Sometimes, it’s not mere snobbery behind less than positive critiques by people knowledgable in art. The guy’s brush technique needs work, his color palette is muddled and he has little grasp of scale and perspective. This damages any message he wants to convey with the overall image. He can improve, if he’s willing to accept constructive criticism. If he’s unwilling, as you appear to be, then he’ll meander along and never really get anywhere because he’s falling down on technical aspects that can be learned, but he clearly hasn’t bothered to do so. Which, by the way, is too bad because what he’s trying to convey has power and a ready market. His vision is way ahead of his abilities at present.
If this makes me a snob in your mind, well, so be it but you’d be mistaken.
I suspect most of us were more focused on the subject, and were willing to overlook any technical “shortcomings.” Or maybe that’s just me.