(Siren)
Oh hi there.
I was just in the middle of going through
my old videos and giving them an arbitrary rating
out of 10
because I finally came to the conclusion that
nothing has any worth to me artistically
or otherwise unless I assign it a number
that I can use to compare things.
Also, I need my comment section
to become even more fucking toxic.
(Random sound effects)
Hmm, I quite like this video
I'll give it a 7.
(Sliding noise)
This one deserves an 8.
This one can have a 7 too.
Ugh, this video's terrible
I'm gonna give it a 2.
God this one is even worse
I'm not gonna even give that one a score.
Aquaman: But this commenter
gave this video a 9/10.
Kiteman: Yeah and this one gave it a 9.5.
IHE: Yeah but like, I don't care, it's my review.
Kiteman: Can you like stay still for a second?
It's really fucking annoying.
IHE: Sorry I think whoever's editing this
has fucking ADHD or something.
You know what I find to be incredibly dumb,
stupid and ultimately counter productive?
Well,
look at the title of the video you damn fool
you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Really there shouldn't be any issue with summarising
a review or analysis by assigning
an easy to digest numerical value to it.
In a closed off environment
it even makes a lot of sense.
If not only for people to easily
and quickly understand your thoughts
but as a critic, it can help remind you
and be a solid way to organise your reviews
if you ever wanna refresh your memory of whatever.
This is actually a really interesting topic to me.
You might think it's dumb and boring but whatever
this is my channel, I'll talk about whatever the hell I like.
It's one of those topics I can very easily
see both sides of
positive and negative.
A long time ago, I made a video about
why Metacritic pisses me off
and it's the same for just about all of these websites
that revolve around giving media a numerical score.
Metacritic is flawed not only because
each outlet's score is weighted
depending on their clout and stature
but also because it's one of the most referenced
comment section bait websites that exists.
What I mean by that is how many times have you
seen pussies in the comment section defending their
mindless allegiance to something by screaming a
supportive number they found on Metacritic.
As soon as someone brings up a Metacritic score
as their only good reason as to why
something is good or bad to them,
I just kind of switch off and stop listening.
Metacritic user ratings are also hilariously
vitriolic most of the time.
Meta-bombing being an all too popular
pass time for fucking losers out there
with nothing better to do.
Then theres the Internet Movie Database
which rates movies and television out of 10
based on user ratings.
User ratings are a joke on Metacritic
and it's no different on IMDb.
You can go to any movie,
click on the amount of user scores it has
and see the breakdown of what people think.
11,000 people think Oogieloves in the
Big Balloon Adventure is a 10/10 cinematic experience.
Ok, obviously that's a joke
but a similar amount of people have
rated the minions movie a perfect 10/10
and how many of those is a joke?
I know, it's sad.
I mean just look at the seemingly random
and skewed results many films get.
True, it really doesn't mean anything except
the weighted average of what a bunch of dummies
who don't have to explain themselves think,
but look ever 1000 people rated
Alvin and the Chipmunks The Road Chip
a 10/10.
It is utterly insulting to me
that so few people have rated it a 10.
I recommend pausing the video and going to IMDb
right now and giving it a 10
so the average reflects a more fair score
for this modern masterpiece.
Then there is Rotten Tomatoes.
Yes,
that is how we say to-may-toes in the UK.
I never really look at this website but again,
people like to use it as a way to justify
if a film is good or bad or not.
It always boils down to this anyway,
if you like a movie for example
and it has a high score on these websites
then it's all 'hey it's been getting amazing reviews!
It's got this number over here
and this person said this about it.'
But if you like a movie
and all the reviewers say it's terrible or it has a low score
then the critics obviously are just out of touch
or being paid off
or have no idea what they're talking about.
And that works the exact same in reverse
if it's something you hate.
I admit, I do like to check up on these websites
now and again to see how audiences
are reacting to this or that
but that doesn't affect my opinion on anything
unless I read or watch a review after the fact
that makes a good point
or brings up a valid argument about something.
But to me, assigning a number to a piece of art
goes against the point of art.
I know I sound like a hippy douchebag when I say it
but isn't the point of expression
that there is no right or wrong answer?
Why even bring maths or science into it at all?
Why is it relevant?
I don't think opinion on art should be a science.
Now I understand that the combination of
business and artistic expression can often make
this subject so broad and murky that it's
very difficult to pin down and talk about sometimes.
And obviously there is a very, very clear distinction
between a cynical product like the minions movie
and a thoughtful, contemplative art
film like anomalisa
which I would recommend by the way, it's stellar.
I sound really sarcastic but I actually mean it.
And of course there are technical aspect to film-making
writing and producing music and so on,
that can be analysed and evaluated
on an objective, critical level.
But my point is,
we all know how ridiculous the internet can get
so in a way you're almost asking for trouble
if you top off your reviews with a numerical score.
Like instead of remembering your excellent point
about this or that,
it's a stupid number that people
walk away remembering.
