I’m pretty bummed over the death of legendary film critic Roger Ebert. Before Rotten Tomatos and IMDB, I remember using his movie guide to figure out what I should (make my parents) rent from the video store. Masterfully written and laced with his signature acerbic wit, Ebert’s reviews were so effective because of the relativist approach he took when evaluating a film’s merit:
When you ask a friend if Hellboy is any good, you’re not asking if it’s any good compared to Mystic River, you’re asking if it’s any good compared to The Punisher. And my answer would be, on a scale of one to four, if Superman is four, then Hellboy is three and The Punisher is two. In the same way, if American Beauty gets four stars, then The United States of Leland clocks in at about two.
– Roger Ebert, in his review of Shaolin Soccer. April 23, 2004.
This applies to just about everything else.
If you ask a friend if Five Guys is any good, you’re not asking if it’s any good compared to French Laundry, you’re asking if it’s any good compared to McDonald’s.
If you ask a friend if Jay-Z is any good, you’re not asking if he’s any good compared to Dmitri Shostakovich, you’re asking if he’s any good compared to Lil Wayne.
If you ask a friend if Bioshock is any good, you’re not asking if it’s any good compared to Tetris, you’re asking if it’s any good compared to Deus Ex.
If you ask a friend if House of Cards is any good, you’re not asking if it’s any good compared to American Idol, you’re asking if it’s any good compared to The West Wing.
If you ask a friend if Roy Lichtenstein is any good, you’re not asking if he’s any good compared to Van Gogh, you’re asking if he’s any good compared to Andy Warhol.
And so on. Roger Ebert taught me to judge things by what they are trying to achieve and what they compare to. While no one would argue that Five Guys is a culinary competitor to French Laundry, one can derive pleasure and appreciate both for what they are. No one would argue that Tetris is a more complicated game than Bioshock, but both are hallmarks of video game design in their own way.
Absolutism in criticism is nothing more than thinly veiled elitism. Ebert was so successful because he could fairly appraise the low-brow and the high-brow, making the genre of film criticism both accessible and relevant to average moviegoers.
He taught us all that there is no shame in enjoying the less-finer things in life. He was the everyman’s critic.
Rest in peace.
Forrest M. Burnson 