History Main / CriticalDissonance

* ''ComicBook/America2017'' is the best example of this in the already contentious All-New Marvel lineup. Critics adored the series for starring a lesbian person of color, America Chavez, as its main character; readers instead considered it one of the worst series in the lineup, criticizing it as poorly written with an UnintentionallyUnsympathetic main character, {{narm}}y dialogue[[note]]Does "Holy Menstration!" ring a bell?[[/note]], nonsensical plot decisions[[note]]in the first issue, America breaks up with her longtime girlfriend because she doesn't want to join her in moving for college -- even though America's primary superpower is ''teleporting''[[/note]] and hamfisted political viewpoint pushing[[note]]in particular, the constant reminders that America is a lesbian Latina grated on many readers[[/note]]. On Comic Book Roundup, its lowest Critics rating from the first 10 issues is a 6.9; in contrast, its ''highest'' User rating from that same period is only 3.7. The most telling aspect of dissonance? Entertainment Weekly named America Superhero of the Year because of her solo; the next day, her book was revealed to have been cancelled, likely due to its ''abysmal'' sales.

* The WWE often uses this as a justification for pushing [[BaseBreakingCharacter Base Breaking Wrestlers]] or [[CreatorsPet Creator's Pets]] like Wrestling/JohnCena and Wrestling/RomanReigns. Claiming that only a handful of "Internet Fans" dislike them, even when half or an entire arena boos them out of the building and ratings continue to fall. What defines an "Internet Fan" vs a "Casual Fan" is often [[NoTrueScotsman whatever the WWE wants to define it as.]] While it has been said that Roman Reigns is a top merch-seller, this claim has never been verified beyond hearsay. Roman Reigns in particular had XPacHeat so bad that Website/TheOtherWiki [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_and_reception_of_Roman_Reigns has an article on the matter]]. It took the WWE pulling back Cena's CreatorsPet status and giving Roman Reigns a FaceHeelTurn (Which they had claimed for years that "Only a few 'internet fans' want") for either man to start getting respected for their genuine talent.

Critics may look down on a [[ItsPopularNowItSucks popular work]] on principle, denouncing it as LowestCommonDenominator garbage that’s all flash and no substance. Critics tend to favor serious drama and disdain genre works (horror) and lighter works. Conversely, the public may see a work beloved by the critics as boring, [[TrueArtIsAngsty angsty]], and [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible pretentious]] drivel engineered solely to [[OscarBait win awards]] from [[StrawCritic equally boring, angsty, and pretentious Academy members]]. Other divides could result from critics putting greater emphasis on [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical the politics some media are perceived to be pushing]] rather than the merits of the media itself (or, inversely, a work's political angle being largely looked past by critics while serving as a BerserkButton for the opposite-leaning fanbase).

** There's also Wrestling/SheltonBenjamin. Like Malenko he's brilliant in-ring worker with a strong pedigree (he was a two-time NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of Minnesota and was college roommates with Wrestling/BrockLesnar) who everyone can agree puts on great matches, but like Malenko he's not particularly charismatic, can't a promo to save his life, and has ever really connected with the crowd. He's spent most of his career in a tag team or as part of a stable and has never really received a serious singles push.

** Korean luxury cars like the Hyundai Equus and the Kia K900[[note]]Hyundai owns Kia[[/note]] were loved by loved by journalists and completely ignored by North American buyers (case in point, the K900 moved only ''500 units a year''). Hyundai hasn't given up, launching the Genesis luxury brand in 2017, which has gained a little more traction.

** Korean luxury cars like the Hyundai Equus and the Kia K900[[note]]Hyundai owns Kia[[/note]] were loved by loved by journalists and completely ignored by North American buyers (case in point, the K900 moved only ''500'' units a year). Hyundai hasn't given up, launching the Genesis luxury brand in 2017, which has gained a little more traction.

