Star Ratings - do we love/hate/need them? Five-star debate here! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
6/11/202638 min
Star Ratings are now ubiquitous and inescapable and it’s not just music, films and books. Everything we encounter tends to be rated which colours our judgement before we try it. Choice can be paralyzing but do we read anymore or just count? Benji Wilson’s ‘Rate This Book: How Star Ratings Took Over the World’ traces their origin – back to 350 BC! – paints a picture of modern life and wonders here where we’re heading, along with …
… Aristotle’s 2,500 year-old system of star-rated animals
… how Michelin cooked up starred restaurants to get you to wear out your tyres
… can we spot fake reviews and the people who sell them?
… do we only tend to read one- and five-star reviews? And why writers hate the system
… the ingenious deceit of the Krays movie poster
… the value of reviews in a world where time and tickets costs are escalating
… “Star Ratings are the democratisation of criticism, the least-worst method”
… why a 2016 episode of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror now seems prophetic
… the “hidden hands” that manipulate the ratings system
… and mass Amazon ratings and the power of Mob Rule.
Order copies of ‘Rate This Book’ here: https://linktr.ee/newmodern_books#560826579
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsDavid Hepworth· Host0:01
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Speaker 20:44
[guitar music] You're listening to a podcast from The Word.
Benji Wilson· Guest1:00
Welcome to this. Star ratings have completely taken over the world. Everything these days is rated, which colors your attitude towards [laughs] it before you get involved, music and film and books and things you buy and, uh, places you visit, and even to some extent, people. How did we get here, and where's it all going? Benji Wilson has written a, a very clever and provocative book, uh, about it called, uh, Rate This Book, which we rate very highly. Benji, very nice to see you.
Mark Ellen· Host1:28
Good morning. Nice