Roger Ebert – Two Thumbs Up & effect on pop film culture| Statesmen

Being a movie buff you must have thought at some point, ”Who is the most renowned critic in cinema today.”  Atleast I had this question in my mind 2 years ago.  Researches lead me to the legendary Roger Ebert. I realized his influence on pop culture soon.

For example, if you are familiar with noted Indian Film Critic, Rajeev Masand, you must have noticed in his verdicts, “3 out of 5 and a thumbs up” or “3.5 out of 5 and two thumbs up” or “1 out of 5 and two thumbs down.”  Ever wondered where did this, thumbs up / thumbs down came into being? This is a direct reference to the show “Siskel and Ebert and The Movies”. In the show, Roger Ebert and his co-critic Gene Siskel used to give ratings in thumbs up or thumbs down. If both of them liked it was two thumbs up, If only one liked it was rated as one thumbs up.

Again if you have seen the show, Chicks on Flicks, they rate movies as double catch it or double trash it. This format is also directly from the show “Siskel and Ebert and The Movies”.

Interestingly, when the phrase started ‘Two thumbs up’ started becoming popular, Ebert and Siskel looked up literature history to see if this phrase was used before them. Sure enough, they realized they had coined the phrase . Two Thumbs Up® is a registered trademark of the show.

His contribution to cinema has been that more than reviewing big movies, he laid emphasis on small independent movies. He always brought to his show movies that he thought MUST be seen by movie buffs. Many Indie films have benefitted from his recommendations. Today’s generation of film directors and critics have grown up watching him and have been influenced by him. Therefore even as he does not have many film credits but by influence he has changed today’s cinema.

PS- I intended this piece to be an introduction of Roger Ebert. I may write more on him in later editions.

Written By- Ali Naqvi