Media Criticism Vocabulary

noun a spoken or written discussion in which people express opinions or give explanations about something

adjective relating to or providing commentary

• The documentary included insightful commentary from experts in the field.
• I always enjoy reading the sports commentary in the newspaper.
• Did you hear the juicy commentary on the latest celebrity gossip?
• Her artwork was a commentary on society's obsession with technology.

noun A mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted

• The defendant's lawyer argued that the trial was nothing more than a kangaroo court, lacking any semblance of due process.
• I can't believe they're making us go through this kangaroo court just to get a parking ticket dismissed.
• The whole trial felt like a total kangaroo court, with the judge clearly biased against the defendant.
• The disciplinary committee was accused of running a kangaroo court, where decisions were made without fairness or proper procedures.

noun a state of disgrace or infamy; public reproach or condemnation

• The senator faced public opprobrium after being caught in a corruption scandal.
• She couldn't handle the opprobrium from her classmates after failing the exam.
• The celebrity received a lot of opprobrium on social media for their controversial remarks.
• The artist's unconventional style initially faced opprobrium from art critics before eventually being celebrated.

verb to make something seem less important, significant, or serious than it really is

• It is important not to trivialize the impact of climate change on future generations.
• Don't trivialize the effort she put into organizing this event.
• Stop trivializing my feelings, they are valid.
• His constant jokes trivialize the seriousness of the situation.

verb to speak or write about in a disparaging manner; to defame or slander

• The journalist sought to vilify the politician's character with false accusations.
• Don't listen to those rumors, they're just trying to vilify him.
• The tabloids love to vilify celebrities for the smallest mistakes.
• Her words were like daggers, meant to vilify his reputation beyond repair.

noun a term used to describe excessive or performative displays of social justice activism, often perceived as insincere or self-serving

• The restaurant specialized in traditional Chinese cuisine and avoided any hint of wokery.
• I can't believe the wokery at that new fusion restaurant - they put pineapple in everything!
• I'm not a fan of all the wokery going on in the food scene these days.
• The politician's speech was full of wokery, trying to appeal to every demographic without taking a clear stance.

noun a term used to describe the act of selectively choosing the most extreme or unrepresentative examples to criticize or argue against

• Nutpicking is a logical fallacy where a few extreme examples are used to discredit an entire group.
• Stop nutpicking and focus on the main argument.
• Don't be such a nutpicker, just accept the facts.
• His habit of nutpicking in debates only weakens his position.