and whats the explanation for the opposite? when critics scores are much higher than audience scores?
I assume "out of touch" but almost any explanation I think of and ridicule could be seen as a strawman argument, so I'll wait for your response.
I assume "out of touch" but almost any explanation I think of and ridicule could be seen as a strawman argument, so I'll wait for your response.
People went to see these movies not because they wanted to per se but because critics said they were amazing. And because they went mostly due to critical reviews, anyone who didn't like it was even more likely than normal to be like "wait I feel tricked this was bad"
This might be a bit of a stretch, but it seems almost plausible.
- A film may have been marketed as one particular type of movie via trailers (e.g. as a horror film) but was actually a different type of movie, often a subversion of the genre it was marketed as (e.g. ended up as social commentary). So audiences feel deceived and report that in their ratings.
- Similarly, there are movies that are "applause lights" where critics are obliged to give positive ratings due to the social significance of a film (e.g. made by a woman / featuring a woman in a lead role). But the movie might just not be that good, and audiences report this in their ratings.
for a less divisive example: movies about the film or theatre industry get high marks and fit your example while the audience is left scratching their heads
Also, a less cynical example: some movies are about something new: you might see people who live in a developing country, e.g., Somali fishermen in Captain Philips, or in unusual occupations (e.g., WWF wrestler in The Wrestler). Most audiences just want to relax and not learn something new, but critics love these kinds of movies.
1) Most of the categories that are over-represented are ones that individuals watch out of obligation, rather than desire. A large portion of people watch documentaries (and biographies/historical films) because they feel they "should", because they feel like they should learn something.
Same for drama - these often include Oscar-bait that many people watch exclusively because it's nominated, not because they're actually interested in the movie itself.
Likewise, animation is (by volume) mostly synonymous with children's entertainment, so there are going to be a lot parents forced to watch what their kids are watching.
All of these line up with OP's hypothesis of obligation over choice.
2) War and westerns being overrepresented, well... film critics historically have a reputation of being Men of a Certain Social Demographic, and this is likely reflected even in modern film critic culture.
[1] https://stephenfollows.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Differ...