Role of the Media Critic

*Response based on the HighSnobiety article about Super Bowl Halftime Shows*

Although this article was an opinion piece on the best and worst Super Bowl commercials of the 2000’s, author Jake Indiana served as a connector between creator and consumer. He used the bridge building tactic to provide the audience with quick recaps of each performance, why he chose to rank them a certain way and a video of each performance. He took public opinion into consideration while also forming his own list ranking bad to good. He created an ease of access for the readers to take his opinion into consideration, given all of the details of the performance. 

Jake Indiana suggested new directions (also known as practicing “creative criticism”) many times in which he proposed that certain artists who he ranked low were out of touch with the trends/social themes at the time of their performance. He makes certain suggestions like changing a certain line up, choosing a different song or using different props that could’ve made the performance more successful. 

Proposing system-cognizant change was evident in this article. In this manner he was not just discussing the performers song and outfit choice, but speaking about how the game itself was a key player to the exposure of the Halftime Show that year. Modification to the “system”, in this case Super Bowl as a whole, such as a change in stadium location, which teams were competing and pre-game “hype”, would have an effect on how the Halftime Show is received and viewership numbers. 

Jake Indiana is a music editor which puts him at an advantage to be well-respected in his opinions. He serves as a proxy or watch dog, writing about two posts per week for HighSnobiety. His expertise as a media critic positions him as a trusted source for the public. Criticism must be expressed in a manner that is entertaining and fun to read. Jake Indiana is successful in this as he often uses slang terms relevant to the current time and even proposes rhetorical questions to prove his ranking reasons. His style/tone of writing is casual yet informational, often times reminiscing on the artist’s “prime”.