# Things that are considered "classics" but which you think are highly overrated **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 5, 2007, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276 "2007-11-05T10:51:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/21 "2007-11-05T18:31:09Z")
Gone with the Wind. It drags on way too long and the main protagonist is a horrible person with whom I could never sympathize. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/22 "2007-11-05T18:32:00Z")
Currently reading Who Murdered Chaucer : A Medieval Mystery by Terry Jones (and others). I’m going to have to go back and re-read the Tales when I’m done. Who knew they were so controvertial? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/23 "2007-11-05T18:32:17Z")
Another vote for _Citizen Kane_. Yes, Orson Welles did a great job considering his age and inexperience, but the best movie _ever_? Not even close. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/24 "2007-11-05T18:58:08Z")
[QUOTE=Yookeroo] Isn’t this like saying the Red Sox are champions only because they won the World Series? [/QUOTE] No, it would be like saying in 500 years that the Red Sox were the best team ever because we still had a record of their existence. That something’s been around a long time doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s well-written. Hell, the Bible has been around for thousands of years and parts of it are some of the most crap writing imagniable. So yeah, add The Bible (and probably most other sacred texts) to the “overrated” list. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/25 "2007-11-05T19:01:09Z")
Porshce 911: Stupid basic layout, overpriced, terrifying handling. ---
**Author:** ![Malvert\_P.Redd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Malvert\_P.Redd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malvert_P.Redd)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/26 "2007-11-05T19:04:56Z")
The movie _Giant._ Three and a half hour long worthless fuckin soap opera. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/27 "2007-11-05T19:08:59Z")
_The Sixth Sense_. Most overrated film _ever_. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/28 "2007-11-05T19:15:21Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] Whew. :eek: I was about to come in, guns blazing, and get myself banned for flaming you. Then I read it again and realized you were talking about _soccer_. Carry on. [/QUOTE] Well, I’ll say it. I think football is a completely stupid sport. A bunch of big burly guys who touch the ball all the goddamn time and have the balls to call it football. However I never voice this opinion in public! :eek: I agree with Gone with the Wind. I hate Rhett. I have problems with the books of LOTR too, though I generally like them. But they are way too long-winded. My own additions: Great Expectations. A shitty book in which nothing happens…and then some more nothing happens. Old Man and the Sea. WHY? The Maltese Falcon. Hated it! Prolly lots more, I’ll come back. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/29 "2007-11-05T19:18:38Z")
Most of what the Beatles put out. Jazz, pretty much all of it. ---
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/30 "2007-11-05T19:26:46Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] Godfather. Yeah, I said it. Overrated. Good movie, but it just rides the coat tails of this inherent need people have for the Mafia to be cool. [/QUOTE] That needed to be said. I found it to be decent, but I’m clueless over why it’s so popular. Mostly it’s just long. The Rolling Stones. I have never understood why people worship them so… they’re alright, but musically they’re pretty repetitive & uninteresting. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/31 "2007-11-05T19:28:33Z")
I’ve been a science fiction fan for most of my life, and I know that many SF fans are wild about the Russian film [Solaris](http://imdb.com/title/tt0069293/). I’ve tried to like this movie, but I just can’t. The first time I watched it I fell asleep, and the second time I watched it I wished I’d fallen asleep, because that might have been a more entertaining experience. The [remake](http://imdb.com/title/tt0307479/), which wasn’t great, seemed to me more enjoyable than the original film. I feel guilty about not liking _Solaris_, but I just don’t get into it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/32 "2007-11-05T19:35:52Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve been a science fiction fan for most of my life, and I know that many SF fans are wild about the Russian film Solaris. I’ve tried to like this movie, but I just can’t. > > The first time I watched it I fell asleep, and the second time I watched it I wished I’d fallen asleep, because that might have been a more entertaining experience. The remake, which wasn’t great, seemed to me more enjoyable than the original film. I feel guilty about not liking Solaris, but I just don’t get into it. I’ll second this, and add that I find Stanislas Lem annoying, and I’m not terrifically impressed by his book (which is still better than BOTH film versions) > [@](#): > > My own additions: > Great Expectations. A shitty book in which nothing happens…and then some more nothing happens. No – something actually does happen in GE. If you want to read a book in which nothing happens – but which takes painfully long not to happen, and in sentences that span entire pages, read Henry James. **The Beast in the Jungle**. Don’t be fooled by the title. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/33 "2007-11-05T19:39:44Z")
