The American Dream Has a Rotten Tomatoes Problem
I’m no movie critic. Really, I’m no critic of entertainment or art at all, but I do like a good movie. And taste in movies—as with taste in just about everything else—is in the eye of the beholder. The creative arts are all about the eye of the beholder, as I just confirmed by reading the great book by Rick Rubin, The Creative Art. But I digress. I believe the goal of movies is to entertain the viewers, which is why we use the term “the entertainment industry.” And entertainment is subjective; it’s up to the viewers to decide whether something entertains them or not. However, critics are always intent on telling us what they think good entertainment is. And when it comes to movies, there is no better place to compare what passes as good entertainment for critics and viewers than the website Rotten Tomatoes.
The review aggregator website is one of the most important review sites for movies. One significant advantage is that it reveals both the critic score, which certifies if the movie is “fresh” or not, and also the audience score, which is now called the Popcornmeter. From time to time—and especially in recent times where there have been so many vibe shifts in terms of our politics—I like to visit the site and see what critic score a movie or TV series (that does not conform to the current vibes) receives and compare it to the audience score, which is just looking to be entertained. Certainly, there are many times when critics and the audience agree, such as in recent entertainment master pieces like Top Gun 2 and Air or my own (older) favorite movie, Good Will Hunting.
But the frequent discrepancies are hard to overlook. I first noticed this discrepancy in two instances. The first was when She Hulk came out—as I’m a fan of the Marvel universe and always try to watch those shows. While the movie had its entertaining moments, you could definitely see that it was trying to conform to politically correct positions during those days. It turned out to be such a paternalistic, moralizing show on certain issues that it ended up losing its magic. There were many criticisms of it at the time, and checking the Rotten Tomatoes scores, my suspicions were confirmed: the critics liked it, but the audience didn’t.
The same was true with the Super Mario Bros movie at the time, but in reverse. As an avid Mario player throughout my childhood—and even more recently playing Mario Kart with my kids—I was excited about the upcoming movie and looking forward to good entertainment. And I think I got it, as did 95% of people who reviewed the film on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the movie was given a less-than-stellar score by critics.
Some critics vehemently disliked it with statements such as, “The Super Mario Bros Movie is a frantic Easter egg hunt of a film that does the bare minimum to please its loyal existing fanbase.” Screen rant stayed faithful to its name and mainly ranted about the movie. Some critics thought it was just fine and that we shouldn’t have expected much. But at the end of the day, 95% of viewers, myself included, who are just thinking about entertainment, seemed to really have enjoyed it.
When some critics think that a movie, which should be about entertaining an audience, should have specific messages, narratives, or ways of looking at the world, that’s when the larger discrepancies between critics and the general viewing population tend to arise.
Another movie hit by the same discrepancy phenomenon was the Sound of Freedom. Admittedly, I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve heard from many people that it was great as it highlights a serious issue (child trafficking) and does it in an entertaining and impactful way. But because, apparently, it was too political and took a stand in the culture wars, critics didn’t seem as impressed as the general audience.
Many people, myself included, really liked Big George Foreman—a great movie displaying resilience and a redemptive story arc. But it seems like the movie’s subtle religious connotations, unpopular among today’s movie critics, didn’t earn it stellar critic reviews, even though the audience gave it a 96% positive score.
One of my favorite movies, Sing 2, also suffered the same fate. It was an enjoyable movie, both because it provided a memorable bonding time with my kids but also because the movie accomplishes what it needs to by entertaining the audience with a good story and, in this case, good music. And for my own personal taste, I was inspired by the added element of an entrepreneur trying to “make it” and be successful, which has the flavor of the American Dream. But again, the audience was significantly more entertained than the critics, even though the critics weren’t entirely heartless.
There are other examples of this same discrepancy phenomenon: Emilia Perez actress Zoe Zaldana—whom I really like as an actor—just won an Oscar for best supporting actress, but the audience was clearly not as entertained as the critics and the Academy.
There are many other fun examples of this phenomenon, which I include at the end of the article. And here is a good thread by someone else who seemed to be thinking along the same lines and compiled a whole list of examples.
But what do movies have to do with this Substack? What is the Rotten Tomatoes review of the American Dream? Well, first of all, a movie I’m looking forward to watching is called The Brutalist, which apparently is all about the American Dream, but from the trailer, it seems to present a more negative view of the American Dream. And, low and behold, it has a better Tomatometer ranking than the actual audience score of the Popcornmeter. I still need to see it and form my own opinion, but I’m definitely going into it with a different set of eyeglasses already, of thinking that what the critics like is that it is very critical of the American Dream and it might be trying to make a political statement. We’ll see
If the movie ends up being as critical of the dream, the high critic score tracks with how it now seems to be a national hobby of the elites to hate on the American Dream. We see it even with the change in Captain America. Rotten Tomatoes is about movie critics, but in discussions about the American Dream, the critics are the elites who dominate journalism, politics, and policy. And related to this cohort, the American Dream has a “rotten tomatoes” problem. In this sphere, we see many negative reviews or narratives about the American Dream. NYT journalist David Leonhardt recently published a book called Ours Was the Shining Future with a dismal view of the American Dream, which he reinforced in a debate last year with the Free Press. There is certainly much coverage on the topic from other media outlets like The Guardian, Newsweek, and even the Wall Street Journal. Economists like Raj Chetty also highlight the decline of the American Dream in their own research—in this case, declining figures on income mobility. We certainly see it from the political class where the American Dream is weaponized negatively to spark rage and motivate their base by offering to be saviors of the Dream. That is the case of Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris but was also the case of President Trump, even if as president he now says the American Dream is alive and well.
But instead of that polarization, we should see the American Dream as a potential positive unifying narrative on both sides of the aisle. As opposed to the biased critics, we should analyze the “audience score” on the American Dream. In that sense, the audience is far more positive about the American Dream than the critics portray. There are certainly challenges, and there are barriers to the American Dream and to income mobility that need to be removed to enable more opportunities to increase upward mobility, but when you directly ask people what they think about the American Dream, for the vast majority of them, it’s alive and well.
When asking people directly if they think they have either achieved or are on their way to achieving the American Dream or if it’s out of reach, two out of three Americans report being positive about it. Only 32% say it’s out of reach.
Archbridge Institute American Dream Snapshot, 2024
And even if some people are more negative about other people’s opportunities to achieve the American Dream (outside of their own chances), they still think most Americans believe in the Dream and that it could be a unifying cultural narrative.
Archbridge Institute American Dream Snapshot, 2024
And lastly, when asked if they think they have the same, more, or fewer opportunities than their parents, the majority of people say that they have more or about the same opportunities.
Archbridge Institute American Dream Snapshot, 2024
Asked if their children will have more opportunities than they have, people were still mostly positive.
Archbridge Institute American Dream Snapshot, 2024
There are many barriers to the American Dream, and in and of itself, the Dream is about overcoming barriers. But we can see that the “audience score” on the American Dream is more positive than the critics would have us think.
So what to do about it? Should we care more about the critic score or the audience score on the American Dream? Just as there is a purpose for movies (to entertain), there is a purpose for the American Dream. If people are entertained watching a movie, the purpose of the movie has been achieved, whatever the genre. And in the case of the American Dream, its purpose is to remind you that you are the main actor of your own life, and you should pursue your goals and live life to your full potential, achieving your best human flourishing.
In many case people will achieve their American Dream; while some others may give up. But the pursuit of the American Dream is the score itself; it’s what the United States has been all about since the beginning: the pursuit of happiness.
Other Examples of the Rotten Tomatoes Phenomenon