupid.

{{quote|"In the British Fantasy Society Newsletter's 'Desert Island Books' spot he chooses, for his 'single item of no practical use whatsoever', a critic. Also he would take Finnegans Wake plus a guide to understanding it (written presumably by a cr*t*c), and the complete works of George Bernard Shaw (that fine dramatic and musical cr*t*c)."}}

* [[A. E. Van Vogt]] received a scathing review from [[Damon Knight]] after the magazine publication of his novel ''[[The World of Null-A]].'' He answered the criticism in the introduction of the book publication. Oddly enough, he took it very well, revising parts of the book where Knight had pointed out plot holes, and even commented that Knight's review was very well-written.

* [[Lord Byron]] famously satirised the various Scottish critics who had panned his early verse, in the poem "English Bards and Scotch Reviewers". It can be found in Vol.1 of his collected poetic works on [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/8bpt110.txt Gutenberg].

* [[Terry Pratchett]] has a handful of [[Discworld]] books where, alongside the usually glowing review snippets you see on the covers and first few pages of books, ends with one from ''The Late Review'' that reads "Doesn't even write in chapters ... a complete amateur ... hasn't a clue".

* [[Dean Koontz]]'s novel ''Relentless'' was about a cabal of sinister critics trying to drive down cultural standards.

* Even [[Voltaire]] gets into this in his novel ''[[Candide]]''. In the later chapters there's Count Pococurante who owns an extensive library of great literature. But he's incapable of enjoying anything and ruthlessly critiques all of it.

== [[Live-Action TV]] ==

* The short-lived show ''[[Vengeance Unlimited]]'' had "[[Ironic Episode Title|Critical]]", an episode that incorporated many critics' negative statements. Most of these lines were given to the naive 16-year-old computer whiz who was unwittingly helping the [[Monster of the Week|villain of the week]], just to show how much they thought of the critics. Of course, this time the critics happened to have the show pegged, and it was canned two episodes later.

* ''[[Murphy Brown]]'' addressed then-Vice President [[Dan Quayle]]'s well-publicized criticisms of the show and its favourable depiction of a single mother directly through the show. This eventually culminated in a [[Take That]] right back at him when they arranged for a dump-truck full of potatoes to be dumped on his front porch, in reference to Quayle's equally well-publicized 'potato' / 'potatoe' gaff. "It's a good thing he didn't misspell 'fertilizer.'"

* In a ''[[Dinosaurs]]'' episode Earl comments, when watching a puppet show, that while the aesthetic of using puppets makes it appear at first glance to be a children's show, the actual content and themes of the show make it clear that it isn't, may refer to criticism of the show being for children. Or something to that effect.

* Similarly to the Richard Ingrams example, the lengthy ''[[Not the Nine O'Clock News]]'' parody of ''[[The Two Ronnies]]'' came about after Ronnie Barker called the show obscene, making the point that someone whose entire routine relied on [[Double Entendre]] possibly shouldn't be throwing that particular stone.

* ''[[The West Wing]]'' featured an episode where Josh posts a message about some minor issue of government procedure on an internet forum. Though the site is actually dedicated to him, the users (including a forum administrator "sitting in a muu-muu and smoking Parliament Lights") attack him for getting the issue wrong. Creator Aaron Sorkin wrote this episode as a response to his experience using the website [[Television Without Pity]].com, where he was a member for quite some time. Sorkin posted a topic about a dispute he had with a staff writer, which led to the site's users attacking him.

 

== [[Music]] ==

{{quote|"Yo, fuck 2DopeBoyz and fuck Nah Right, and any other fuck-nigga-ass blog that can't put an 18 year old nigga making his own fucking beats, covers, videos and all that shit."}}

* "On Fire" by [[Eminem]] features the line ''"So, the next time you blog, try to spit a flow / You want to criticize, dog? Try a little more"'' which is assumed to be directed at former rapper Nick Cannon who claimed that a song on his ''Relapse'' album proved him to be [http://idolator.com/5229092/nick-cannon-stands-up-to-eminem-sits-back-down-almost-immediately racist and jealous] of the relationship he now has with his ex-girlfriend [[Mariah Carey]].

