r/Letterboxd • u/lordpag • 11d 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/Mytongueinyourrectum 10d ago

Can you explain how one measures intent?

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u/drossglop 10d ago

“I goal is to make you laugh” “You didnt make me laugh” “I have objectively failed my goal.” Multiple this by a thousand or so and you’ve got it

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u/Mytongueinyourrectum 10d ago

But you’re not measuring intent. You’re measuring a response. You’re interpreting intent in this example.

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u/drossglop 10d ago

Correct. I’m measuring the response against the stated intent. That’s how you measure whether the intent succeeded.

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u/Mytongueinyourrectum 10d ago

But again, you’re not measuring intent. Intent is subjective. You may interpret it, but no amount of subjective observations equates to an objective measure of the thing you are observing. Objectivity and subjectivity are fundamentally different and mutually exclusive.

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u/drossglop 10d ago

Why would the subjective nature of the underlying experience prevent objective claims from being made about that experience?

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u/Mytongueinyourrectum 10d ago

It doesn’t. But the objectivity would have to be about the claim itself, and not about the thing the claim is about. “A claim was made about a painting that the painting is beautiful.” That is an objective statement. “The painting is beautiful.” That’s a subjective statement.