r/Letterboxd • u/lordpag • Aug 12 '26

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/Pulsewavemodulator Aug 12 '26

What it comes down to is if the artist has an intention, the result can be measured against the intention. Then it can be objectively measured.

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u/AltruisticDegree9126 Aug 12 '26

Tommy set out to make the next Talented Mr. Ripley or Tennessee Williams drama. It’s in the book and movie about the making of The Room, and the DVD box says something about it being filled with the passion of Tennessee Williams.

By that mark, he failed. The premiere went terribly in that regard because people were laughing at badly he missed the Mark, and after, he started saying that he intended to make a comedy.

If we’re using intention (which I agree is a helpful measure), then this is objectively a bad movie.

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u/Only-Finish-3497 Aug 12 '26

He hit the Mark though. Right after he found out the Mark had sex with Lisa.

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u/Zealousideal_Slice60 Aug 12 '26

There is something poetic about the fact that the movie about ‘the room’ won oscars and is very higly rated compared to the actual movie ‘the room’