Criticism in Art

“Apnay aap ka joker bana rahay ho.”

“Au wekho malang aya.”

“Yar can’t you go and do your business somewhere else?”

These are just some of the remarks thespians, musicians or any performer hears on a daily basis. It is a usual routine, which has become a part of their life and which they now consider the norm. For an average human it is not healthy to listen to a boatload of criticism on a daily basis but for a performer, it is a part of life (like breathing) to be criticized and judged every living moment.

To begin with, let us define criticism; a bookish definition for it is: the analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work. In simple words, it is the opinion people hold against any performers act. Overall, criticism itself is a healthy hobby if kept in check but like all things, if in excess it is dangerous. Criticizing someone is providing them with an opinion of how you thought their act was. It is alright as long as your words don’t cause the other person to give up their passion under the pressure of what you think of them.

This article will be discussing how different individuals digest criticism.

Every individual is similar yet unique. We all think similarly yet differently. It is our background and how our life proceeds and the experience we gain on the way that makes us who we are and it is these very facts that differ our thoughts from others and how we handle things and various situations including how we all take criticism.

Ignoring Criticism; some people learn the art of ignoring criticism and they chose to avoid the people who criticize them and they learn to forget about their opinions and numb them out. These people in no way have it easy as it is human nature to listen and observe; it takes quite a lot of nerve and courage to get used to listening through one ear and kicking it out of the other. Sometimes month’s or even years pass before one is finally able to not hold criticism in their heart.

Giving Up; some people listen to the criticism and fall into a state of despair. These people hopelessly give in to people’s bias and the opinion they hold concerning them and just believe that they are indeed useless (which is surely not the case but alas) and they have no worth and it is a waste of time to spend more valuable time in working in this field. They chose to give up on their dreams because they feel the need to be appreciated or socially accepted; if that is not a possibility they rather partake in a different field rather than experience negative emotions daily.

Achieving Success; some people listen to the criticism, sieve through it, take what they need and consider useful and use that to their advantage and evolve even further. These people have learnt the art to adapt and change. Every human surely does hold the capability to adapt and change according to their surrounding like a chameleon but it isn’t as easy as words can phrase. It requires sheer willpower to also remain oneself at the core while changing physically or mentally and psychologically. These people need to make sure they don’t lose themselves in trying to survive while also please others. Becoming someone whom you are not due to the intense pressure of the opinions others hold of you is not viable. These people need to learn to know whose criticism is valuable and should be worked upon and whose criticism should be ignored.

Criticism itself isn’t to blame on how it affects people. Everyone develops their own self-fulfilling prophecies and it is the person’s own choice to either accept it or reject it and evolve further. We all need to learn to accept that criticism is a very real thing; we will receive criticism no matter what we do but how we transform it, whether into a motivation or into a demoralizing factor, that is your own choice.

In conclusion, for those who are being criticized the only advice, I can provide you is to believe. The first step in achieving your goals is believing that you can do it. Dream the impossible then make the impossible a possibility. I’d like to end by quoting a phrase that is a source of inspiration and motivation for so many people in Pakistan, how an ecstatic girl in Murree Mall Road phrased so well, “Aspire to Inspire.”

A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.  ~ Colin Powell