Stop Complaining. Start Creating.

As a longtime Star Wars fan, I remember the excitement when it was announced that a new trilogy was being produced after Disney's acquisition of the franchise. I also remember how anticipation soon turned to disappointment, then outright anger at the direction the new movies had gone, especially after The Last Jedi desecrated the legacy of Luke Skywalker by turning him into a bitter old man. While the official media and many existing Star Wars fan content channels either ignored or made excuses for the failings of the sequel trilogy, a new cohort of YouTube critics emerged who made names for themselves decrying the mistreatment of a beloved IP. I, like these new critics, was outraged at what had been done to what was (and still is, despite recent tarnishment) my favorite fictional universe. As such, I followed these new critics over the ensuing years as they, often correctly, called out terrible offerings like the Halo TV series, Rings of Power, and the various soulless Disney live-action remakes. Yet, as the years passed, I found myself growing frustrated. I noticed that these new critics virtually never had anything positive to say about anything. I stopped watching most of them because, ultimately, I found they had nothing to say. I had to ask myself why this bothered me so much. I found myself repeatedly muttering, "Stop complaining. Start creating." This, I believe, is the key, not only to better artistic criticism but to retaking a culture that is awash in trite political propaganda and corporate sludge.

We've come a long way since The Last Jedi sparked online backlash in 2017. No one who is paying attention can disagree that our cultural output has stagnated and even once-mighty franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe elicit more shrugs and skepticism than blind enthusiasm. The rise of generative AI has only fueled this, leading to an avalanche of so-called "AI slop." Discussions of this topic can spark fierce (and needlessly personal) debate online about precisely why this stagnation is occurring, but there is no doubt that something has gone wrong. It is in this atmosphere, ironically, that I believe that the new critics who made their names bashing the sequel trilogy or Rings of Power may actually be counterproductive insofar as they only criticize without doing the hard work of making creative content of their own. We don't need yet another video essay talking about why some sludge made by corporate executives hoping for a quick cash-grab fails at being either art or entertainment. We need alternatives, things that can showcase what works rather than simply pointing out what does not work.

This is the glory of the free market, particularly when coupled with the wonders of the internet. Someone with talent, ambition, and tenacity can create works of art that are genuinely beautiful without having to go through the gatekeepers that traditionally kept the creative field limited to the chosen few who would toe the party line. Of course, that also means that there is a lot more dreck to wade through, but we've already seen that the "official" arbiters of pop culture produce plenty of garbage even with (or perhaps because) of the gatekeepers.

Some of the new critics understand this, and they have my respect because of it. Critical Drinker, whose YouTube persona is a foul-mouthed inebriated Scotsman, is also an accomplished author of action thrillers who has been working hard with independent filmmakers to turn his novels into crowdfunded short films. Razorfist, another brash and aggressive critic of comics and games as well as more traditional visual media, is also a novelist trying to revitalize the pulp genre. Eric July, also known as Young Rippa, is another YouTube critic specializing in the comic book space who took the risk of starting his own comic book company called Rippaverse Comics which has been tremendously successful at providing alternatives to the big publishers who have squandered their legacies. I may not agree with these critics on everything (what a boring world that would be), but I can appreciate the fact that they have put themselves out there to produce alternatives. Not only does it show that they actually understand the creative process more than some political commenter who clearly has no idea what he's talking about (*cough Matt Walsh cough*), but it also gives their audiences a positive outlet rather than merely building up resentment and bitterness.

While I am writing this based upon a specific set of cultural circumstances, the general idea is universal. It is well and good to identify failures honestly, but to stop and dwell on those failures improves nothing. You can stare at your belly in the mirror and scold yourself for your lack of fitness, but that will not lose you a single pound. We must, each of us, engage in the hard work of doing something productive rather than whining about how bad things have gotten.

This is my message to anyone who is despondent about the current state of the culture: create your own. Put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, feet on stage, or whatever other method of creation you have available to you. You will not have the refinement of a seasoned professional, and it may take years of practice before you are ready to actually compete in the marketplace, but you will never get anywhere without taking that first step. As the classic proverb says, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. So stop complaining and start creating. That is the only way to a better future.