Diya Majumdar
Every once in a while, the circle of the popular crowd, the likes of Martin Scorsese, no less, get their names picked and set as a target of senseless bullying and harassment that takes one back to the schoolyard immaturity. Without cause and reason and fueled by mock confidence, the pseudo-intellectual paparazzi vie for a touch of greatness by attempting to pull down those already believed to be great. The Critic hit piece, penned by Sean Egan, does the same.
The Martin Scorsese Hit Piece Withers Under Irrelevance
It is surprising to think that one would find the resources to write an extensive piece documenting the failures and shortcomings of Martin Scorsese. But the resources were found and the piece was penned under Sean Egan’s byline. While Egan titled his quasi-pretentious article, “Martin Scorsese: rinse and repeat self-indulgence”, The Critic captioned the Twitter post saying, “Martin Scorsese has always been an uneven talent, writes Sean Egan, and fame and prestige have added self-indulgence.”
While the article goes on to pick and deconstruct each of the director’s creations, the author remains careful not to debase the “debased” director too much. As a result, Scorsese, in Egan’s eyes becomes “one of history’s all-time greats”, “reasonably entertaining”, “speckled with genuine greatness”, “a fine meditation”, and “truly magnificent”. When the article manages to stop throwing paltry and generic appreciations at the director, it overflows with overused and irrelevant criticism like a vindictive villain obsessed with Scorsese and every adjective in the English language. Sean Egan then ironically goes on to claim, “It’s also akin to obsessive-compulsive disorder.”
According to the ‘qualified critic opinion’ of the author of the hit piece, Martin Scorsese “doesn’t understand his own talent”. Apparently, the industry forgot to mail Egan the memo when certain directors decided they preferred a specific set of actors to others. This trait of the director seems simply lazy to him and connotative of “ill-discipline”. Egan, then, after yards of long and convoluted assertions about Scorsese’s self-indulgence, stakes a sudden claim that “thoughtfulness and rationalism suffuse every single one of [MCU films]” and that “the vigilante nature of superheroes and costumed crime fighters is subject to profound questioning.”
Guillermo del Toro Joins the Crowd in Slamming the Hit Piece
Guillermo del Toro has directly and concisely leveled back at The Critic‘s comically inexperienced hit piece aimed at taking down Martin Scorsese. The former’s veracity in articulating what makes the piece irrelevant has reinstated why the greats are equipped to handle whatever tantrum the world levies at them.
I very, very seldom post anything contradictory here- but- the amount of misconceptions, sloppy innacuracies and hostile adjectives not backed by an actual rationale is offensive, cruel and ill-intentioned. This article baited them traffic, but at what cost? https://t.co/YEwTi46A2O
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) October 7, 2022
To be clear: If God offered to shorten my life to lengthen Scorsese's- I'd take the deal. This man understands Cinema. Defends Cinema. Embodies Cinema. He has always fought for the art of it and against the industry of it. He has never been tamed and has a firm place in history.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) October 7, 2022
I don't shit talk, I don't "slam" and I support- but if anyone thinks that WWS is "…achingly slow" or that Raging Bull is "… bad filmmaking" and that "No studio dares to utter the word 'no' to him." Film language discussions, history lessons and research may be needed.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) October 7, 2022
Most of the article is akin to faulting Picasso for "Not getting perspective right" or Gaugin for being "garish". If you assail these cornerstones, you should lay it out- you disassemble the work and build your position- not just hand an opinion with "slamming" adjectives.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) October 7, 2022
When I read pieces like this one. Aimed at one of the most benign forces and one of the wisest, I do feel the tremors of an impending culture collapse- and I do wonder: "To what end?" …and find myself at a loss.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) October 7, 2022
The only thing now left for del Toro to complete his monologue would be a resounding mic drop. On the other hand, the crowd, appalled and angered at the amateurish attempts of the article, finds their own words to lance the withering piece that does nothing to contribute and everything to insult.
It was probably a Marvel fan who wrote that ha ha!
— Florian Calmer (@Flopod) October 7, 2022
In this specific case, my initial thoughts were:
1. Clickbait
2. Someone's still sore over Mr Scorsese's reported comments about the MCU
3. All of the above— Justin Sheppherd – RE-ANIMATOR! (@AHappyHiveling) October 7, 2022
It reminds me of people who say The Beatles are overrated.
It's like "No Kyle, you're neither edgy nor brave for saying that. Just ignorant of music and the history thereof."— Eric the Cipher (@EricThePage) October 7, 2022
Even as the article rises like a simmering underdog waiting to take a bite out of the object of its oppressor, the only invasive force that works to offend one’s sentimentalities is that of the unasked-for and unwarranted opinions of The Critic author. Even without his glorified critique of what Martin Scorsese has or hasn’t accomplished, the article, by its relentless ending, reads like a childish attempt by one Marvel enthusiast trying to set the record straight by whining about Scorsese’s “uneven” talents, whatever those may be.
Source: Twitter: @RealGDT
