In this technology-focused world, we are increasingly reliant on small numbers to quantify success. We have likes on our pictures and on our tweets and, of course, cited statistics in sports. We always like having a number that certifies who or what is the best of the best. My picture got a ton of likes, so my picture is the best. Tom Brady has thrown the most touchdowns, so he is the best.

Now, we like to do this with films, too: assigning a number to a film’s worth. Rotten Tomatoes is the primary website that facilitates this numerical discourse, and I think in the long run, it is harmful for us as an audience, and filmmakers as creators.

For one thing, it is extremely important to understand what the number of a Rotten Tomatoes score actually means. It is a completely binary system, meaning that a critic either gives a film a one or a zero. Usually, a six out of a ten is enough to get the one, while anything below is a zero. The final score you see is not reflective of how much the critics enjoyed the film, but simply the percentage of critics who gave the film a one. Thus, every critic could think a movie is simply okay, but it would get a 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Thus, the system is not telling us how good a movie is, but instead what percentage of critics liked it.

As problematic as the binary system is, it is ultimately just a symptom of a larger issue at hand. When it comes down to it, films are pieces of art, and art is not something that should be defined by a number, especially a number without context.

When we see a movie has 100 percent, we know that means it’s great, but what does that number actually say? Different people might have different experiences with the films, but we are ignoring those experiences by just looking at the number. Behind those numbers are critical reviews which are written with time and care, each with something different to say. We are choosing to ignore the thought and wisdom just to hear a number.

Let’s take a movie that was released this weekend, “The Magnificent Seven,” which currently has a 62 percent. Okay, that tells us about two-thirds of the critics enjoyed the film, but what more do we know besides that? Many people will just look at that number, and say, “eh, not great, I’ll take a pass.” This behavior is detrimental because we know nothing besides that number.

We should hear why the film is good or bad. Maybe some critics loved it, and some hated it. Maybe they were all over the place. Maybe the performances were excellent, but the script was weak. These are all things we could learn by reading the reviews and discussing the film itself, but instead, we choose to look just at a number.

Does Rotten Tomatoes have value in movie-going society? Absolutely. It gives you a small snapshot of what critics thought of a movie, but it becomes detrimental when people take this snapshot as gospel. Ultimately though, the snapshot should just be an introduction to the larger picture.

Erik Benjamin is a junior Television, Radio, Film major. His column appears weekly in Pulp. You can reach him at @embenjamin14 and ebenjami@syr.edu

Published on September 27, 2016 at 6:47 pm