* [[Queen]]'s "[[Highlander|Princes of the Universe]]" has a verse that's commonly seen as a Take That to critics who thought them past their prime: ''"People talk about you / People say you've had your day / I'm a man that will go far / Fly the moon and reach for the stars / With my sword and head held high / Got to pass the test first time, yeah / I know that people talk about me / I hear it every day / But I can prove them wrong 'cause I'm right first time"''

* Her Space Holiday's "Meet the Pressure". There's something incredibly petty about saying that the wives of your critics masturbate while listening to the very words they criticised.

{{quote|The golden Cash Cow had a body like the great cows of ancient Egypt

And a face like the face of Robert Tilton (without the horns) }}

** "MIC Drop" is basically dedicated to telling their haters how big they are now despite all the discouragement received.

 

== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==

 

== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==

** In 2006, when Stephanie was expecting their first child, [[Shawn Michaels]] asked [[Triple H]] who he thought got her pregnant. [[Triple H]]'s response: "I don't know, but I tell you what - that guy's gotta be one hell of a stud!"

** When Stephanie gave birth on the same night that RAW aired live, Michaels explained [[Triple H]]'s absence by saying he was at the hospital without the McMahons knowing, then said, "Between you and me, I think he knows who the father is."

** On RAW's 15th anniversary, when the McMahons tried to shoot a family portrait, [[Triple H]] came out and said he felt like he was a part of their family. Later, Stephanie got back at Vince for all the times he humiliated her by kissing [[Triple H]]. Trip's response: "All right Steph, see you at home... I mean, your brother's a gnome..."

** Of course, this all came full circle in the buildup to WrestleMania 25, when [[Triple H]] and the WWE not only admitted to the marriage on TV, but used it to hype his match with [[Randy Orton]] by having Orton assault Stephanie. On an episode of ''Smackdown'', [[Triple H]] called his marriage "the worst-kept secret in the WWE".

* During the early turn of the century, WWE had the Right To Censor heel stable, which was a direct shot at the [[wikipedia:Parents Television Council|Parent's Television Council]] and other such media watchdog groups. Interestingly, the RTC was actually pretty successful - giving the WWE a kayfabe reason to make some of the changes the PTC and allies were calling for.

** [[WCW]] had a much less well known stable of a similar nature called "Standards and Practices", consisting of Lenny Lane, Lodi, and Ms. Hancock. This one was created by [[Vince Russo]] after he got pissed off at Turner Broadcasting for limiting violence and edgy material on WCW Nitro broadcasts. WCW and Russo being, well, WCW and Russo, S&P was never really used for much of anything, and they disappeared fairly quickly. However, it was Stacy Keibler's start in wrestling. And really, it's hard to complain about Stacy Keibler dressing as a secretary and doing table dances. (Incidentally, if you're wondering why a team called Standards and Practices would have a valet doing erotic dances, ask Russo, because no one else has a clue)

== [[Radio]] ==

* Showing an uncharacteristically pointy side, radio comedy team [[Bob and Ray|Bob & Ray]] reacted to ''[[New York Magazine]]'' critic John Simon's negative review of their stage show by incorporating him into their skits as 'The Worst Person in the World' - a character who never spoke, just made rude noises while other characters (that is, Bob and/or Ray) commented loudly on his uncouth manners. (Broadcaster Keith Olbermann later picked up the concept, ''sans'' specific attack, and used it in his ''[[Countdown with Keith Olbermann|Countdown]]''.)

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* ''[[Shortpacked]]'' frequently broke up its "Flashbacked!" plotline to use Robin as a surrogate for criticism that his comic had gotten too serious. [http://www.shortpacked.com/d/20071112.html "The End of Shortpacked"] was interpreted by many as a direct response to the John Solomon review, featuring a hostile customer upset that his opinion on how to run the store was not taken as the gospel and declaring the staff to be too arrogant to listen to him and regular customers to be merely [[Lickspittle|yes-men]].

** This backfired spectacularly as Twisp and Catsby became incredibly popular. No critic ''wanted'' to criticize them.

** [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/8/30/ Penny Arcade also had a variant (inversion?)]: after making fun of various game reviewers for years, they worry about the critics' response to their own game. Cue cut to the big review sites throwing a party: "Hey, guys - I just started my review! Do you know if there is a number less than zero?"

== [[Real Life]] ==

* Gustav Klimt entitled one of his works [http://bobkessel.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/klimt-goldfish-to-my-critics.jpg?w=250&h=718 Goldfish - To My Critics]{{Dead link}}

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Insult Tropes]]

[[Category:Criticism Tropes]]