** Sid's polar opposite would probably be Wrestling/DeanMalenko. Considered one of the best technical wrestlers in the world (if not ''the'' best) by smarks and ragsheets, to the point that he was #1 in the 1997 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' "PWI 500" when no one really did well enough in kayfabe to earn the top spot[[note]]The WWF title was a bit of a mess during the grading period (in this case from August 1996 to July 1997) due to injuries, "injuries", titles being relinquished, and contract holdouts. Wrestling/SteveAustin was the highest ranked WWF wrestler at #3 despite never even holding the title, on the other channel Wrestling/HulkHogan held the WCW title for nearly that entire year but because he was basically on the Wrestling/BrockLesnar schedule he fell to ''55th'' because his output was so low, and the few matches he did have almost always involved a fuck finish. Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa of Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling was #2 for those curious, and Wrestling/{{Tazz}} was the top ranked Wrestling/{{ECW}} wrestler at #11[[/note]] and ''PWI'' awarded it to who they called the best wrestler. Outside of one program with Wrestling/ChrisJericho (which can totally be credited to Jericho's usual stellar work as a heel) crowds never really gave a shit unless the rest of the Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen were standing next to him. Wrestling/KevinNash got torn apart for calling The Radicals (Malenko, Wrestling/EddieGuerrero, Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, and Wrestling/PerrySaturn) "vanilla midgets" after they fled [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} up north]], but with Dean he might have had a point.

** Sid's polar opposite would probably be Wrestling/DeanMalenko. Considered one of the best technical wrestlers in the world (if not ''the'' best) by smarks and ragsheets, to the point that he was #1 in the 1997 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' "PWI 500" when no one really did well enough in kayfabe to earn the top spot[[note]]The WWF title was a bit of a mess during the grading period (in this case from August 1996 to July 1997) due to injuries, "injuries", titles being relinquished, and contract holdouts. Wrestling/SteveAustin was the highest ranked WWF wrestler at #3 despite never even holding the title, on the other channel Wrestling/HulkHogan held the WCW title for nearly that entire year but because he was basically on the Wrestling/BrockLesnar schedule he fell to ''55th'' because his output was so low. Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa of Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling was #2 for those curious, and Wrestling/{{Tazz}} was the top ranked Wrestling/{{ECW}} wrestler at #11[[/note]] and ''PWI'' awarded it to who they called the best wrestler. Outside of one program with Wrestling/ChrisJericho (which can totally be credited to Jericho's usual stellar work as a heel) crowds never really gave a shit unless the rest of the Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen were standing next to him. Wrestling/KevinNash got torn apart for calling The Radicals (Malenko, Wrestling/EddieGuerrero, Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, and Wrestling/PerrySaturn) "vanilla midgets" after they fled [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} up north]], but with Dean he might have had a point.

* One review of ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'''s [[OlderThanSteam premiere]] described it as “a mawkish melodrama which, [[ItWillNeverCatchOn God willing, will see no second performance]].”

** Wrestling/{{Melina}} became massively over in 2008 after a HeelFaceTurn and was praised for being one of the better workers of that era. However, she's a BaseBreakingCharacter within the wrestling community, mostly stemming from her reputation for being obnoxious in the locker room during her early years in the company.

* In one ''Blog/TheComicsCurmudgeon'' post, Josh went on [[https://joshreads.com/2016/06/sorry-meant-father-john-darling/ a tangent]] about ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' and ''Series/MadMen'', pointing out that ''NCIS'' has ''ten times'' the viewership of the critically-acclaimed series, and TV critics don't even acknowledge it exists.

-> '''J. Eric Smith''': In the other contests, I was generally surprised where I came out, and the process made me think differently about certain records and bands as I went. I can’t see the process of comparing and contrasting these records in great detail changing anything I feel right now . . . since, to my mind, the very clear winner of the most-over-rated record title on that list of 64 albums (in terms of critical praise divided by musical quality) is [[spoiler: ''{{Music/Horses}}'' by Music/PattiSmith.]] [[TakeThat I find that record to be just flat out bad]], no matter what my critical breathren and sistren have to say about it. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Flat. Out. Bad.]]

* The ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' Saga gets a mention here too. Successful as it was (in its target market, at least), many readers still avoid it like the plague years after the fad ended. What’s funny is that ''Twilight''’s original target demographic has by now outgrown the books themselves.

