A highly anticipated movie hits the theaters; yet, within hours of its release, the promising title finds itself drowning in a sea of negative online reviews, its reputation tarnished and its creators left bewildered and disheartened. How did this happen? Who are these faceless critics, armed with keyboards and anonymity, capable of wielding such power?
This phenomenon, called “review bombing,” represents the troubling behavior of social media users and their interaction with the media they consume. Review bombing can target movies, TV shows, video games or books and are often formed in semi-organized campaigns in internet circles. One notable example was the immediate onslaught of the 2019 movie “Captain Marvel” on the rating website Rotten Tomatoes. Thousands of users left negative reviews for the film before it was even released, indicating that this pushback was entirely separate from whether people liked the movie or not.
Of course, the underlying culture war politics behind review bombing campaigns cannot be ignored. “Captain Marvel” was the first female-led entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and was likely review-bombed for its perceived politics. More recently, the fourth season of the HBO series “True Detective” and Disney’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” have suffered similar online ratings influxes. “True Detective” was centered around the Iñupiat people of northern Alaska while the latter film cast Halle Bailey, a Black singer-actress, as the titular character — both depart from the franchises’ prior iterations. These are unfair criticisms and are emblematic of some peoples’ bigoted intolerance. Even more revealing is the demographics of the users on online review platforms. The user base of rating websites like IMDb is overwhelmingly male and, therefore, is not representative of the larger viewing public.
Well, what is the goal of review bombing? Perhaps it is to hurt the profitability of these projects and discourage prospective viewers or readers, but the success of this is questionable. “Captain Marvel” grossed more than a billion dollars at the box office, one of the highest-grossing films ever. The fourth season of “True Detective” was the most-viewed season of the show, surpassing even the beloved first season and was renewed for a fifth season. “The Little Mermaid” fared slightly worse but still broke even. All of these projects told important stories through important representation in media — online user reviews are not the only metric to gauge success or feedback.
Additionally, many people actively seek out content that they are likely to detest. “Hate watching” describes consuming media for the sole purpose of mocking or criticizing it later. For example, the Netflix show “Emily in Paris” has achieved high viewership even though many viewers seemingly hate watching the show.
Experts attribute these tendencies to the brain’s release of dopamine and serotonin when feeling negative emotions. Additionally, as conversations have moved from the “water cooler” to online, it has never been easier to find people who agree with these negative opinions; hate-watching has become a bonding experience.
Criticism akin to review bombing is contiguous to how people have acted in the past. In 1965 and 1966, Bob Dylan was famously treated to a cacophony of boos from fans for his purported betrayal of acoustic folk music in favor of rock ‘n’ roll. The next year, John Lennon’s controversial but offhand comment that the Beatles were “bigger than Jesus” was met by record burning across the southern United States. These examples are not all that different from the culture war debates of today.
Sure, celebrities and media have always been scrutinized. However, social media’s crack at it feels particularly inhumane. The internet has enabled a one-sided relationship between fans and the creators of media. Most people would not “review bomb” to peoples’ faces, but would online under the guise of an anonymous screen name, where no one has to confront moral repercussions.
Review bombing reveals the cruelty of social media users and the power they wield over the reputation of creative works. From movies to TV shows to books, no medium is immune to excessively negative reviews. Moreover, the prevalence of “hate-watching” and the reinforcement of negative opinions in online echo chambers highlight the complexities of human psychology in the digital age. As we navigate this landscape, it’s important to foster empathy, critical engagement and constructive dialogue, ensuring that creativity and expression can thrive amidst the challenges posed by social media’s undue influence. We must resist the temptation to participate in or condone such destructive behaviors, and instead champion a culture of respect, diversity and openness in our interactions with media and each other.
Hayden Buckfire is an Opinion Columnist who writes about American politics and culture. He can be reached at haybuck@umich.edu.