Ever hear someone call a movie “overrated?” Of course you have. In fact, the term is used so frequently, I should ask if you’ve never heard the term before. On paper, the reasoning behind its use is sensible enough: a movie makes money, gets popular, and then becomes too popular, to the point where people start to hate it. Boom, overrated.
From my perspective, people typically seem to describe a film as “overrated” when they know it’s popular and it’s something that in their eyes is not very good. Fair enough--your opinion is your own prerogative. What is really interesting, though, is that so-called “overrated” films start to accumulate an anti-fanbase of sorts that is basically a bandwagon for people who don’t like the film in question.
It’s at this point where “overrated” becomes somewhat of a dismissal or shutting down of people who praise a particular film. Is this really warranted, though?
Look at a film like “Frozen.” People sing the songs ad nauseam, laud and praise it almost religiously, and so on. It’s basically everywhere at Disney World now and I’m quite certain 95% of all young girls in the world want to be like Elsa--just an estimate. Personally, I have to agree with the film being overrated; one review stated the film was better than “Beauty and the Beast.” I mean, it’s good, but not that good. Anyways, I digress.
I understand labeling a film “overrated” because of exaggerated opinions or fame that creates an almost sickening sense of familiarity. With that being said, however, I don’t think that overrated films are necessarily bad, and I do think they deserve at least some credit to their popularity and success. “Frozen” is well-made, make no mistake, it’s just that I and lots of other people think it’s kind of overblown and overexposed at this point.
I personally feel that something like “The Avengers” is overrated. Yeah, I said it, and I’m a Marvel fan too. In spite of that, though, I recognize that the film is very fun and incredibly entertaining, and it is a favorite of mine and many others. Not many other people would go so far as to say it’s overrated because they like it.
Therein lies an important point: because they like it.
We use terms like “rose-tinted glasses” and “nostalgia goggles” because we recognize the presence and power of bias. Specifically, these terms are used to describe how bias can be so powerful and so influential that it blocks out any opposing opinions and most importantly overlooks certain criticisms.
Let’s put this in the context of the matter at hand. People who are not on the “Frozen” train don’t have those rose-tinted glasses and are sick of the movie at this point; many such people even consider it to be a terrible film. But, they also likely have favorite films that are as popular if not more so than “Frozen.” They’re more inclined to not criticize these favorite films as much as others because, obviously, they like it.
So now we have the complication behind the term “overrated”: it’s too selective, and as a result, it’s probably not fair to use as part of a legitimate critique of a film--as it commonly is by moviegoers.
Yes, the critique of a film is inherently biased, but there’s more to it than that. Critics analyze “tangible” things like acting, lighting, cinematography, writing, and so on. My point here is that calling a film “overrated” and saying it’s bad as a result doesn’t really do much to explain what is good and bad about that film. It sounds more like a rant or snap judgment than a controlled, justified breakdown of what works and doesn’t work.
Is it possible that a film doesn’t have anything that works? Yes, but I and many others would like to think that’s the exception, not the rule. Certainly in the case of such films as “Frozen” or “The Avengers,” there are definitely things that work.
Overall, I think in a lot of cases the meaning of “overrated” goes a little too far. It’s not like overrated films don’t exist, but they’re not deserving of harsh backlash because they’re overrated; furthermore, it’s not a fair assessment on whether or not a particular film is good. Criticism comes with the territory of being popular, I get it, but criticism also has backing and reasoning behind it, whereas blasting something and calling it “overrated” is based on your personal perception--something that is a little less justifiable than an opinion on an actor’s performance.
Form your own opinions about movies; don’t just rely on how popular or not popular something is, and don’t listen to the bandwagon--be they the people that hate a film’s guts or people who look at said film through rose-tinted glasses. Just watch, think on what you’re watching, and go from there.
You know, I’ll bet people who love indie and underground films are laughing at this article right now. They almost never have to deal with this.