By: Keaton Marcus

PREFACE:

Since I covered Rotten Tomatoes in my article about film criticism, and IMDb seems to be less popular with this community, it’s time to dive into the beast, Letterboxd. Overall, this app is a fantastic way to have a rough amount of all the films you’ve seen in your life, and in the future with some improvement, it could literally be the equivalent of Instagram for movie lovers. It is flawed, however. At least for me and people that I know, the weighted score for each movie can be a bit of an influence on our opinions, and although I will elaborate more on that later, the real question is if it’s controlling us, moviegoers, to the point where we cannot have our own takes.

STICKING WITH THE MAINSTREAM:

You’ve always got to stick with what’s popular and highly-rated right? If you don’t absolutely fall down and love Parasite or Fight Club you’re automatically labeled a cynic with a superiority complex, correct? This reality is sadly true for a whole lot of people who have trouble having their own opinions, or even hot takes (unpopular opinions) that don’t exactly fit the status quo. For example, say Johnny, your friendly neighborhood cinephile just watched Blade Runner 2049, a film with a 4.1/5 on Letterboxd, eleven thousand fans, and almost 100k people considering it an absolute masterpiece (including myself). Imagine that he didn’t adore it, and is about ready to give it a 3 or a 3.5 (I’M LOOKING AT YOU, POPCORN PHILOSOPHY…Just kidding), but then sees the high weighted average before rating it. Although this may not relate to some readers, seeing what the majority thinks may as well force our Johnny to crank that score up to four stars, or maybe add a half a star just to please his buddies. But if he didn’t actually enjoy the film or love it remotely, why should he be influenced by the mainstream opinion for the movie? This mainstream opinion that I am referring to is what the vast majority of people think, and for this film’s case, it’s throwing down a five-star rating.

HAVING AN UNPOPULAR OPINION:

If you think about the weighted average too much, it can truly censor your true thoughts and opinions on the film, which isn’t good in any way, shape, or form. And don’t worry, I’m not considering myself on a higher pedestal than anyone reading this, because I also have some issues with this. This is most prominently with 2019’s Ad Astra, directed by James Gray. Although pretty well-received by critics, audiences were completely split generally because the trailers advertised it as a high-octane action film, which it obviously wasn’t. Taking a look at the Letterboxd rating, I was shocked by how low it was before I rated it myself. It currently stands at a middling 3.4/5, far lower than I expected. Although I struggled through the temptations to move my personal rating down, I kept it at four and a half stars. It’s an extremely difficult experience and a little disheartening to see a film that you love to get a mediocre weighted average. Another example of this would likely be with The Last Jedi, which, again, split audiences right down the middle. For me, it’s the greatest Star Wars film ever made. For the mainstream opinion, it’s a so-so 3.3/5. Overall, you’ve simply got to power through it, or even try and refrain to even glance at the weighted average (which is nearly impossible, I know). Your opinion does not need to be hidden or censored just because thousands of other people don’t enjoy it the same amount as you do.

SUBJECTIVITY AND OBJECTIVITY:

So, subjectivity and objectivity also do play a role in what rating you give a movie. Do you judge films based on enjoyment or actual quality? How entertaining and surface-level it is versus how smart and deep it is. For example, you wouldn’t enjoy watching a Charlie Kaufman movie as much as a Fast & Furious film, am I right? If I am, then it really depends on whether you rate movies subjectively or objectively. How does this actually relate to this essay, then? Well, let’s say you rate movies based on the enjoyment factor. Lauren (I’m just making people up) is about to give The Meg a perfect five stars because it was a total blast to watch, but then upon glancing at the 2.5/5 weighted average, she feels discouraged, disheartened, and feels like her opinion isn’t valid for some reason. Or perhaps the people who gave it one star and wrote a rant on how the logic is terrible are on a higher level than her. But who the hell cares? If you were riveted from start to finish by The Meg, and you have decided from the beginning to rate films subjectively, then give it that perfect rating! Don’t look at the thousands of reviews that absolutely despise it. Instead, write your own on why you enjoyed it so much. Putting it on a platter, I know this paragraph seems a bit redundant, but for me, this one is truly about how the enjoyment factor plays into rating films, and how a lower Letterboxd rating affects that.

WHY THE WEIGHTED AVERAGE ISN’T A GOOD SYSTEM:

If you didn’t already know, I absolutely DESPISE weighted averages. From Rotten Tomatoes to IMDb, and now even Letterboxd, they have come to annoy the hell out of me. This opinion isn’t only fueled by the fact that I’m constantly influenced by it, but also because throwing a subjective piece of art under a couple of digits just won’t cut it for me. I adore the app overall, and it is becoming a genuine way for film lovers to connect with each other, but the beauty of opinions is not to slap them all under one rating. Instead, it’s really about celebrating every take’s individuality and uniqueness. What I do not want to look at is some number out of five and automatically think that’s what I should rate it at as well. I do want to read all sorts of reviews and opinions, unpopular or popular, and see if I agree with them or not. I shall eventually do an entire essay on respecting others’ opinions, but let’s stay on topic for the moment.

IN CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, there are so many reasons why Letterboxd is possibly controlling the way we think as a film lover, and perhaps even influence us to shift our opinions positively or negatively. Sticking with the popular opinion, the dangers and disheartenment of having a hot take, whether you judge a movie based on enjoyment or quality, and the fact that this app is prioritizing a weighted average over beautiful individuality are all factors in this. Once again, before someone tries to murder me, I am literally addicted to Letterboxd more than I am to Instagram. I love it so much. But it does have flaws, like everything in this imperfect world.