Armond Allen White (born 1953)^[1][2] is an American film and music critic who writes forNational Review andOut. He was previously the editor ofCityArts (2011–2014), the lead film critic for thealternative weeklyNew York Press (1997–2011), and the arts editor and critic forThe City Sun (1984–1996). Other publications that have carried his work includeFilm Comment,Variety,The Nation,The New York Times,Slate,Columbia Journalism Review, andFirst Things.

White is known for his provocative, idiosyncratic,^[3] and often contrarian reviews, which have made him a controversial figure infilm criticism.^[4] As anAfrican-American,gay,conservative film critic, he has been called a "minority three times over in his profession."^[5]

White was born inDetroit,^[6] the youngest of seven children. His family was the first African-American family to move to a primarily Jewish neighborhood on the city's northwest side, where he grew up. RaisedBaptist, he later becamePentecostal, and identifies as "a believer."^[7]

White's interest in journalism and film criticism began as a student at Detroit'sCentral High School, when he first read the bookKiss Kiss Bang Bang by film criticPauline Kael,^[7] whom he cites for "her willingness to go against the hype", along withAndrew Sarris, for his "sophisticated love of cinema",^[8] as major inspirations for his choice of career.^[9][10][11] White received aBachelor of Arts in journalism atWayne State University,^[12] followed by aMaster of Fine Arts degree in film fromColumbia University'sSchool of the Arts in 1997.^[13]

White was the arts editor forThe City Sun, where he wrote film, music and theater criticism, for the span of its publication from 1984 to 1996. He was hired byNew York Press in 1997 and wrote for the paper until it ceased publication in August 2011. He then assumed the editorship of its sister publicationCityArts starting in September.

White is a member of theNational Society of Film Critics^[14] andNew York Film Critics Online.^[15] He is a three-time chairman of theNew York Film Critics Circle (1994, 2009 and 2010),^[16][17] has served as a member of the juries at theSundance Film Festival,Tribeca Film Festival, andMill Valley Film Festival, and was a member of severalNational Endowment for the Arts panels.^[13] He has taught classes on film atColumbia University andLong Island University.^[9]

In 1992, White was one of nine newspaper and magazine writers to win theASCAPDeems Taylor Award for music criticism.^[18]

In January 2014, White was expelled from theNew York Film Critics Circle for allegedly heckling directorSteve McQueen at an event for the film12 Years a Slave.^[19][20] White maintained his innocence,^[21] and called his expulsion a "smear campaign."^[22] The previous year, White had shouted protests atMichael Moore while Moore was delivering a speech, as White felt Moore had been unfairly maligning theCatholic Church.^[23] After White's expulsion, film criticsHarlan Jacobson andThelma Adams defended White, with the latter calling the move "Stalinist".^[23] White received an Anti-Censorship Award at the 35th annualAmerican Book Awards for being "unfairly removed" from the critics' organization.^[24]

In 2013,Time Magazine wrote that White's reviews onRotten Tomatoes agreed with the Tomatometer consensus just under 50% of the time.^[25]

White has calledIntolerance the greatest film ever made,^[26] and has calledA.I. Artificial Intelligence the best film of the 21st century.^[27] He has listed directorsSteven Spielberg,^[7]Alain Resnais,Zack Snyder,Clint Eastwood, andS. Craig Zahler^[28] among his favorites.

Aconservative, White often criticizes films with perceived left-wing messages, such asThere Will Be Blood,Parasite,Don't Look Up,^[29] andThree Thousand Years of Longing,^[30] but he has praised the leftist directorJean-Luc Godard, writing that Godard's films "saw past political fashion".^[31] White is also critical of films that promoteconsumerism, arguing thatToy Story 3 does so, while citingSmall Soldiers as a superior film featuring toys. He has said that when reviewing, he analyzes a film's political viewpoint, because "Ideology is everywhere...[films are] made by people with feelings and ideas and agendas...To me there's no such thing as just entertainment."^[12] Films that White has praised includeMom and Dad,^[32]Richard Jewell,^[33]Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,^[34]France,^[35] andCry Macho.^[36]

White has provided extensive commentary ongay cinema, favorably reviewingI Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry,God's Own Country, andSummer of 85, while unfavorably reviewingBrokeback Mountain andBros.^[37][38][39]

White often analyzes and discusses race in cinema, having unfavorably reviewedBlack films such asPrecious,12 Years a Slave,Get Out,^[40]Nope,Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, andDevotion. He has praised films such asNight of the Living Dead andHi, Mom! for their depictions of racism,^[41] has citedCyborg inZack Snyder's Justice League as a positive example of a black superhero, andMiles Morales inSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse as a poor one.^[42]