* Among casual manga/anime fans and the general public, ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' is [[CashCowFranchise a merchandising juggernaut]] with a massive and rabid fanbase. On the critical side of things and amongst more core and hardcore circles, [[SoOkayItsAverage it’s generally treated as a fairly average]] and generic {{Shounen}} action series at best, and overrated and over-exposed at worst. Though late into the series, said fans have started to agree more with critics and the serious circles, particularly when filler comes into play.

Some media are less affected by this than others. Since {{comedy}} relies on what an individual finds funny, this is the genre of movie most likely to spur on Critical Dissonance. One critic may find a movie hilarious while another finds it tacky. Switch out comedy for the {{horror}} genre and you get [[SciFiGhetto the same polarizing results]]. Niche media may particularly suffer this because some or all of the critics assigned to review it aren’t members of its target demographic or [[SmallReferencePools don’t even have a basic knowledge of the genre]]. To look at it another way, if the business model involves an audience who will actively seek it out, those people will be predisposed to enjoy it, whereas critics who see it out of professional necessity will not have that selection bias.

Telltale signs of Critical Dissonance include disagreement between a work’s revenue and its reviews, simultaneous nominations for both ‘best X’ and ‘worst Y’ awards (bonus points if X=Y), and angry comments on those review sites that have them. Note that both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic ''user'' scores should never be used to evaluate whether something falls under this trope since its voting system is extremely susceptible to manipulation.

Critical Dissonance is polar opposition of public to critical opinion. Critics might love a certain work while general audiences shun it, or vice versa.

Critics may look down on a [[ItsPopularNowItSucks popular work]] on principle, denouncing it as LowestCommonDenominator garbage that’s all flash and no substance. Critics tend to favor serious drama and disdain genre works (horror) and lighter works. Conversely, the public may see a work beloved by the critics as boring, [[TrueArtIsAngsty angsty]] and [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible pretentious]] drivel engineered solely to [[OscarBait win awards]] from [[StrawCritic equally boring, angsty and pretentious Academy members]]. Other divides have been forming involving some critics putting greater emphasis on [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical the politics some media are perceived to be pushing]] rather than the merits of the media itself (or, inversely, a work's political angle being largely looked past by critics while serving as a BerserkButton for the opposite-leaning fanbase).

Sometimes later opinions can match, and then we have VindicatedByHistory (or CondemnedByHistory, as the case may be), but not always.

Some media are less affected by this than others. Since {{comedy}} relies on what an individual finds funny, this is the genre of movie most likely to spur on Critical Dissonance. One critic may find a movie hilarious while another finds it tacky. Switch out comedy for the {{horror}} genre and you get [[SciFiGhetto the same polarizing results]]. Art — all kinds, not just abstract — is notoriously subject to this. And architects get hit with it all the time.

In general, this trope has historically been uncommon with video games, partly due to the [[ReviewsAreTheGospel far greater reliance on reviews]] among gamers, and partly because the technical side (gameplay, graphics, etc.) tends to carry more weight with games than with books or TV. Additionally, good gameplay (at least in terms of, say, lacking glitches) is much more black-and-white than a what counts as a good story, writing, or acting. However, video-game journalism is ''[[FourPointScale infamous]]'' for its frightening degree of corruption, to the point where reviewers who don’t sufficiently praise games that buy enough advertising space on their stomping grounds tend to get fired pretty quickly. When Critical Dissonance does occur with games, it is more often than not because gamers thought that the critics had been overly kind (like the FourPointScale), or had even been paid upfront by the publishers as part of an advertising and/or first-look article special.

Niche media may particularly suffer this because some or all of the critics assigned to review it aren’t members of its target demographic, or [[SmallReferencePools don’t even have a basic knowledge of the genre]]. To look at it another way, if the business model involves an audience who will actively seek it out, those people will be predisposed to enjoy it, whereas critics who see it out of professional necessity will not have that selection bias.

