MovieChat Forums > Selma (2015) Discussion > Why did you give "Selma" a rating of 1?

Why did you give "Selma" a rating of 1?

posted 10 years ago by Red-125
196 replies | jump to latest

"Selma" is carrying an excellent overall IMDb rating of 7.7. Sixty-eight percent of people rated it 8, 9, or 10. However, a significant minority--almost 9%--of people who voted gave it a rating on 1. As I write this, that's 424 people who believe that this was a truly terrible movie. OK--we all have the right to our opinion. However, I'm curious about this.

My question to those 424 people is, "Why did you give this movie at rating of 1?" Simple question, and I'll leave it at that. Sincerely, Red-125

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] le_papillon 10 years ago

Here's some reasons:

More liberal white guilt enabling of poor behavior.
Fat racist pig Oprah's involved.
The song Glory from the film ties selma to ferguson. Stay classy, thugs.
And finally, because I'm sick of blacks and liberals looking to the past for excuses rather than focus on improving themselves. Until that happens, the blacks will never improve the hell that they've made for themselves in cities like detroit, selma, and ferguson.

OP, this is the only response you'll ever need. Read through this sheer idiocy and realize that those giving a rating of 1 to this film are the same racist pieces of garbage who think the shooting of unarmed black youngsters is justified because they're "thugs", that racism doesn't exist and that those who are protesting for their rights are "looking for excuses". What utter nonsense. People like this are what's wrong with the world.

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[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] vettelover68 10 years ago

This movie had great acting and an amazing story. What ruined the movie for me was the editing and cinematography. There was no rhythm and no geography. It's like the movie was shot in two different styles and then meshed together by accident. Terrible framing, jumping the line constantly, and a general lack of any motivation for the creative decisions. This unfortunately distracted me constantly and took me out of the movie. It is a shame too because this kind of story and acting prowess deserved better.

[–] Red-125 10 years ago

Dear vettelover, Thank you for this informative post. I was so caught up in the story, and so horrified by the brutality, that I didn't catch the problems that you defined. I agree with you about the acting prowess. Red-125

[–] anonanon56491 10 years ago

because to release this movie right after the ferguson protesters burned down a city and screamed "kill white people" is disgusting. It's like making a movie about terrorists crashing planes into buildings 3 months after 9/11

Had the ferguson protesters never happened this would have been a great movie.

[–] Red-125 10 years ago

Dear Anon, Thanks for writing. Many people screamed many things in Ferguson, but it was the black man that was dead. Also, of course, "Selma" was made well before the Ferguson killing, and it was about an historical event. I really don't think its release should have delayed. In fact, I think it was timelier than ever. Red-125

[–] contractorjohn2003 10 years ago

It was the black man who commited strong armed robbery and assaulted a cop. Go die now, lying disgusting piece of *beep*

[–] cian_jm 10 years ago

assaulted a cop

[Citation Needed]

[–] cian_jm 10 years ago

Well you might be pleased to learn that the percentage of 1s has dropped to around 5% as of now. Bear in mind that it's pretty typical on IMDB for films to get more 1/10 votes than they could possibly deserve due to trolls and just regular IMDB idiocy. Any particularly successful or acclaimed film will typically get around 1-2.5% of their votes being 1s.

Films that are somewhat politically charged will get more though. American Sniper had higher than usual 1s too for this reason. In the case of Selma, the fact is that it will make a lot of people very uncomfortable, especially racist white people who don't have to hide their true feelings on the internet like they would in real life. There are still a portion of Americans who will see this as on them and their race or who just hate the fact that black people might be sympathised with. The attitudes of people like the governor or sheriff in the film are greatly reduced from what they were like in '65 but they aren't gone by any means.

Some people in this thread have complained about some aspects of the film-making and those are valid complaints because the film isn't perfect, but they don't warrant rating it 1/10. 1/10 is a rating for the likes of Birdemic or The Room. Complete train wrecks that barely even resemble films and Selma was not that. It got its 1s for being about race, which is still a touchy topic, not just amongst blacks but, seemingly increasingly, amongst whites too.

[–] Red-125 10 years ago

Dear cian_jm, Thanks for writing. I think you've summarized the situation very well. My compliments. Red-125

[–] JurijFedorov 10 years ago

Great post. I think you are 100% correct in your assumptions.

[–] bmw9521 10 years ago

I can't speak for others, but I thought it was an amazing film. I gave it a 10. I think I gave out 2 or 3 10's for 2014. One of the films wasn't nominated for Best Picture. A lot of good movies in 2014.

[–] Red-125 10 years ago

Dear bmw9521, Thanks for writing. I also thought it was an amazing film. That's why I was so surprised at how many people gave it a "1," meaning it was awful. Another person wrote on this thread that the percentage of people who gave the film a rating of "1" had dropped down to five percent. That still seems high to me. However, if you follow the entire thread you'll see some bigotry, and also some weird stuff, like giving the film a "1" without seeing it. Incidentally, someone wrote that giving a film a "10" means it's perfect. That's not how IMDb defines it. A "10" means it's a great film. Red-125

[–] LeTsGoToTheMoVieS26 10 years ago

hey Red-125 thank you for acknowledging people after they post.!
i gave this movie a 8.5. I thought David portrayed MLK very well and Tom Wilkinson as LBJ was really good too. Oprah had a good small role and Lorraine was also good as Amelia.

[–] Red-125 10 years ago

Dear LeTsGo, I always try to thank people who respond to a question. It's common courtesy outside the web. However, common courtesy inside the web is often another matter. I also thought Selma was very good. After I wrote the review, I've been to the Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, NC. The bravery of the people who fought for basic human rights--in Greensboro, in Selma, and everywhere else--astonishes me. I thought the movie captured that. Sincerely, Red-125

[–] Red-125 10 years ago

Dear LeTsGo, I'm not sure if I replied to your positive response or not. (Sometimes IMDb notifies me of a new post, sometimes not.) I appreciate a thoughtful answer like yours. Some answers are from bigots, and some are strange. ("I haven't seen the movie, so that's why I gave it a 1.") Someone else just pointed out that almost 1,000 people have voted 1. However, the percentage is down to about half of what it was. I agree with your comments about the actors. Red-125

[–] MisterKorman 10 years ago

I didn't give it a 1, I gave it a 9, but I'm just going to guess. I'm sure that some people didn't care for the cast, I've heard criticisms on the directing, and some people might have a problem with apparent historical inaccuracies.
I loved the film, but one of the things that kept it from being a 10 for me was the godawful song in the credits.

[–] Red-125 10 years ago

Dear tob, Thanks for writing. I just sent a letter to another writing saying, basically, that I was really interested in the people who gave it a 1. As I collected responses, I found that about 1/3 had concerns about the portrayal of LBJ, about 1/3 were bigots, and about 1/3 said strange things such as, "I didn't see it, but I gave it a 1." Sincerely, Red-125

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Red-125 10 years ago

Dear justie, Thanks for writing. I'd be interested in what you decide after you've seen the movie. Red-125

[–] Bree_33 10 years ago

A perfect 7 to me.

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[–] Red-125 10 years ago

Dear Bree,

Thanks for writing. Some thought it was a 7, some 8, some 9, some 10. I was trying to understand why people would give it a 1, meaning it was awful. As far as I can tell, about 1/3 had legitimate concerns about the portrayal of LBJ, about 1/3 were bigots, and about 1/3 gave strange responses, such as "I didn't see it, but I gave it a 1." Red-125