Does popular = good?

[Not Afraid]

Beware. You're within easy driving distance.

[wendybeth]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Hey now, them's fightin' words.

Lol! Well, you were too young to know the ginormous amount of suckage they wreaked upon the pop world. Their videos were awful as well.



Most of the classic lit I love was at one time considered offensive, poorly written, etc. Innovation is seldom welcome by the masses, at least initially. So, the argument can certainly be made that lack of popularity is not a quality indicator.

[wendybeth]

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

If I sing "Don't You Want Me" for the rest of the day, I'm going to fly to Spokane and bring a rope.

Hey, I didn't know you were into rodeo!



If it helps, I will offer up a song to chase that one out of your head: The Safety Dance.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Originally Posted by Alex

Short answer: No, not inherently.

Longer answer: Frequently, yes. With the caveat that "good" does not equal "great."

I agree

Now I'm thinking about Zihuatanejo

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

That could just be a statistical anomaly seeing as it's shown on TV more than any other movie, I'm pretty sure.

Not really. Until about two weeks ago (when we were "forced" to upgrade our cable and ended up with TCM) it had been about a decade since I last watched a movie on TV (broadcast or cable) rather than DVD since while I can just barely tolerate fullscreen, I can no longer tolerate commercial breaks).

[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by Alex

Side Topic A answer: Particularly not when it comes to IMDb movie ratings where geek herd mentality reigns. For example, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; Pulp Fiction; The Empire Strikes Back; and The Return of the King are also in IMDb's Top 10.

I'd love to see an analysis of what type of customers IMDB's niche market is composed of. I've never really thought about it being a "geek herd mentality".

Top 10 lists are incredibly subjective and, it seems, the broader the audience the dull the list.

When I look at the All Time USA Box Office list, I don't see much on there that I would put on my "top" list.

AFI's top 100 list is more to my own taste.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

Just because something is 'popular' certainly doesn't mean it's good- it could very well mean that a large group of people have horrible taste. Case in point: the Porky's movies. They were popular in their day, and they stunk. Same goes for the 'music' group the Human League. I seldom use somethings popularity as an indicator that I should read/watch/play, etc.

I disagree with this. While YOU may not have have liked the Porky's movies, some people DID like them. Those people's opinions may differ than yours, but that does not make them lesser opinions.

Using the Porky's example, one needs to remember that movies are, in their essence, meant to entertain. Sometimes people like simplistic, mindless entertainment - whether due to a simplistic mind incapable of processing complex plot lines and subtleties or because they feel that life is complicated enough and enjoy escapism that doesn't require deep thought. I confess to liking simplistic, and often shallow, movies. I also like deeper, thought provoking movies as well, but tend to gravitate towards the former.

Why? Because my work like is very fast paced, requires a lot of thought and is filled with constant conflict and constant arguments. I am usually exhausted by the close of each week. Mindless entertainment is the perfect escape for me.

Further, being a bad movie, does not render a movie void of entertainment. Susan has a fondness for enjoying "bad" movies (Pirate Movie, Grease 2, and Xanadu come to mind). And if a movie entertains one, is it really "bad" since it accomplished the core goal of entertaining?

[Alex]

No, most of them aren't on my top list either, but would you agree that they are generally good?

If the question is changed to "does popular = best" then the answer is emphatically no.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

Hey, I didn't know you were into rodeo!



If it helps, I will offer up a song to chase that one out of your head: The Safety Dance.

By Mennen

Problem solved.

[wendybeth]

I knew you'd come to Porky's defense, KB.

Of course, it goes without saying that these things are entirely subjective. I mean, look at the Oscars- how many times have we watched and thought that the winning Best Picture was the wrong choice? Still, I would argue that Porky's, while it may have been good (gag), was most certainly not great. Not Citizen Cane great, or Casablanca great. Again, my criteria for greatness is my own.