AI Summary
5 min readThe critic as custodian, not judge
When Lovia Jace hears someone dismiss critics as snobs who just want to tell you your taste is wrong, she sees something else entirely. "We're more custodians of the culture," she says. "We're here to facilitate conversation about the things that we enjoy. We're here to make connections between cultural objects or cultural productions." Jace, now culture editor at Hammer and Hope magazine, spent years as a film critic at The Hollywood Reporter and has thought deeply about what the craft actually demands—and why it makes people so uncomfortable.
Why criticism feels personal
The resistance to criticism, Jace argues, stems from a deeper problem: people lack spaces for political education, so they turn to culture as a substitute. "When people criticize an album that you like or an artist that you're a fan of, it feels like they're criticizing your values," she explains. "Why do you feel like culture is exclusively the arena to form your politics?" In a moment when liking Charli XCX can feel like a political statement, having that choice questioned can feel like an attack on identity itself.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:53) **What Criticism Actually Is** - Lovia Jace redefines the role of a critic, pushing back against the idea of being an authoritarian arbiter of taste.
- 2 (02:59) **Why People Hate Having Their Culture Criticized** - The host and Lovia explore the deep discomfort people feel when their favorite art is challenged.
- 3 (05:37) **Culture as an On-Ramp to Politics** - Lovia explains how she uses culture as a tool to engage people in deeper political conversations at Hammer and Hope.
- 4 (08:26) **How to Read a Piece of Culture for Its Politics** - Lovia breaks down her practical process for analyzing a film or artwork beyond its surface.
- 5 (11:50) **The Political Question of Black Motherhood on Screen** - Lovia dives deeper into the specific political argument of her film analysis.
- 6 (15:12) **The Problem with Frictionless Celebrity Interviews** - The conversation shifts to the decline of rigorous journalism in favor of chummy, friend-to-friend interviews.
- 7 (18:25) **How to Write a Great Profile: The Abdul Matin Example** - Lovia uses her profile of actor Abdul Matin as a masterclass in the craft of profile writing.
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Show Notes
To answer that question Brittany is joined by Lovia Gyarkye, culture editor at Hammer and Hope, a magazine dedicated to Black culture and politics. Lovia’s spent the bulk of her career researching, reflecting, and writing about the films, artists, and celebrities we’ve come to love. And in that process, she’s found ways to embrace curiosity and skepticism, two essential parts of being a critic.
Today on the show, Lovia defines what being a critic means for her, the ‘thinking’ problem so many of us face, and the power of giving something your sustained attention.
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