Let's learn how to review!
Rachel Getting Married
A movie review of the upcoming film by the same title.
Eco-nomics
Book review equating green business to big business.
Stopping Makes Sense
A review of Vince Young the the struggles he's facing in the NFL.
So, what makes a good review a GREAT review. Which of these reviews is most successful and why? What kind of language does a good review use? What style works best? How can a reviewer express his/her opinion without alienating the audience? What kind of tone must a reviewer maintain? As you can see, reviewing is more than summarizing; it's about capturing a film or piece of music or person, and making it compelling to others. So compelling, that you'd want to jump out the buy the book, see the film, meet the person. As I did when I read this review: A Race Like No Other.
5 comments:
I'm starting to feel that I'm always the one who comments first whenever I do comment...so here goes.
I read the Vince Young article, and I took a lot out of it, which I found surprising because I went into it with more knowledge about Young than the average reader might. Not only did the "review" level the playing field by condensing the history of Vince Young, but it also made his story appealing by painting the YoungPortrait as someone who had immense promise and still has immense talent, but simply can't execute in the NFL.
I'm just as guilty as any other NFL fan - the testosterone beat-each-other-up mentality of the game is why its appealing, otherwise i'd watch the more boring sports to watch on TV like Baseball and Golf. Let's face it, contact in sports is appealing to the caveman-instincts part of the brain.
Now here's the conundrum; I'm not mad at Vince Young like a Titans fan might be. I've seen and heard of football players whose careers have died out after such promise (former first round picks David Carr, Ryan Leaf, and most notably, Alex Smith...all Quarterbacks). QB is the most pressure-filled position in the NFL, no question about it. So imagine being a celebrity who might be below the A-list, but still famous, and add in the pressure of 60,000 bloodthirsty fans watching you every sunday in a stadium and you get the perfect setup for a mental breakdown.
(Before I get this response to be any more longwinded, here we go with a conclusion)
Young has every right to walk away from the NFL, but I don't think he will. He was a fighter in his time at Austin as a Longhorn, and he knows the pressure that he's under, and he's not new to it at this point. He might just not be as successful a QB in the NFL as in the NCAA no matter what. Look at Tim Tebow (florida) and other scrambler QBs, the college playbook is built for them with QB sneaks and Option Plays appearing infinite times more frequently than in the NFL. Young's skill set alone could be reason enough to cut his ties with the Titans and retire and I see no shame in that. With that said, Titans fans will feel betrayed that their multimillion dollar investment walked out on them. To that, the simple answer is tough break, better to have a retired NFL quarterback than one who's contemplating suicide (and maybe actually does it) as well as being a bad media beacon for the NFL.
In the article Eco-nomics, where Thomas Friedman's new book "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" is reviewed by NY Times reporter Jonathan Freedland, you are given extreme insight into many of the key points made in the highly acclaimed book. The authors approach intrigues the reader, and inspires them to want to learn more about the issue and the solutions posed.
It is no secret there have been many books of this sort. In order to keep readers from being 'turned off' by the dark day to day topic, other books with similar topics to "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" were mentioned and compared. Assuring the reader that Friedman's newest was unique and empowering rather than negative and dwelling.
The authors language was eloquent and consistent throughout the piece. He was able to give a nice snapshot of the entire book with out an unwanted spoiler.
It was clear the the author of the article had spent a lot of time reading the book and studied what it really had to offer to the public, saying that the ideas were great and well needed in this time and day.
I really mean it when I say that I wanted to read the book after reading the article. It is remarkable how clearly the author was able to convey why it is important to read this book how not only will it benefit you, but society.
When writing reviews in the future, I hope to take a lot of stye tips from this article with me. You have to sound like you know what you are talking about and show it. Tell the reader what the product is really giving back to you and why it is worth your while. Give context, examples and personal insight. And lastly, acknowledge the question that the readers are asking themselves.
--Amanda
I too, like Josh, read the Vince Young article. At first I couldn't seem to understand how the article was a review, as it is certainly not in the traditional sense of the word. However, the reporting and viewpoint of the article certainly makes it a review. The author provides a subtle, yet guiding sense of opinion that allows him to shape his argument, the article takes in all of the factors that comprise Vince Young's life and spits them our into a synopsis, and it refers the individual case back to the whole "genre", if you will.
