Published on 12:00 AM, August 31, 2017

Editorial

Artists are people too

Reviews in Bangladesh are much like charity affairs. The creator of the content you are reviewing expects you to praise them after they have given you their content [for a fee, of course]. Heaven forbid if you dislike any aspect of it because you are not supposed to. According to prominent YouTubers of the local scene, first you must get to the level of the YouTuber and then talk about them. This forces you into a dilemma, if you dislike what they are doing and you have to become that person to review the work, isn't it much like staring into the abyss while it stares back? Terrible adaptations of foreign content have to be celebrated or else you are just a hater. Artists are like attention-starved kittens, don't cluster bomb them with your constructive criticism. It will shatter their thin veil of self-esteem. Pls understand. 

- Rumman R Kalam, Sub-editor, SHOUT