This is a fantastic interview. I would love to hear more (and from more critics) about that conflict between having to “sit through so much garbage” and keeping a beginner’s mind, preserving the ability to see (and discuss) something with fresh eyes. As a very selective consumer of pop culture, I know I miss countless references and relationships that deepen some works, and I envy the professional critic his or her mental library of cultural context. But I am glad I can sometimes, if I wish, walk into a theater and watch a dumb move just for hoots.

I also wish we had an accepted vocabulary for what “bad” art is. “Dishonest” feels like it is getting at something, because it seems like there are cases where a creator knows something is empty/artless, but they can get away with it (because of some outside market force, say). But “ugly” is subjective, and “cynical” is arguable, too (I’m reminded of the debate whether Starship Troopers is actually brilliant).