Well - I thought Shawshank was a darn good flick. All time favorite - no. But really good. I loved the naration by Morgan Freeman.

And as for you two with your By Mennon and Safety dance - ACK! Make it stop. "Do the Safety Dance, by Mennon."

My short answer applies. "Popular" is an objective* concept. "Good" is a subjective concept (at the level of the individual). Of course one does not equal the other.

That said, on the question "How good does the collective rating population of IMDb think The Shawshank Redemption is?" would have the answer of "The second best of all movies." So within in that collective population "popular" does equal "good." But it still breaks down at the individual level.

And just as you probably should have said "highly rated" instead of popular what CP's brother probably meant was "Considering how highly regarded this movie is by the population as a whole, you are quite the statistical outlyer by not liking it." Just as I am surprised she doesn't like it (because I think it is a great movie and so does the general population) I do not think she is wrong in not liking it. However, even though I like Find Me Guilty quite a lot it would not surprise me if she doesn't since in general the population agrees with her.

*You can argue about what constitutes popularity but generally it is in terms that are objectively measurable.

It is, but none the less, sometimes the case.
I analyze too much and spent a great deal of that film thinking... I dont get it.
Why is this an issue?

Just as I spent time realizing that I couldnt understand (since you mentioned it) Ralph Fiennes character in Schindlers.
I could totally understand the woman he was beating, but not him.
Hence, I spent more time being confused than trying to actually watch the film as a whole.

Which is also why I said I watched Shawshank more than once.
I'm an idiot. I accept it. :P

Actors do not need to be the same gender as me to relate to them. However, when Hollywood throws me a bone (no pun intended) and portrays a gay male couple going through love's dance, I relate to them even more.

Is the inverse true? Does unpopular=bad? Shawshank was considered a flop during its theatrical release, but on home video it developed a spectacular life of its own...all on the power of WOM of renters of every stripe. It has since been on several popvote lists as #1 or #2.

It's done consistently well on various formats since its initial distribution -- enough to warrant a massive 10-year anniversary party/viewing which I was lucky enough to attend. Hubby is best friends with the director.

I like the movie a lot, but it's not on my personal top-10 list.

What makes a movie good? Is it even quantifiable? Sometimes the sheer popularity of a film has so turned me off that I've deprived myself overlong before finally submitting, only to discover that some gems ARE popular. Some movies that I think are real stinkers get great reviews and accolades. Actually the more I think about it -- I've hated more movies that got raves than rotten tomaters. Must be the heightened expectations thing.

Still, good CAN = popular. But obviously popularity is no solid predictor of good, OR bad, OR what each of us might like. Popularity is just what it is. As Alex noted it's something that is quantifiable, and perhaps that is why it is so frequently used to represent "good."

Did I mention how much I loved that movie?

Ha! Shhhh: It's the only movie he's done that I like. I have high hopes for The Mist, though...

I am not a big fan of Shawshank....not saying it was bad, just not my cup of tea.

As for the Human League....I loved them back in the 80's.

Watch:)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=koGywVUJ9hE

I refuse to click on the evil link.

I LOVE that video!
That song is one of my happy songs.
:)