There is a question that always frustrates me a little when I’m asked. If something is wrong with me and I go see a doctor, I’m asked “On a scale of 1 to 10, how is your pain?” This is a very important question for doctors to ask but what bothers me about it is that it relies on the patients interpretation of their own pain. A pain of 5 for one patient could be a 3 to another patient. In that same way, I can sometimes feel that is applicable when it comes to scoring media.
Scoring media is an inevitability when it comes to either creating or reading/watching reviews. It acts as a way to summarize the review and give a sense of finality to your opinion. Unfortunately, it can also be too focused on, with many people choosing to only look at the score and summary rather than read/watch the review. This can create misunderstandings as a good review should, theoretically at least, allow someone to understand whether they’d like the product or not, even if the reviewer did not end up liking it.
Very early on when I was making YouTube videos, I decided to eschew using a score system, choosing instead to list out my thoughts on each aspect of what I was reviewing and whether I recommended it or not. However, when I decided to create my MAL (MyAnimeList) to keep track of what anime and manga I have watched/read, I realized that I would have to list a score for anything that I added onto it.
This led me to the realization (something that I should have realized sooner) that even the highest score that can be given (in this case a 10) varies from person to person in their reasoning behind it. Some people choose to award that score to a piece of media that entertains them from beginning to end without fail. Some look for other traits that set this work apart from its peers.
When it comes to the way I award this prestigious number, I believe that a work has to transcend mere entertainment and offer something even greater. When I look at media that I have scored a 10 such as Princess Mononoke, Wolf Children, Girlfriends, Ayako etc, I see that they have not only entertained me but that they have had a profound impact on the way that I see and experience the world.
On the other hand, the fault with this system is that the score might not necessarily represent the amount of entertainment that I received from it. There have been plenty of shows/books that I have enjoyed greatly but which I realized that certain aspects were lacking in depth or originality. People who prioritize entertainment value from their media may then find that my score might not always match up with the product in that regard.
The important thing to remember when you are looking for reviewers is to realize the values that they are seeking in their media and see if it matches up with your own. A score can certainly be helpful but, without knowing the criteria behind that score, it can allow for misinterpretation of the reviewers opinion of the product.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk, amazon.com or bookdepository.com for all of your needs!