White is generally critical ofsuperhero movies, unfavorably reviewingThe Dark Knight,Wonder Woman,Avengers: Endgame, andThe Batman, while callingMarvel Cinematic Universe films "formulaic".^[43][44] He has praisedGhost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,^[45]Watchmen,Man of Steel,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, andZack Snyder's Justice League; writing that Snyder "rescued comic-book movies from nihilism and juvenilia, making modern myths worthy of adult spirituality and politics".^[46]

White has attacked contemporary film criticism, awards shows, and film journalism.^[47] He derided theSight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2022 poll for selectingJeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles as the greatest film of all time, calling it "a dull Marxist-feminist token" chosen for political reasons.^[48] He provided his own selections for the poll, which includedÀ bout de souffle,Battleship Potemkin,Intolerance,Jules et Jim,L’Avventura,Lawrence of Arabia,Lola,The Magnificent Ambersons,Nashville, andThe Passion of Joan of Arc.^[49]

In the 2012 Sight and Sound poll, Armond White listed his ten favorite films:^[50]

White made some comments about some of these, saying: "Movies don't change but we do. I did not seeSansho the Bailiff until recently and it had the same powerful effect on me asA.I. did ten years ago, so off with Spielberg to give Mizoguchi's masterwork its props. Godard's rarely screenedNouvelle Vague looms in my memory as his grandest work—grander and more important still due tocinephilia's recent decline."^[50]

White isgay and aChristian.^[51] According to theNew York Times, he "lives by himself inChelsea with no pets or plants, amid piles ofDVDs. Standing 6-foot-3, he cuts an imposing figure. Yet in conversation, he comes across as exacting, quiet and polite, far different from what his writing—and seeming bad behavior—might suggest."^[23]

In his 2009 essay "Not in Defense of Armond White",Roger Ebert called White "an intelligent critic and a passionate writer" but also a "smart and knowing [...] troll".^[52] White has in turn criticized Ebert, writing, "I do think it is fair to say that Roger Ebert destroyed film criticism. Because of the wide and far reach of television, he became an example of what a film critic does for too many people. And what he did simply was not criticism. It was simply blather."^[53]

In 2014, film critic Walter Biggins ofRogerEbert.com wrote the essay "In Defense of Armond White", a reference to Ebert's earlier essay. Biggins criticizes White's combative style, but defends him as a critic, calling White "an important, distinctive, and...necessary voice in film criticism". Biggins writes: "He's no troll, and he's one of the few critics capable of noting the inherent—and latent—racism of much of cinema and its discourse... he has provided a rare black voice, and perhaps an even rarer conservative voice, to film/video commentary."^[54]

Time Magazine called White an "undeniably talented writer" who "developed a kind of notoriety for his rather contrarian opinions. Some of his colleagues have praised his against-the-grain approach to film criticism, while many others, including a broad swath he's publicly condemned, have been less kind".^[25]

White has responded to criticism of his reviews: "If there were a whole bunch of critics who I thought were doing a good job, then I would stop...Because really, the reason why I do what I do is because I think there are things that need to be said about movies, about culture, about the world, that nobody's saying.^[53]

CriticThelma Adams has cited White as an influence on her work.^[55]

• The Resistance: Ten Years of Pop Culture That Shook the World, 1995 (ISBN 978-0879515867)
• Rebel for the Hell of It: The Life of Tupac Shakur, 2002 (ISBN 978-1560254614)
• Keep Moving: The Michael Jackson Chronicles, 2009 (ISBN 978-0984215904)
• New Position: The Prince Chronicles, 2016 (ISBN 978-1536878561)
• Make Spielberg Great Again: The Steven Spielberg Chronicles, 2020 (ISBN 978-0984215911)

• White is briefly mentioned inCharlie Kaufman's 2020absurdist novelAntkind. The novel's protagonist, a paranoid failed film critic, believes he is being spied on by White through the use of miniature drones disguised as bugs.^[57]

• Roberts, Jerry.The Complete History of American Film Criticism. Santa Monica Press, 2010.ISBN 978-1-59580-049-7
• Lopate, Phillip (ed.).American Movie Critics: An Anthology From the Silents Until Now. Library of America, 2006.ISBN 1-931082-92-8

• Elvis Mitchell – African-American film critic
• African-American Film Critics Association
• Vulgar auteurism

• Official website
• Armond White atIMDb
• Armond White atRotten Tomatoes
• Armond White atNew York Press
• Armond White atNational Review