Armond White

Armond Allen White (born 1953) is an American film and music critic known for his provocative and idiosyncratic film criticism, which some have characterized as contrarian. He currently writes for National Review and Out. He was previously the editor of CityArts (2011–2014), the lead film critic for the alternative weekly New York Press (1997–2011), and the arts editor and critic for The City Sun (1984–1996). Other publications that have carried his work include Film Comment, Variety, The Nation, The New York Times, Slate, Columbia Journalism Review, and First Things.

Early life

Armond Allen White was born in Detroit, Michigan as the youngest of seven children. His family was the first African-American family to move to a primarily Jewish neighborhood, where he grew up. Raised Baptist, he later became Pentecostal, and identifies himself as "a believer".

His interest in journalism and film criticism began as a student at Detroit's Central High School, when he first read film critic Pauline Kael's book, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang whom he cites for "her willingness to go against the hype", along with Andrew Sarris, for his "sophisticated love of cinema", as being a major inspiration on his choice of professional career. White received a Master of Fine Arts degree in film from Columbia University's School of the Arts in 1997.