Being a diagnostician is an essential skill for growing artists.
“I encourage young screenwriters, when I get a chance to talk to them, to be a diagnostician, too. When you see a movie, when you see an episode of television, and you don’t like it, don’t just shrug and say ‘Aw, that sucks.’ That’s fine for your friends, but for you, you should think about why it didn’t work. What was it about it you didn’t like? Same thing for when you love something. I’ll watch things over and over again to try and demystify the magic trick.”
Aaron Sorkin, on The Moment With Brian Koppelman
I often tell my students that “I liked it” and “I didn’t like it” is only the first half of a sentence. Both of them must be followed by “because…”
Learning to take apart an artistic expression and diagnose what makes it succeed or fail is an important practice, and one you have to get good at if you want to have a chance of making your own art.