March 21, 2008

Am I A Hater?

Yesterday, I expressed my personal distaste for Robert Bateman on Torontoist after Bateman made a really heavy-handed attempt at a political statement. I probably wouldn't have said anything, except that I have been thinking about the Bateman show at the McMichael last fall for most of this semester in a Museums and Galleries class.

I was pretty surprised by how quick so many commenters were to defend Bateman and denounce graffiti (which Torontoist features on the weekly column Vandalist), and kind of miffed when someone described the article as full of hate. Sure, I dislike things, but am I really a hater?

I looked at some of my articles from the last few months and tried to divide them into two categories, Hate and Love. While I do have a few articles that would definitely fall into the Hate category, I feel they're all pretty valid things to dislike.

Hate
- Potholes
- Robert Bateman
- How MuchMusic stopped making quality youth programming
- Snooty Coffee Shops
- Poorly designed video games with a "message"


Love
- MTV Canada
- Scott Pilgrim: the Movie
- Iceland
- Comics
- Public Art
- Star Trek/John de Lancie
- Parties at artist-run centres
- Feminism
- Winning
- Books and Libraries

Posted by Karen

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Comments: 8 so far

March 22, 2008 1:04 AM

David Topping said:

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People who just love everything all the time are fakers, and, worse than that, they're super-boring. You're not a hater if you don't like everything in the universe. People who accuse other people of being haters are haters.

March 22, 2008 12:21 PM

Aine Caitriona said:

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For what it's worth, I don't think you're a hater. I think I'm a hater, but hating is the new loving so it's cool. Plus MuchMusic is terrible.

March 23, 2008 6:55 PM

Ken said:

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Robert Bateman is the worst thing that's ever come out of Canada. If I ever saw him in real life I'd punch him in the face. Seriously, I would. And it would feel great.

March 23, 2008 11:10 PM

sprocket! said:

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I spent a big part of my youth growing up in the region whose protection Bateman advocating and for the most part, I back him up in what he's trying to achieve.

That being said, people who wear sweatshirts featuring a Bateman print on the front need a punch in the neck.

March 23, 2008 11:11 PM

Karen said:

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Hahah, thank you Ken. I trust your opinion on this one.

March 24, 2008 1:22 AM

Matt said:

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I think the biggest problem with that whole thing is that Bateman's a pretty crappy activist. As my wife said the moment I mentioned this: "If he really knew what he was doing, he'd sacrifice a real painting and then donate it to the local community." This is almost as lame as the time he said that he'd do something or other (I can't remember, it was pretty forgettable) if kids would send him a list of a dozen local birds because he'd heard that kids knew way more company logos than they did birds. If you're going to be an activist/intellectual artist, you have to master the followthrough.

March 26, 2008 12:43 PM

beth maher said:

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You are totally not a hater. And my opinion on that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you hate all the same things as me. Nothing to do with it, alright?

March 26, 2008 12:45 PM

Karen said:

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Beth, if I had delved back into the archives a couple more months, The Hills would have been on my "Loves" list.

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