This dumb, meaningless, conclusive number
that is only there to make things easier for the viewer
becomes the focal point for far too many people.
Look in the comments section of any IGN review,
it's just pathetic crybabies whinging about the score.
It's always too low or too high
so fuck them, why even give them a score at all?
At least then they might actually
argue about something less juvenile
althought that is very unlikely.
And when there's like one review on Metacritic
who gives a much lower score than everyone else,
then automatically they're wrong
and they should be lynch mobbed
because they don't fall in line with what
a bunch of other singular people thought.
Can you honestly not see how fucking stupid this is?
If you do this shit or have done this
you should feel terrible about it
because it's such an asshole thing to do.
Even if a review is shit or poorly justified
so what? It's one person.
Isn't it the discussion that's important?
That's what I find important and constructive at least.
Some of my favourite critics on YouTube
use a scoring system to summarise their reviews.
So I went ahead and asked Adam from YourMovieSucks
Anthony Fantano from TheNeedleDrop
and Ralph from RalphTheMovieMaker
why they feel it's necessary to include one.
They all make excellent points so
I'd recommend pausing the screen and reading the
full thing because I'll only be
summarising what they say.
So first off, YMS explained to me that he
tries to keep his reviews as
attentively objective as his inevitable subjective
human brain can possibly allow.
Meaning that he rates movies on what he feels the
actual quality of the film making and presentation is.
In his mind, every movie starts at a 5
and will either gain or lose points
depending on various flaws or achievements.
He also points out the strange phenomenon where
if any critic rates anything under like an 8,
then everyone assumes that means they
think it's pure garbage even thought that's
not what it means at all.
Like a 7/10 is still a very good score.
Shut the fuck up.
Conversely, Anthony Fantano uses it more as
a summation tool to tie up his general feelings
into a simple package for his audience
to understand what he feels
is worth their time or not.
He said that this is especially important
when talking about something as saturated
and vast as music.
He stressed that the number he chooses
is merely a reflection of his personal feelings
towards an album.
Anything below a 5 he dislikes,
anything above he likes.
He mentioned that the biggest negative to
a scoring system is when a viewer looks at the score
and only the score.
He said if he wanted people to do that
he'd put the score at the beginning of the video
and then just end it right there.
Ralph falls more in line with what YMS said.
He points out that film is a very intricate and technical
art and that it's pretty distinct when something is
done well and when something is done horribly.
Some aspects such as bad plotting
or nonsensical characters is not really
a matter of opinion and it's up to the critic
to break down each element
and explain why a film makes you feel a certain way.
Of course he aknowledges that some aspects
can be debatable such as if a story was
engaging or if the music was moving
and that every critic should find a healthy balance
between facts and opinion.
Applying that to review scoring
he mentions that it's a shame that so many
people only value ratings of like a 9 or higher
and that it's important to look at more
than just a stupid number
and to try and find other personalities that have
similar tastes to you.
See, this is only three people
who use the scoring system
and they all use it in a completely different way.
It's like really personal to each one of them.
So why the fuck do some of you people
get so upset about it?
Kiteman: Hey IHE!
What was the fucking point of all of this?
You dumb bitch.
IHE: Well honestly, I just wanted to put into words
the frustration I feel whenever I see a stupid comment
like this.
This is a genuine comment I found
and screen capped a while ago.
There was someone doing a little mini review
of Batman V Superman in the comments.
Don't worry, there's no spoilers
as if you fucking care.
He says that despite enjoying the film,
he hated Jessie Eisenberg's performance,
liked Ben Affleck as Batman,
hated everything with Lex,
agreed that there was far too much crammed in,
and caps it off by saying
he wouldn't say it was the worst film of the year
but it really wasn't the best either.
I'd give it a solid 8/10.
Just
Jesus.
That's how you justify an 8/10?
Fucking hell, it really is meaningless isn't it?
Everyone just shut the hell up
and have an actual discussion about something
tangible instead of a fucking number, okay?
There are some two year olds who can count to 10.
Oh
Well I guess that fucking explains it.
Those are my thoughts on review scores
the most exciting subject I have ever covered
on this channel to date.
But seriously, I wanted to make a video
about this subject for a while
because I'm a huge fucking dork.
I had so much to say it might be a little bit muddled
I dunno.
Please make sure you tell me your thoughts
in the comments and rate
this video out of 10 why don't ya?
And also rate Alvin and the Chipmunks a solid
10/10 because that movie deserves
much more than a 4.7, what the heck?
I'd like to thank YourMovieSucks, TheNeedleDrop and
RalphTheMovieMaker for the quotes they gave me.
I highly recommend checking out their channels
by following the annotations right here.
Make sure you check out some of my other videos too.
I also now live stream on Kamcord,
my name is IHE on there.
Thanks for watching,
all comments and ratings are very much appreciated.
I'll see you next time.
Bye