But to help you discover what strong opinions may be lying underneath that self-doubt, try responding to these writing prompts:
You say we have to review something that “debuted in 2023.” What does that mean?
That means that the work of art or culture you choose must be new this year. And yes, that applies to all of the categories of expression that we have listed above.
Why? Our contests have always challenged students to try to do what The New York Times does, and this requirement more closely aligns this contest with that goal. Reviews for The Times are on current works. They not only help readers decide what to read, watch, see or listen to now, but they also often play a significant role in shaping the cultural conversation around the works critics write about.
As A.O. Scott, a longtime arts critic, puts it, “Criticism is a kind of news reporting.” He writes of the role of a reviewer:
Whether or not we like the thing we’re reviewing, we are interested in what it means, how it works (or doesn’t), why it matters (or doesn’t), and how it reflects and is part of the larger world.
While we’re not asking you to race to your desk to type out a review for the next day’s paper like Times critics, we are asking that you choose to review something you think is worth talking about right now. We hope that, by writing about something current, you can more easily accomplish the task of justifying why a work “matters” and “how it reflects and is part of the larger world.”
And keep in mind that this doesn’t mean you only have to review today’s most popular works. As Mr. Scott writes, in addition to the “latest big Hollywood movies, Broadway shows, premium cable dramas, blockbuster museum retrospectives or whatever Jay-Z and Beyoncé are up to,” critics also “pay significant attention to small triumphs as well as grand ambitions, to interesting failures as well as astonishing successes.”
Here are some examples of works that would be eligible to review for this contest: a restaurant or building that opened in your town this year; a new season of a TV show or podcast that debuted this year; a new production of a Broadway play being performed at your high school this fall; a new translation of a classic book; a movie, album, video game or tech gadget that was released this year; a concert or fashion show you attended sometime during 2023.
