Take That, Critics!: Difference between revisions

{{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.

 

== [[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]]