My Reviewing Philosophy

The subjective nature of art and media makes writing reviews a tricky task. Writing reviews for story-based media like fiction, film, manga, and games is especially difficult because the experience is subjective. Even if everyone experienced a novel the same way, as in picking up on the same details and remaining equally focused, there would still be wildly different interpretations of those experiences. Everyone has a different idea of what makes a film good or bad. All of this applies to writing music reviews, too. Nothing I am saying is new, but it is a crucial, often ignored aspect of reviewing and discussing media. So, how do I plan on reviewing art and media?

For context, writing and filming reviews is nothing new to me. I’m not a seasoned reviewer, but I’ve written and filmed more than most people (I think). I’m most familiar with book reviews, so forming opinions about books comes pretty naturally to me. However, I’m new to writing film, music, and video game reviews. I constantly worry that my opinions are somehow wrong. While opinions, by definition, can’t be wrong, they can be poorly formed.

There are lots of qualities to inspect when reviewing a piece of media, but the most important and oddly least subjective is how it makes you feel. Pacing, prose, character arcs, plot, and all of those common metrics are incredibly subjective. A good character for one person is the worst for another. However, how you feel about a piece of art is 100% objective. You can’t be wrong about how you feel unless you are deliberately lying. The feeling itself is not objective, but the fact that you are feeling it is. Nobody can say you don’t feel how you do. First, I will focus on how I feel. When I give a number rating to something, it is based purely on how strongly I feel about it, with a ten being the most positive I can feel about a project and a one being the most negative I can feel. A five is indifference. With this method, a ten does not mean it is the most perfect project. Hypothetically, an eight or nine could align more with conventional standards but might not resonate with me as profoundly.

A question that naturally comes up about this approach is what constitutes deep resonance or strong feelings. Strong feelings aren’t always pleasant or good. Sometimes, you can feel strongly positive about something uncomfortable and frustrating, especially if that was the intention. For me, strong feelings usually mean strong appreciation or deep emotional connection. It can also mean extreme excitement, interest, or thrill.

An interesting aspect of this is the immense unlikelihood of me rating a project a one, two, or three out of ten. If the project is successful enough for me to learn about, it likely has some merit. Likely. I’m not saying it’s impossible for me to hate something popular, but it is rare. Most of my ratings will likely fall between a four and eight. The upper end is slightly higher because it’s more likely that I will consume media that is considered the best of the best. There will likely be many projects that I see as a nine or ten, but it will still be rare. Even rarer are ones, twos, and threes. Something I might rate a three or lower is something that I fail to connect with emotionally and fails to garner any appreciation from me with its technical prowess. Imagine a film with terrible camera work, poor acting, and atrocious sound design along with flat characters and cliche theme exploration.

My Rating Scale Summarized - Out of 10

1/10 - Utterly Unredeemable: A complete failure in every way, offering no redeeming qualities. An entirely negative experience.

2/10 - Deeply Flawed: While there may be a minor redeeming factor or two, it’s still an overwhelmingly negative experience with significant issues throughout.

3/10 - Poor: Largely unsuccessful with a few mediocre elements. It fails on many levels but isn't completely devoid of merit.

4/10 - Disappointing: A project I mostly didn't enjoy, but it has some acceptable aspects or moments that kept it from being a total loss.

5/10 - Neutral/Indifferent: The positives and negatives balance out. I neither loved nor hated it, and it leaves me feeling neutral.

6/10 - Enjoyable but Flawed: I'm glad I experienced it, and I had a decent time, though it had many issues. I felt positive overall but without strong enthusiasm.

7/10 - Solidly Enjoyable: I thoroughly enjoyed this project. It may have minor issues or not have resonated deeply, but overall my experience was positive.

8/10 - Excellent: A fantastic project that resonated with me or provided significant enjoyment. There may be minor flaws, but they don't detract from the overall positive experience.

9/10 - Near Masterpiece: A project that resonated deeply with me, and I found it incredibly moving or enjoyable. Any flaws are negligible compared to the overall impact.

10/10 - Profoundly Impactful: A deeply resonant project that stirred extreme emotions within me, whether through tears, excitement, or appreciation. It left a lasting impression and felt incredibly near perfection in its execution. This project has achieved complete masterpiece status.

From this perspective, choosing a rating is easy. However, justifying those feelings makes reviews and discussions fun on both sides. That is where the difficulty comes, and it is the area where I have the most room to grow as I explore more projects and write more reviews. For now, my strategy is to simply notice the specific aspects I like and don’t like. I won’t worry about what I don’t notice. As I improve, I may notice more. Regardless, I will use whatever knowledge I have to inform what I pay attention to. I have taken some formal classes about the art forms I will review, and I will use that knowledge to the best of my ability to justify my feelings. As I gain experience, my taste will likely change, and that’s okay. None of my opinions are forever permanent.

Another question that arises is whether technical aspects matter at all when reviewing based on emotional response. There is no disconnect between the technical aspects and the emotional response, especially as you notice and learn more about the art form. As I said, appreciation is a prominent feeling when I rate something highly. Appreciation usually stems from the technical proficiency of a project. For example, one of the reasons Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024) resonated so well with me was because of the stunning production design, the way it all felt so immersive and cohesive. While my rating is directly based on my emotional response, my emotional response is primarily determined by the technical proficiency of a project. And, by the way, story, character, and theme are part of the technical proficiency.

One last note is the relationship between the reviewer and the reader. The reviewer is not meant to tell the reader how to feel. They may influence the reader’s feelings by noting things they missed, but the reviewer is not meant to see their feelings as better or more correct. Likewise, the reader should not get upset at the reviewer for having different feelings. Of course, the reader and reviewer can handle this in any way they want, but I think this way is best for maintaining productive discourse. I’m not saying you can’t advocate or argue for your opinions, but don’t pretend they are more than opinions. Although there isn’t currently a comment feature on this blog (I don’t plan on adding one soon), I think our mindset is essential even if we don’t directly interact.

 

In conclusion, I plan to focus first on how I feel and then focus on why I might feel that way. While I’m doing this solely for fun and my own fulfillment, I’m still taking it seriously. I look forward to improving and growing as I explore the wonders that storytelling has to offer.