# Taylor's Media Criticism System

Use these categories to rate media:

|       |           |                                                                                          |
| ----- | --------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| ☆☆☆☆☆ | feels     | How deeply did it make you feel?                                                         |
| ☆☆☆☆☆ | impact    | What did you learn about yourself and the universe?                                      |
| ☆☆☆☆☆ | structure | Was it structural? What symmetries did you observe? Does the layout itself say anything? |
| ☆☆☆☆☆ | density   | How dense was it? How many layers did you identify?                                      |
| ☆☆☆☆☆ | technique | How technical was the production? What efforts went into creating the work?              |

This system can apply to novels, films, academic articles, albums, theater,
screenplays, etc.

## Redefine 2/5

When you [eschew the new](/eschew-the-new), you consume mostly good media.
[Good art is commonplace.](/2-stars)

Use a scale that weights nuance towards masterpieces.

[Make 2/5 your "middle":](/2-stars)

|       |             |
| ----- | :---------- |
| ★★★★★ | Masterpiece |
| ★★★★☆ | Great       |
| ★★★☆☆ | Good        |
| ★★☆☆☆ | Fair        |
| ★☆☆☆☆ | Bad         |
| ☆☆☆☆☆ | Undecided   |

## Notable Examples

_I'll be updating this list periodically. Please
[email me](mailto:hello@taylor.town) if you have any suggestions._

<div id="examples">

|                                                                                | F   | I   | S   | D   | T   | total |
| :----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ----- |
| [Gödel Escher Bach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gödel,_Escher,_Bach)         | 3   | 5   | 5   | 5   | 5   | 23    |
| [Citizen Kane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Kane)                     | 4   | 5   | 3   | 4   | 5   | 21    |
| [Gurren Lagann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurren_Lagann)                   | 5   | 4   | 4   | 4   | 4   | 21    |
| [Breaking Bad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad)                     | 5   | 4   | 3   | 4   | 4   | 20    |
| [Good Bad Ugly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good,_the_Bad_and_the_Ugly)  | 4   | 4   | 3   | 4   | 5   | 20    |
| [Inside](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Burnham:_Inside)                     | 5   | 3   | 3   | 4   | 5   | 20    |
| [Arrested Development](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrested_Development)     | 4   | 2   | 3   | 5   | 5   | 20    |
| [Have One On Me](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_One_on_Me)                 | 5   | 3   | 3   | 4   | 5   | 20    |
| [The Good Earth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Earth)                 | 5   | 5   | 4   | 3   | 3   | 20    |
| [The Rehearsal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rehearsal_%28TV_series%29)   | 4   | 3   | 4   | 4   | 5   | 20    |
| [The Last Airbender](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar:_The_Last_Airbender) | 5   | 4   | 4   | 3   | 3   | 19    |
| [House of Leaves](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Leaves)               | 4   | 3   | 5   | 3   | 4   | 19    |
| [Jurassic Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park)                   | 4   | 3   | 2   | 3   | 5   | 17    |
| [If I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demetri_Martin)                           | 4   | 3   | 5   | 3   | 2   | 17    |
| [In And Of Itself](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_DelGaudio)              | 4   | 3   | 4   | 3   | 3   | 17    |
| [Funny Games](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funny_Games_%282007_film%29)       | 4   | 3   | 3   | 2   | 4   | 16    |
| [Pathologic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathologic)                         | 4   | 3   | 4   | 4   | 1   | 16    |
| [Star Wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars)                           | 5   | 1   | 4   | 2   | 4   | 16    |
| [Guns Germs Steel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel)       | 3   | 5   | 2   | 2   | 3   | 15    |
| [Only Revolutions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_Revolutions)             | 2   | 2   | 5   | 3   | 3   | 15    |
| [The Moth Joke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJN9mBRX3uo)                   | 4   | 2   | 4   | 2   | 4   | 14    |
| [Primer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_%28film%29)                      | 2   | 3   | 4   | 4   | 1   | 14    |
| [Tim's Vermeer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim%27s_Vermeer)                 | 3   | 4   | 2   | 2   | 2   | 13    |

<div>