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The following explanation is probably implied but I still want to mention it: When a movie (or any form of media really) discusses such a polarizing issue like

by jcfrei 9y ago

The following explanation is probably implied but I still want to mention it: When a movie (or any form of media really) discusses such a polarizing issue like climate change doesn't the rating always lose its meaning? When a film, book, etc. treats a polarizing issue, most people probably abuse ratings as a (binary) vote on whether or not they agree with the narrative. And not whether it's a good movie based on film theory (ie. characters, visuals, story arc, etc.). Does this issue have a name? We see it on HN too, where people use up- and downvotes for agreeing/disagreeing, rather than separating informative, from non-informative comments.

trgv 9y ago
Another thing to keep in mind here is that these kinds of review systems will often result in high amounts of polarization regardless of whether the topic is controversial. My feeling is that people often vote based on how they want the current average to change rather than based on how much they liked the movie. E.G. Sometimes I'll watch a movie, I'll think it's an 8/10 but then see it has 4/10 on imdb, so I'll give it a 10. Presumably this may affect another person's vote. Maybe someone saw the film, hated it, wondered why the review was so high, and gave it a 0 to bring the average down. IMDB recognizes this and uses a "secret formula" (http://www.imdb.com/help/show_leaf?ratingsexplanation http://www.imdb.com/help/show_leaf?ratingsexplanation) as a result.
- amrrs 9y ago
  Most of the times it'd be the opposite of what you have said because the moment people see 4/10 for a movie they liked, self-doubt clouds hence people are more likely to give it a lower rating in the same range rather than 10 thinking about Mean static to improve the rating.
- euyyn 9y ago
  > Sometimes I'll watch a movie, I'll think it's an 8/10 but then see it has 4/10 on imdb, so I'll give it a 10. Do you really do this?
kevlar1818 9y ago
+1 I agree with you. :P
kbutler 9y ago
Yes - averages are poor representations of many irregular distributions. Polarized opinions are the most common example of a case where averaging the results fails (what's the average of a coin flip?)

by jcfrei 9y ago

trgv 9y ago

Another thing to keep in mind here is that these kinds of review systems will often result in high amounts of polarization regardless of whether the topic is controversial. My feeling is that people often vote based on how they want the current average to change rather than based on how much they liked the movie. E.G. Sometimes I'll watch a movie, I'll think it's an 8/10 but then see it has 4/10 on imdb, so I'll give it a 10. Presumably this may affect another person's vote. Maybe someone saw the film, hated it, wondered why the review was so high, and gave it a 0 to bring the average down. IMDB recognizes this and uses a "secret formula" (http://www.imdb.com/help/show_leaf?ratingsexplanation http://www.imdb.com/help/show_leaf?ratingsexplanation) as a result.

amrrs 9y ago
Most of the times it'd be the opposite of what you have said because the moment people see 4/10 for a movie they liked, self-doubt clouds hence people are more likely to give it a lower rating in the same range rather than 10 thinking about Mean static to improve the rating.
euyyn 9y ago
> Sometimes I'll watch a movie, I'll think it's an 8/10 but then see it has 4/10 on imdb, so I'll give it a 10. Do you really do this?

kevlar1818 9y ago

+1 I agree with you. :P

kbutler 9y ago

Yes - averages are poor representations of many irregular distributions. Polarized opinions are the most common example of a case where averaging the results fails (what's the average of a coin flip?)