[QUOTE=Lochdale] Most of what the Beatles put out. [/QUOTE] I opened this thread specifically to give that answer. Good to find a kindred spirit! ---
**Author:** ![Cemetery\_Savior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Cemetery\_Savior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cemetery_Savior)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/34 "2007-11-05T19:45:32Z")
OK, I’ll paint myself as an idiot to those in academia and LitCrit, but I think \*Finnegan’s Wake \* is overrated. I’m an educated guy…I’ve read (and enjoyed!) _Ulysses_, and I take pride in my ability to solve wordplay and be amused by it, but I can’t get past page 25 of this friggin’ book. The worst part is that, the older it gets, the puns will have less relevance, become more obtuse, and people will claim it as an eternal darling of literature. _Jane Eyre_. I was assigned this book three different times in school (middle school, High School, and university), and I have never made it past page 90 r so without passing out from boredom. Yuk. _Radiohead_. Can’t get my ears around why this is supposed to be the pinnacle of recent music. Whiny to the extreme! _Aerosmith_ also are tedious and shlocky. I’m sure there are more. I’ll get there. -Cem ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/35 "2007-11-05T19:48:01Z")
[QUOTE=nevermore] The Rolling Stones. I have never understood why people worship them so… they’re alright, but musically they’re pretty repetitive & uninteresting. [/QUOTE] For each decade starting with the 50’s there’s one artist who has a couple decent songs due to such overwhelming musical output that no one can miss hearing their few decent songs: 50’s: Elvis 60’s: Rolling Stones 70’s: Aerosmith 80’s: U2 90’s: Pearl Jam In the 2000’s no one artist is overplayed enough over a significant amount of time to build up this has-a-couple-good-songs-by-throwing-darts-at-a-tapedeck reputation in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/36 "2007-11-05T19:50:01Z")
[QUOTE=Illuminatiprimus] the protagonist is an ass [/QUOTE] > [@dmatsch](#): > > The protagonist is a self-absorbed ass > [@Miller](#): > > He’s a didactic ass I’m noticing a pattern 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/37 "2007-11-05T19:57:41Z")
I must have missed the meeting where it was decided that Aerosmith were anything other than schlocky trash. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/38 "2007-11-05T20:00:25Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] I must have missed the meeting where it was decided that Aerosmith were anything other than schlocky trash. [/QUOTE] Well, if it’s overplayed and it’s not good, chances are it’s overrated by _someone_, if only program managers. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/39 "2007-11-05T20:04:16Z")
There’s a difference between things that we think are highly overrated and things that we think are crap, by the way. I myself am guilty of conflating the two. Some of the things in this thread are good, but not wonderful. Serenity was the biggest one in this category for me. After two years or whatever of hearing Firefly and Serenity fans rave about it and tell me how it was the greatest sci-fi flick ever I finally gave in and watched it. It was good, but I found it didn’t really do a great job of translating to someone who had never watched Firefly wht the flaming f&\*# it was all about. I think the Beatles put out good, light, entertaining music that appeals to the masses. I am one of the masses. I don’t think they’re worthy of the acclaim they get, but they’re not bad. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276/40 "2007-11-05T20:10:40Z")
Most classic sitcoms are completely dull if you’ve never built any nostalgic attachment to them. “Cheers”, “Murphy Brown”, “M.A.S.H.”, “Brady Bunch”, “Bewitched”, “Good Times”, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”… Yeah, there are a handful of true classics - “I Love Lucy”, “All in the Family”, and some episodes of “Leave it to Beaver” are still watchable, but most of the even most remembered are still completely throwaway (I think “Seinfeld” might stand the test of time, though). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-considered-classics-but-which-you-think-are-highly-overrated/425276.md?page=3)