In regards to Vince Young and playing quarterback in the NFL, it is undoubtedly tough. There are several quarterbacks (many of them mentioned by Josh) that have crumpled under the pressure of this prestigious place in the sporting world. However, Vince Young is different from those other quarterbacks. He is smart, unlike Ryan Leaf (no offense). He is capable, unlike David Carr. And he is tenacious, unlike Alex Smith. He is also a naturally born celebrity, unlike any of the aforementioned. Vince Young was born to take the stage as a premier quarterback in the NFL. I still believe that he will become a good, if not elite quarterback in the NFL.
However, at the present moment, what Vince Young lacks is the mental toughness to absorb the criticism of the American public, a group that is ruthless in bad times and all-praising in good times. Vince Young's problem is that he is not able to take the bad with the good. He holds himself to a standard of perfection, and when he cannot do that, he feels as if he has let his fans down, and he becomes disappointed. Once Vince Young learns to tune out the blood-thirsty, win-over-all attitude that sports are regarded with in the USA, he will be able to reach his full potential.
Back to the review aspect of this article: while it certainly does "review" the life of an NFL quarterback, this article seems to turn me off from what I would consider to be the dream job. Yet, I feel that this is the intention of the article. I believe that a good review doesn't necessarily need to make you jump out of your seat to see, read, become the thing that the article is talking about, but it must help you reach a clear decision in regards to your opinion regarding the subject of the review. A good review should cover all aspects of a movie, book, career opportunity, both good and bad, while at the same time clearly stating an opinion or viewpoint in regards to the material being reviewed. You don't have to persuade someone (unless you really want to), but you certainly have to provide he/she with the information they need to make his/her own decision (while steering them slightly in one direction or another). That, in my mind, is what makes a good review.
I found this article very interesting. As a big NFL fan, I am very aware of the fame and fortune that an athlete can achieve. The media is constantly glorifying the world's best athletes, thousands of people keep up with thier favorite players and teams on a daily basis, and even mediocre NFL athletes get a paycheck that most of us could only dream of.
It is a rare to find a piece such as this one that criticizes the NFL way of life. I remember the quote from the end of the story from the psychologist. It clearly goes against everything that is valued in the sports world. He talked about his amazement at how most NFL players will grind out thier careers despite the difficulties and said that it was honestly the "bright ones" who walked away from the game. Quitting is definetely something that I have never heard emphasized. When I first heard about Vince Young's struggles, I was confused. Here was a man who was making millions playing a position in one of the most venerated sports in the US. However, I was blinded by my ignorant view of the sports world because of the one-sided message that the media constantly delivers. This article definetely helped me understand the pressure and physical beating that these athletes are subject to everyday. No matter how much we may idolize athletes, there is another side of the story that everyone should take time to understand.
As for the review aspect, I agree with Nish that an unbiased, complete view of a subject makes for the best reviews. Reviews are most effective when they aid readers in helping them reach an informed decision or opinion. However, I think this "review" is a little bit different becasue of the the issue it discusses. Since most people have heard of the glamorization, this review is effective because it sets forth a new perspective through a presentation of Vince Young's difficulties. A "review" such as this one depicts a relatively undiscussed issue and immediately attracts a reader who knows anything about sports.
-adam
I think Freedland took a very interesting approach to the Friedman book review. I read part of "The World is Flat" last year and I have a lot of respect for Friedman as a writer and an economist. So it was exciting for me to see that he was writing about the environment. I think it's interesting that the writer of this review chose to focus more on the impact and importance of the book than the content itself. But, I think it worked well for this article. I really hope Freedland is right that "important people" will read this book, and that it might start to change the way big companies do business. Thinking back to the Conference on Democracy, I think there is a consensus emerging that sustainable business is the future, and if a free-market evangelist like Friedman supports government intervention to encourage eco-friendly buisiness, you can bet it's important.
Post a Comment