"The Dumbing Down"

This article by Emily White seemed to be more of her complaint about losing her job and a critique on the poor choice made by the Times. I feel like she makes a good point only in the fact that without art critics, some art, productions, and music would never be discovered in the same way. While this fact is true, the new constantly in the loop social networks and break out of mass emails, group invites, and texts have done a lot to bring hidden art out in the open. It all starts with a status update which friends "like" and say they will go to, and by word of mouth and News Feeds, all of a sudden there are 500 more people at your event that you have never met in your life. Art critics may be helpful for something like a play and can offer a more refined opinion of art but they still can't tell you aspects that may stand out more in your mind that they did not even mention in an article. I do think art critics are important in local newspapers and really do help a community stay connected to the arts and also helps people maintain a certain expectation of art forms. It forces artists to make sure they give their all in case of a "bad review". The main thing that bothered me in this article really was the large central portion with the falling words. This article just seems dramatic and screams that Ms. White is so important that now that she has lost her job, art will disappear... FOREVER!

On a completely different and less critical hand, I did enjoy Emily White's writing style. Her arguments and points were very easy to follow and went along the same paths as my brain does when it starts analyzing information.