Moral Rot: Why 'Rotten Tomatoes' Is Breeding a Generation of Critics Who Can't Think for Themselves
In an era where the aggregated score on Rotten Tomatoes can make or break a multi-million dollar film within hours of its release, we must ask ourselves: are we nurturing a society of thoughtful, discerning audiences, or are we breeding a generation of lazy consumers who outsource their critical thinking to a digital mob? The very concept of a "fresh" or "rotten" rating has morphed from a simple tool into a tyrannical arbiter of artistic value, stripping nuance from cultural discourse. When a masterpiece like *Mother!* was crucified with a "rotten" rating because it confused the masses, we witnessed the downfall of intellectual curiosity. We no longer engage with a film's themes, metaphors, or moral complexity—we simply check a score and move on. This is the spiritual decay of our age: a society that would rather be told what to hate than wrestle with the discomfort of a great, challenging work. The real rottenness isn't on the screen; it's in the hearts and minds of a populace that has surrendered its right to independent judgment to an algorithm.