The field of screen journalism has vastly changed since Mark Kermode started making his career in the 80s. As a film critic and musician, he has seen the landscape evolve from something you could pretty much bluff your way into, to something that is utterly dominated by “blogs, emails and social media.”
I spoke to Mark about how he distinguished himself in the field and he took me back to his childhood: “When I was a kid, if you saw a film and wanted to see it again, you’d have to wait for it to come back around to the cinema.” For this reason, he used to take a notebook to write down his thoughts otherwise there was no way of keeping track. Also, he used to collect soundtrack albums and source books – yet more ways in which his love for film flourished.
While at Manchester University, he mainly wrote gig reviews for The Mancunion, Manchester’s student newspaper, and was also part of City Life, a Manchester based magazine dealing with news, arts and listings.
Back in those days, Mark tells me that “you weren’t asked for an article in words but rather in inches,” the idea of physical media being quite difficult to wrap our heads around nowadays. In fact, on more than one occasion, his work was torn in half in front of him because it was too long and tearing it physically demonstrated the length it needed to be.
In 1988, he approached Time Out magazine in London with a portfolio. Mark comically bluffed his way into Time Out – “I pretended I had a meeting with the editor, Geoff Andrew, in order to con my way in. That kind of thing would never happen these days.”
I also spoke to Mark about his advice for us as young people, now that the field is changing. He believes he is “one of the few people that actually believe in editors. Sub-editors are journalists’ lifeline so if you can find someone to run your copy by, do it.” Alongside this, persistence is important – rejection is a big part of the job.
Sub-editors are journalists’ lifeline so if you can find someone to run your copy by, do it.
Mark Kermode
Mark moves away from the romanticised view of film criticism and tells me that “a lot of people think they want to be film critics until they do it … Anyone can review a good film – the real test is whether you can review a bad film.”
Without a doubt, Mark loves his job. “My favourite thing about it is that I get to spend my life watching films – it’s a real privilege.” A journalist friend of his once said “make your obsession your profession and you’ll be fine.”
On the changing landscape, Mark believes that “film criticism has become much more of a dialogue.” This makes sense when you consider the amount of people who leave reviews on social media platforms like Letterboxd as “social media is now essential for getting presence.” Mark engages with social media but has removed himself from X as he says it’s “run by a fascist pig who is in the process of destroying the world.” Perhaps he’ll be sticking to Instagram for the foreseeable future…
Make your obsession your profession and you’ll be fine.
Mark Kermode
On his preparation for his shows and podcasts, he prepares in the same way we would prepare for an exam – by writing notes and doing his homework so there is nothing to make up on the spot, stating that “if you do the prep, you can be a good broadcaster.”
Ultimately, Mark argues that “film criticism doesn’t affect the box office. You’re not there to tell people what to do, just to be part of the conversation about the film landscape. All you’re trying to do is engage with the subject and if you look hard enough, you’ll find something you’ve never seen before.”
I asked Mark what his favourite film of the year so far has been and without hesitation, he named The Substance. “It’s so compelling and left field, I sat there with a grin on my face the whole time. So many things aren’t good about it but I don’t care – it’s on fire.”
Finally, I asked him for his tips for students trying to break into the scene. “You have to identify the flm correctly – people even mix the name up. Where did it come from? Is it a remake or original? How does it fit in with other films in its genre? What did YOU think? Don’t second guess the audience – you can’t pretend to like something you didn’t like. Always refer to other films in the landscape.”
To sum it up, Mark candidly mentioned that really, there was only one review you can make as a film critic: “It’s alright… If you like that sort of thing.”
