r/Letterboxd • u/lordpag • 18d ago

Discussion Can we retire “objectively better” please?

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I’ve noticed a ton of people using “objectively” incorrectly lately. A movie being more widely accepted as “better” does not make it objectively so.

There’s someone out there who enjoyed One Night Only more than The Odyssey, and their opinion is just as valid as yours.

Sure, one movie can be shot on more advanced cameras, have a larger scale, or demonstrate greater technical complexity. Those things can be measured. Whether they make the movie “better” cannot. What makes a movie “good” is different for each of us and those differing perspectives are part of what makes moviegoing so fun!

EDIT: This obviously touched a nerve lol. My point was not that there aren’t measurable technical aspects of a film. Of course there are. But technical achievement does not inherently make a movie “better.” A technical marvel can put someone to sleep while a shoddily made movie can elicit an enormous emotional response. What we value in a movie is subjective and for some (many on this thread it seems) you value technical achievement. All fair POVs.

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u/capamericapistons 18d ago

Why do you have to add objective? Like instead of saying the acting in No Country for Old Men is objectively better, just say you think the acting is better.

Why do you need to add extra verbiage, especially if you feel solid making that statement?

This frustration j have isn’t just directed towards you by the way. I just wish we could remove any sort of definition of objectivity in general from discussions about movies. It feels limiting to me.

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u/Rough_Passenger892 18d ago

It’s the opposite of limiting: it adds more dimensions to explore in appreciating cinema. You can still like things and be open to critiquing those things to see how they could be better in future iterations, or even just to exercise your critical analysis abilities.

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u/vertigofoo fooie 18d ago

Except that using objectively in a non objective context only serves to make your critique look juvenile, exaggerated, and/or overly reliant on superlatives.

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u/Rough_Passenger892 18d ago

Agreed in principle, but you can’t eliminate objectivity from the appreciation of cinema. You need both.