AN INTRODUCTION

Why titled my blog as “The Critic Reviewer” boils down to what I intended to write.

Basically, when you say critic reviewer, it means someone who review a critic. Simple as that definition, the Meriam Webster Dictionary defines critic as “one who expresses a reasoned opinion on any matter especially involving a judgment of its value, truth, righteousness, beauty, or technique.” It was derived from the Greek word 'kritikos" meaning "able to make judgments". Review, on the other hand, is defined as a “critical evaluation” or a “retrospective view or survey”. It was derived from the middle French word "reveue" meaning: "a reviewing, review" and the combination of two Latin words "re" meaning "again" and "videre" "to see" forming the French "reveeir" meaning "to see again".

Over the years the definition of what is a critic and what is a reviewer have come to be identical. Even the majority of modern English language usage dictionaries reflect that opinion by using one to define the other: a critic is someone who writes reviews, and a review is something written by a critic.

What a reviewer usually offered is primarily a revisiting of the events with a judgment based on those events. How well have the actors performed their roles, or how well has the author created his plot and other information pertinent to the item's presentation are reviewed and judged in terms of a standard based on contemporary expectations and demands.

A critic will spend less time reviewing content and more in placing the item in context with works of a similar nature so there is a basis of comparison for judgment. There is no point in judging a detective novel by the same standards that you would judge a book of poetry, or a music CD by those one use for an opera. Each material have their own sets of criteria that have been established by precedent over the years and it is the critics job to be able to understand enough about a genre to "judge" how well an individual piece fits within it. A critic has to be able to inform his or her audience about any information that is pertinent to the item being critiqued.
With the development of a popular culture and a corresponding popular press, the criteria or standards change too quickly which led to the non-distinction between the two individual concepts.

While there is no doubt that a review is by far the more popularly used, if one genuinely wishes to inform a reader of more then just your personal opinion, being a critic is the way to go. Although the distinction between the two is hardly ever made any more, the difference is obvious.

If anyone of you reading this introduction would like to express their opinion, choose one—be a critic or a reviewer.