What Makes a Movie "Good?"

Ever watch a movie that was supposed to be a “masterpiece” but you were kind of bored? Or did you ever have a completely different opinion on a movie from one of your friends? Join the Syracuse Philosophy Meetup to discuss what makes a film good. We’ll discuss the differences between a critic and an average viewer, what movies ratings mean (or should mean), and how you could compare a classic like Citizen Kane with something like Fast & Furious 6.

The philosopher David Hume has an interesting essay about aesthetic appreciation called Of the Standard of Taste that I highly recommend as a more nuanced analysis of what it might mean to have “good” taste on something.

You can also ruminate on some of the following questions regarding film criticism:

• What makes a movie “good?”
• Is the quality of a movie purely subjective?
• What are the different aspects of movies that can be judged? I.e. plot, acting, score, cinematography, etc.
• Why are some movies considered “masterpieces?”
• Can a movie’s value be reduced to a single number, like a film rating?
• How should you compare the “critics” rating to the average audience rating?
• Does the popularity of a movie have anything to do with its quality?
• Should movies of different genres be directly compared?

Hope to see you there!!