Another factor is that critics tend to watch ''a ton'' of movies, understandable given that it's their job. However, it can lead to something that seems fresh to viewers who aren't too familiar with similar works getting panned by critics [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny who've seen that kind of thing]] [[ClicheStorm a million times already]].

That the main differences between the average audience viewer and the average critic are vocabulary, sometimes ego, and employment in the field of journalism, that is what makes the large contrast between viewpoints either fascinating or predictable, depending on your degree of cynicism.

See also CriticalBacklash, CriticProof, BiasSteamroller, ItsPopularNowItSucks, OpinionMyopia, and OscarBait. Could overlap with PopCultureIsolation and AcclaimedFlop. Critical Dissonance is often a driving factor behind shows and works being consigned to the ComedyGhetto. Contrast with CultClassic where a work tends to have neither critical acclaim nor general popularity, but is enjoyed by a few die-hard fans. Possibly the cause of MainstreamObscurity. And sometimes a movie may have a terrible story but people want to see [[JustHereForGodzilla the giant monsters and/or robots kickin each other's asses.]]

** [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} The anime series]] is often criticized for its StrictlyFormula nature ever since Creator/TakeshiShudo left, as well as [[NotAllowedToGrowUp refusing to age the characters with each passing year]]. Yet, despite the decline in popularity it experienced in the Johto series, it still maintains high ratings in both Japan and the U.S. and has a large and devoted fanbase.

** Wrestling/KevinNash was one of the most hated wrestlers among critics and internet fans, due to his backstage politicking and lack of effort in the ring. But was insanely over in the 1990s and nearly always gets good reactions when he appears on TV these days. The reaction has mellowed somewhat over time with Nash's post wrestling comments and shoots.
** And then there's [[Wrestling/SidEudy Sid]], who was hated by wrestling critics and many smarks for his lack of technical ability, unintelligible promos, his tendency to quit and go play softball in the middle of angles[[note]]This isn't a joke, Sid '''loves''' softball and it often took priority over his wrestling career[[/note]], and other unprofessional behavior (nearly stabbing Wrestling/ArnAnderson to death also didn't win him too many friends). Didn't stop the crowds that were actually in the arenas from going crazy for him, and when he managed to show up and do what he was told he usually drew decent money. Today the smart fan crowd tends to appreciate Sid a little more (he's often called the best "bad" wrestler) thanks to having the kind of size and over-the-top personality that is sorely lacking in current pro wrestling.

* All incarnations of ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' have been huge financial successes and run for years, but [[PeripheryHatedom many people outside the demographic]] consider them to be little more than either glorified card game commercials or [[{{Bowdlerize}} watered down garbage]]. Complaints include overreliance on gimmicks and Aesops.

* ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'' won the [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-05-12/yowamushi-pedal-the-seven-deadly-sins-win-39th-kodansha-manga-awards/.88088 Best Shōnen Manga at the 39th Kodansha Manga Awards]] and was [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-01-20/10-titles-nominated-for-7th-manga-taisho-awards nominated for the 2014 Manga Taishō award]] and [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-01-29/akira-katsuhiro-otomo-wins-angouleme-top-prize/.83854 Best Youth Comic at the 42nd Angoulême International Comics Festival in France]]. Amongst the manga community, ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' is one of the ''most hated'' shōnen series and experienced widespread derision since it ended.[[note]]Much of this has to with how most of the plot ended up being tied to romance, the uncomfortableness of Meliodas and Ban's relationships with Elizabeth and Elaine, the ridiculousness of the power-scaling, the anti-climactic final villain in the Demon King, and the finale's ArcFatigue.[[/note]] Not helping is the ''very shoddy'' anime adaptation of Season 3 and onwards by Creator/StudioDeen which became ridiculed by many for its poor, stiff animation and off-model art.

