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3/8/2025 9:09:55 PM
10
What is an objective review?
Let me start off by saying no this is not in reference to anyone in particular but instead a topic of interest and a way to have discussion based on "objectivity" and how I personally view and critique films/art.
An example of objectivity would be "this is a cake, or this is a video game" and then the validation of that objective statement would be whether or not that is indeed what I claim it to be.
The simplest way I would describe being objective in reviewing art would then be "describing what is". Such as "this is a game, it has 'this' " And then you can expand upon that in interesting ways, "this is why it works, this is why it doesn't work" then of course elaborating further as needed.
Well how about objectivity versus subjectivity? Alot of people will claim objectivity in art is impossible as it's all subjective. I personally find that a bit shallow and boring of an argument but to disprove it let's say we're reviewing a game. Is there not anything objective to review?
Well of course there is! Probably the simplest being framerate, the higher the framerate the faster the response time, ect. And you can review as such "This game has a consistent framerate and it runs well" that is objective because either it does or doesn't, and it affects whether a game is good or not.
The same goes with the resolution, "This game only runs at 144p", imagine being interested in a game only to find out if it runs at 144p, you'd be like "Oh...". But then what if someone goes "Well I like playing games as 144p so you're not being objective." A simple destruction of this argument and similar arguments are that they are using preference to dispute objectivity.
So at this point you may be thinking 'how does objectivity in a games hardware correlate to objectivity in a games story or even in a films'.
Well my main point being that objectivity does indeed exist in art, I just used framerate and video quality as a a simple example as such.
And if objectivity does exist in some practical manner why then can't we also use the same objective viewpoint when reviewing a films story, or it characters. "This character does this, this is bad because it's apposing to characters morals, motives and is contradictory to past actions by this character and is never explained in the film"
Let's translate that to something real "Luke Skywalker considers killing Kylo, his own nephew. Even if it was for a split second, this instance is antithetical of everything he believed and fought for during his previous film appearances and The Last Jedi never had the time or opportunity to set this up properly or in a way that made logical sense"
(insert conclusion statement I'll definitely write later)
English
#Offtopic
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7 Replies
Azura, Pronouns HaverSorceress of Crustania - old
If I were to write something “objective” I would build heavily into logos and statistics and appeal to both sides of the argument. -
17 Replies[quote]This character does this, ...[/quote]Objective [quote]... this is bad because...[/quote]Subjective [b] [/b] Different people have different opinions on what constitutes good storytelling and different tolerances on how strict one must adhere to those principals. What's more, we're often inconsistant on how we accept certain things. [b] [/b] For example, From Software games are lauded for their environmental storytelling. The games themselves present little plot upfront but much can be gleaned from descriptions of items or scraps of information hidden around the world. Stellar Blade, on the other hand, was often criticized for its "simplistic plot" when, in fact, you're just the final bullet in a very long and complex war, which becomes apparent if you're reading the memory sticks and data logs scattered across the world as well as item and equipment descriptions. A common response to this, however was "I shouldn't have to read a book to understand what's going on." [b] [/b] Likewise, some may argue a heroic character (such as Luke) should remain consistantly heroic as it creates a logical throughline across a character's arc. To them, Luke's change of character is "bad storytelling", particularly given it's mostly done offscreen. Others, however, will point out that this is a very human thing. We've all known people who seemingly changed out of nowhere, particularly after we've gone some time since we last met. Luke's doubt and subsequent fall makes him less a christlike figure and more human, adding a layer of verisimilitude that makes the whole situation more relatable to some. There's also an element of "never meet your heros". [b] [/b] Whether these choices are "good" or "bad" is a matter of opinion, not objective fact. The fact arguments over these design choices even exist are evidence of this.
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1 ReplyI wouldnt necessarily equate "objectivity" with objective truth - that'll take you down the epistemology rabbit hole.....and it's deep - or plain facts - such as "this is a movie about space". Objectivity to me has a lot to do with experience and knowing what other people like. I may not particulary enjoy a certain thing but I know that people who like that type of thing or genre would praise it - based on plot, craftmanship etc - and I take that into account when I rate it. I can't just give something a 2/10 because "I only like romcoms and this happens to be a space movie about aliens".
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1 ReplyEdited by J. Robert Oppenheimer: 3/9/2025 11:54:43 AMLet it go, son
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Heh this whole things like the fallout 4 thing
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Well that's like... your opinion, m9.
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6 RepliesThere are things that can be judged objectively within a given piece of media. You can, for instance, have objectively bad pacing. I would say, for example, Steven Universe is a show with bad pacing, but the story is good enough for me to overlook it. However, you cannot judge a piece of media as a whole in any objective fashion, because what parts of a story matter to someone, and whether or not its flaws can be overlooked are entirely up for debate. Furthermore, different interpretations of the same events can lead to wildly different takes on the same story. For instance: [quote]Let's translate that to something real "Luke Skywalker considers killing Kylo, his own nephew. Even if it was for a split second, this instance is antithetical of everything he believed and fought for during his previous film appearances and The Last Jedi never had the time or opportunity to set this up properly or in a way that made logical sense"[/quote] You see this as a flaw, but I see this as a good thing. This was the entire point of his character in the movie, he was a fallen hero. He was no longer the man he used to be, and he stooped to lows he never would have in the past. He lost his way, and the point of the movie was him finding it again. This is not an example of an objective flaw, but a subjective story point, that can be interpreted in many different ways. I liked that Luke was a fallen hero. And sure, we never got to see his fall, but that's okay, because [i]how[/i] he reached that point was never the point of the story, the point is that he [i]did[/i] reach that point, and needed to find his way again. Do you disagree? Most likely. But, the fact that your supposedly objective flaw had another side to it should prove as a good example as to how media is a very subjective thing.
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7 RepliesI would suggest that true objectivity as a person is impossible without somehow removing any sort of emotion from our perception; even telling another person they aren't being objective holds personal biases and is therefore [i]subjective.[/i]
