system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What is Critical Theory? What are critical theories?

Definition? Requirements? Are philosophers who call themselves "critical theorists" actually ideologues in disguise?

Also, other than the SEP and IEP, what would be some good resources for getting a very intimate understanding of Critical Theory/critical theories? Books? Talks? Specific individuals?

I suspect answers from people with critical theory and political philosophy flairs would be especially helpful. :)
gpt
Critical theory typically refers to the work of thinkers who identify with neo-Marxist thought. In general, this work is devoted to explaining Marx's great failure: the predicted communist revolution that wasn't. Much of critical theory is devoted to explaining the nature and impact of ideological hegemony--the mechanisms of power and control the keep wage workers happy with the current system. 

Contemporary critical theory often allies itself with feminist, post-colonial, and other emancipatory approaches to philosophy. 

Critical theorists might be described as ideologies, but they are certainly not "in disguise." A central tenet of most critical theory is the idea that every philosophy has an agenda. If that's true, then critical theorists are more honest with their readers (and with themselves) in making that agenda apparent.  

Slog through Althusser's Ideology and the State for a good taste of classical critical theory. Watch The Matrix movies for a somewhat accurate gloss of Beaudirillard. Watch Fox News for critical theory in action. Ironically, Fox News is probably one of the most successful and widely known ideology critics available.