I was alarmed to hear about the death of Roger Ebert on April 4, just one day after the 46th anniversary of his career as a professional film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.
His mastery of the written word left me in a mixture of pensiveness and envy. When I was losing faith in the English language at a young age, he kindled a belief in me that remains bright and new to this day.
Ebert was far more than a movie critic. With the advent of the Internet he received his own domain under the Sun-Times umbrella, and used it to expand his expertise to a wide variety of topics. He mastered every major social media outlet before most Americans even knew about them. I can honestly say he is one of the few senior citizens who ever made a 20-something like me feel old.
I still have my copy of the short-lived "Yahoo! Internet Life" magazine from 2002 where he wrote an amusing article that ended with his famous "Boulder Pledge," an oath that demands you raise your hand and swear to not forward any spam in order to improve the online community.
His savvy extended to the business world as well. He made millions by investing in Google, as he foresaw the search engine's potential. He briefly dated an up-and-coming young Chicago radio host and convinced her that her new TV show had serious potential and told she should syndicate it across the U.S. I think it's safe to say that Oprah Winfrey was wise to listen to him.
I owe a lot of my vocabulary to him. I even owe my knowledge of many choice phrases to him. But one concept always stood out to me. I remember in 2004 when he reviewed Michael Moore's film, "Fahrenheit 9/11."
One disgruntled reader wrote in to complain about his political take on the film. Ebert told him (and me for the first time) of a phrase that will never leave me as long as I live: the "marketplace of ideas." While not his original phrase (it dates back to the 1850s), he frequently showed me how to put it in play.
Ebert was a fierce critic of the intelligent design movement. At a young age, the main thing that bothered me about evolution was not the theory itself but how so many of its proponents so quickly resorted to name-calling and claiming all who did not accept it were "flat-earthers."
Ebert maintained his opposition to intelligent design but still enjoyed having a thoughtful, open debate on his blog. He was always calm and civil and relied on facts above any name calling. He created an educational "marketplace" that cultivated curiosity more than umbrage.
It was Ebert who pointed out that there was nothing wrong with believing in both God and evolution. Whether or not there is a God was a question he would ponder rather than ask. He often preferred the question to the answer.
Towards the end, despite his admission to his readers that he had lived a full life, he still made big plans. He wanted to expand his domain into "Ebert Digital" and continue to have his most trusted colleagues continue contributing essays to his burgeoning online empire.
It's poignant that such an bold online ambition be revealed right before his death. I hope that the powers that be do everything in their power to make it come to pass.
It would be a shame if that hope was reduced to a mere Macguffin. What is a Macguffin, you ask? I first heard it, Ebert advised his readers to look it up.
Reach the columnist at crgavin@asu.edu or follow him at @coltongavin
Continue supporting student journalism and donate to The State Press today.
