Commenting on the Critics with Simon Columb...
A bad week for film writers at WhatCulture following Sr. Mxy’s reveal of Shaun Munro and TJ Barnard:
![]()
"I wasn’t exaggerating when I said Shaun Munro is putting the livelihood of other writers at risk by doing this. He’s not just taking random pitches from the thousands that get posted in the Cracked Workshop: he’s stealing from the relatively small percentage that the Cracked editors are considering buying, which are in a special folder."
Read the full tumblr post here.
This was followed by Ali Gray, of The Shiznit, writing his own article condemning Shaun’s actions alongside his disgust of a perverted article at JoBlo (written by Droz) sexualising under-18 actors Chloe Grace Moretz and Abigail Breslin. His article is here.
Finally, respectfully and honourably, WhatCulture released a statement apologising for the plagiarism on their site – deleting all articles by Munro and Barnard, and offering $50 compensation to those affected. Read that post here.
In the first instance, credit to Sr Mxy and Ali Gray for highlighting these stories from the outset – not only does it prove their own values and integrity but it also defends online film writing as an art form in itself. Writing on film – indeed, on any art form – is challenging and requires hard work and commitment. From the relentless pursuit of analysing a set of films, to create an article that is exciting and interesting (such as Cracked’s lists) through to the necessary research required to support an informed essay or article; it is always more than furiously typing at a laptop. Further to this, asking advice from others in the field often highlights that the necessity of reading any and every form of film writing is integral to the daily routine of an aspiring film writer. The internet has opened the door to a plethora of writers from across the world that years ago would’ve only been possible via their published books. Now we can compare a review from The New York Times and The Guardian instantaneously – and learn from masters of review writing such as Jonathan Romney, Philip French and Chris Tookey (though opinionated, his writing is always of the highest standard and amongst the very best).
Simon Columb
A bad week for film writers at WhatCulture following Sr. Mxy’s reveal of Shaun Munro and TJ Barnard:
"I wasn’t exaggerating when I said Shaun Munro is putting the livelihood of other writers at risk by doing this. He’s not just taking random pitches from the thousands that get posted in the Cracked Workshop: he’s stealing from the relatively small percentage that the Cracked editors are considering buying, which are in a special folder." Read the full tumblr post here.
This was followed by Ali Gray, of The Shiznit, writing his own article condemning Shaun’s actions alongside his disgust of a perverted article at JoBlo (written by Droz) sexualising under-18 actors Chloe Grace Moretz and Abigail Breslin. His article is here.
Finally, respectfully and honourably, WhatCulture released a statement apologising for the plagiarism on their site – deleting all articles by Munro and Barnard, and offering $50 compensation to those affected. Read that post here.
In the first instance, credit to Sr Mxy and Ali Gray for highlighting these stories from the outset – not only does it prove their own values and integrity but it also defends online film writing as an art form in itself. Writing on film – indeed, on any art form – is challenging and requires hard work and commitment. From the relentless pursuit of analysing a set of films, to create an article that is exciting and interesting (such as Cracked’s lists) through to the necessary research required to support an informed essay or article; it is always more than furiously typing at a laptop. Further to this, asking advice from others in the field often highlights that the necessity of reading any and every form of film writing is integral to the daily routine of an aspiring film writer. The internet has opened the door to a plethora of writers from across the world that years ago would’ve only been possible via their published books. Now we can compare a review from The New York Times and The Guardian instantaneously – and learn from masters of review writing such as Jonathan Romney, Philip French and Chris Tookey (though opinionated, his writing is always of the highest standard and amongst the very best).
Suffice to say, the three writers mentioned are either in the process of leaving their respective weekly publications or have already left - Philip French is the only one retiring. The point being that review writing is changing as newspapers cut down on their cultural-writing staff - the low-paid online (and in many cases unpaid) positions are ultimately changing the quality of film-writing indefinitely.
The internet has also ensured high-quality film-writing is forever accessible. Roger Ebert’s back-catalogue remains intact and reading these alone will improve most writers prose. Writing on film can be tough and one can only aspire to be the best through legitimate means – hard work; reflecting on writing; reading and re-reading others to understand what is effective. Copying, plagiarising and ignoring the accomplishments of others is clearly not the way forward and we can only learn from Munro and co – and continue to highlight writing that has a dubious etiquette towards effective journalism.
Simon Columb