This last Thursday, on Oct 26th in Harris Hall, the Contemporary Thought Speaker Series (CTSS) held an event called “Journalism is the 21st Century: Politics, Pop Culture and Protest.” CTSS is a student-run group at Northwestern University that brings community members together to discuss topics. Journalists and critics, Doreen St. Felix, Wesley Morris and Rembert Browne addressed the new era of criticism via social media and the struggles that come with being a writer, a critic, and well known public figure.
“It is difficult having a career doing both criticism and being a normal journalist. Once you have written criticism on someone, there is no way you can profile them. It is hard to separate the reputation of being a critic and being a writer,” said Rembert Browne, a freelance journalist.
The other panel members, St. Felix and Morris, shared nods with one another as Browne went on to address the toll that being in the public eye has taken on him. Browne said that he didn’t think the public’s opinion affected him but in reality sometimes he just wants to power down and “move to Montana.” The intimate but lively audience laughed along with the other two journalists, creating a light-hearted and conversational setting.
Photo courtesy of CTSS on Facebook
19-year-old Amanda Gordon, a member of CTSS, went into this event unsure of the turn out, but certain that these speakers would have something to say about the current state of American politics and pop culture.
“I think each of these three journalists are really embedded in what’s going on politically and they’re able to incorporate that in their cultural writing as well,” said Gordon.
Doreen St. Felix often finds that she gets lost in twitter rifts. She talked about the over-projection of opinions on social media and how criticism has now become “personal essays.”
“When you have a huge volume of people who now have access to writing, or access to jumping into criticism without necessarily going through the ropes that make you a formal critic, there are some things that get lost,” said St. Felix.
Rembert Browne acknowledged that it is so easy to get caught up in tweeting rather than writing because of the “instant gratification,” but his rule of thumb is to never attack “human beings” over social media.
“I skipped my hockey game to come here,” said Deerfield high school student, Andrew Toban with a giggle. “Wesley Morris and Rembert Browne are two of my favorite writers; I’ve been reading them forever.”
As an aspiring journalist, Toban was hoping to leave this event with some tips to improve his writing. “Doreen said at one point that you can’t let your identity and place in the cultural narrative dominate your own experiences…When writing comes to criticism, it is important not to let the piece become a personal essay; you have to separate your writing and critical thinking from your personal thinking,” said Toban.
Photo from CTSS