Movie Ratings Are A Matter Of Relativity
It is man's nature to seek out 'popular opinion' before embarking on any activity. ANY activity. The formation of ratings can be considered an upshot of exactly this human trait. If we look around us, we can infer that the so called ratings have spread to almost all walks of our lives. "This book is the best, I rate it better than the one you have." "This college is rated among the top 10 institutions in the country, do join." "Our products are rated high in the aspect of customer satisfaction, buy now." The point that is being put forward is clear: ratings, degrees and comparisons are all around us. Human life is not the same without them. Movies certainly come under the rating blanket. We now have a plethora of sites that rate movies on a variety of scales.
A logical question at this juncture would be: why follow movie ratings? Well, there are a number of substantial reasons. The first and foremost has been mentioned at the beginning of this article. Secondly, movie ratings do an immense amount in reducing people's workload. Let's take the case of a busy executive who has just found time to watch a movie. In the short span that he has, he would definitely want to watch a film that is worth his time. This is where movie ratings come in. A movie rating helps him decide what movie would be worth his time, and which one would be better off not watching. Thirdly, movie ratings help people decide what movies are suitable for which audience. For example a movie rated 'A' (for adult) is definitely off-limits for young children.
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Next, one is tempted to ask: how are movies rated? Movie ratings are assigned in a variety of ways. The easiest way of allocating movie ratings is by voting. This involves making people vote for a movie they have just seen. This method while taking into consideration a large number, can fail if people are careless in their votes. Another common method is asking an expert movie reviewer to give movie ratings. The reviewer is either an eminent personality or one who's an expert at dissecting movies after a watch. Movie ratings (like PG, A and the like) are usually assigned by a governing body known as the censor board.
This article so far, has been fairly eulogistic about movie ratings. Here are some reasons why these ratings are not the only way to watch a movie. In fact, the problem with movie ratings can be summed up in one word: relativity. What is good to one person might be horrendously bad to another. Let us take the example of one of the most popular sites that display movie ratings: IMDb. Here's the link to the top 250 movies:
http://www.imdb.com/chart/top One notices that 'The Godfather' is at the top of the list. However, if the watcher is one who loathes violence and all things related, he is certain to not enjoy the film. Some people (including this writer) wouldn't rate the movie so high since the book upon which it is based on, is ten times better.
In conclusion, a true cinema lover must consider movie ratings, but shouldn't make them the cornerstone of his movie watching experience.
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