Remember the Blake Edwards film 10 starring Bo Derek and her braids?It was the first time I had thought about rating people by number.Of course, I was used to being graded and by 1979 I had graded a considerable number of student papers. But it seemed dehumanizing to "rate" a person from 1 to 10.
Now rating is inescapable. Siskel and Ebert reduced movie rating to thumbs up and thumbs down. Most newspapers along with Netflix have adopted the five star rating system for films. Books are rated on amazon and goodreads as well as other sites. Universities are rated and some have engaged in nefarious practices to boost their numbers for publicity.In Minnesota our public schools are judged by the results of the Minnesota standardized test scores with financial consequences for a sub-par rating. Your doctor probably has a numerical rating as do professors and professionals on Angie's List.David Letterman's wildly popular top ten list begun in 1985 reflected the zeitgeist of the times and the silliness of some of these lists.
Wednesday night I attended a story slam entitled The Moth sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio. Amateur storytellers dare to come onstage in front of a live audience and let loose with a story, All were riveting and most revealed the storyteller at a vulnerable moment but none faltered in the telling. The emcee encouraged clapping and positive shout-outs. And then the numbers appeared. Each story was scored by a team on a scale of 1-10 allowing for fractions like 9.2, Could the audience have enjoyed the stories minus the number ?
I am not immune from checking a rating on Consumer Reports or giving my Netflix choices or books on goodreads a numerical score, but I really appreciate a well-written critique.To all the film critics and book critics who continue to think carefully about their subject and opine with elegance, thank-you. Rochester Community and Technical College had a rating combined with comment system that provided very good feedback.I appreciate the feedback Leslie and I hear usually hear at book groups and presentations.People are thoughtful. Their remarks enlighten us and their stories engage us.
Earlier this month I was confronted by the curtness of the 1-10 scale. I was a guest at a book group whose standard operating procedure was to rank the book up for discussion on a 1-10 scale.After a quick introduction, the leader announced they would commence their rating. She began with her own number. One of the participants was aghast—"Are we doing this with the author right in front of us?"
Good question.I think of myself as thick-skinned and I usually welcome criticism because it helps me understand how the reader understands our book.But I was too stunned to summon a response.I knew if Leslie had been there, she would have immediately known what to say.Thank-you to the book group member who objected. The ratings proceeded despite the one member's objection. Although the subsequent discussion was lively and provocative, it didn't illuminate the individual ratings.
This hasn't diminished by enthusiasm for book group appearances.But a morsel of advice to book groups who invite authors.Please invite us for a discussion or question and answer session but ditch the ratings when authors come to visit.