ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with distinct yet related issues stemming from thinking about film criticism as a profession. It also deals with how prospective film critics "break in" to the field. The chapter focuses on film critics' education and training, the networks of associations they have forged and utilised, and the hierarchy of publications that they have negotiated in order to attain positions. It discusses the practice of film criticism, focusing on the particular types of work that critics do, and the combinations in which they are performed. The chapter explores how critics conceptualise the work that they do, particularly how critics rationalise different types of work as part of an overarching critical comportment. It examines the economic conditions of film criticism. The chapter describes the individual film critic as a professional and practitioner, addresses the terms under which film critics are employed.