** Chipman [[http://screenrant.com/critics-superheroes-reviews-batman-superman/ returned to the subject]] after ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' came out to negative reviews but massive box-office, discussing how the idea of critics being out-of-touch with what the people want is a perennial concept that is as old as creative expression itself. He notes that, sometimes, time can [[VindicatedByHistory vindicate the masses]], using the ''[[Franchise/TheFastAndTheFurious Fast & the Furious]]'' films as an example; while critics previously dismissed them as dumb car chase flicks, they're now generally praised as one of the most progressive franchises in Hollywood and damn good action movies on top of it. In the case of superhero films, however, he feels that the idea of Critical Dissonance applying to the genre as a whole is mostly a fanboy myth, noting that critics' and fans' opinions have tended to line up more often than not -- critics have long been friendly to superhero movies that were actually good (like ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', and ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}''), while the ones they tend to dislike (such as ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'', ''Film/GreenLantern2011'', and ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'') were generally hated by fans and moviegoers as well.

* There's a dissonance between pet breeders and pet owners, especially when it comes to dogs and cats. This has been discussed in various documentaries and articles such as ''Pedigree Dogs Exposed'' and ''Adam Ruins Everything''. How professional breeders think dogs should look are not exactly what fans of the breed believe. For example, in America most Chihuahua are of the larger "deer-headed" type, and its the one seen in most media (such as the Taco Bell dog or the dog from the ''Legally Blonde'' films), but American Kennel Club ''only'' allows "apple-headed" Chihuahua and rejects the other variation. When it comes to cats, most Persian breeders around the world breed them to be very flat-faced but most people prefer the traditional, longer-muzzled face.

* Hummel figurines are collectors’ items for many people who see them as adorable little statues. Among people who fancy actual art, these statues are dismissed as nauseatingly bad taste.

** And then there's [[Wrestling/SidEudy Sid]], who was hated by wrestling critics and many smarks for his lack of technical ability, unintelligible promos, his tendency to quit and go play softball[[note]]This isn't a joke, Sid '''loves''' softball and it often took priority over his wrestling career[[/note]] in the middle of angles, and other unprofessional behavior (nearly stabbing Wrestling/ArnAnderson to death also didn't win him too many friends). Didn't stop the crowds that were actually in the arenas from going crazy for him, and when he managed to show up and do what he was told he usually drew decent money. Today the smart fan crowd tends to appreciate Sid a little more (he's often called the best "bad" wrestler) thanks to having the kind of size and over-the-top personality that is sorely lacking in current pro wrestling.

** Chipman [[http://screenrant.com/critics-superheroes-reviews-batman-superman/ returned to the subject]] after ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' came out to negative reviews but massive box-office, discussing how the idea of critics being out-of-touch with what the people want is a perennial concept that is as old as creative expression itself. He notes that, sometimes, time can [[VindicatedByHistory vindicate the masses]], using the ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Fast & the Furious]]'' films as an example; while critics previously dismissed them as dumb car chase flicks, they're now generally praised as one of the most progressive franchises in Hollywood and damn good action movies on top of it. In the case of superhero films, however, he feels that the idea of Critical Dissonance applying to the genre as a whole is mostly a fanboy myth, noting that critics' and fans' opinions have tended to line up more often than not -- critics have long been friendly to superhero movies that were actually good (like ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', and ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}''), while the ones they tend to dislike (such as ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'', ''Film/GreenLantern2011'', and ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'') were generally hated by fans and moviegoers as well.

* Despite being the biggest licensed board game in the world, ''TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}}'' is almost universally maligned by tabletop gaming enthusiasts due to its emphasis on luck, player elimination, and the tendency of one player to gain a clear early lead with little chance of anyone else catching up.

** And then there's [[Wrestling/SidEudy Sid]], who was hated by wrestling critics and many smarks for his lack of technical ability, unintelligible promos, and his tendency to quit and go play softball[[note]]This isn't a joke, Sid '''loves''' softball and it often took priority over his wrestling career[[/note]] in the middle of angles, and other unprofessional behavior (nearly stabbing Wrestling/ArnAnderson to death also didn't win him too many friends). Didn't stop the crowds that were actually in the arenas from going crazy for him, and when he managed to show up and do what he was told he usually drew decent money. Today the smart fan crowd tends to appreciate Sid a little more (he's often called the best "bad" wrestler) thanks to having the kind of size and over-the-top personality that is sorely lacking in current pro wrestling.