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About This Site

This portion of SullivanRadley.com is dedicated to research and hopefully is not entirely biased opinion. In fact, over time, I hope to thoroughly implement scientific method [W], so as to achieve objectivity about the subjects dealt with herein.

Furthermore, it should be understood — and straight away — that the entity known as Sullivan Radley is not a doctor and holds no degrees in any fields. His opinions are just that: his opinions. And opinions are like a$$holes: nearly every family's got one.

This is the top-level category; please navigate lower in the hierarchy.

Where uncompromised ethics meets unparalleled objectivity

You may have seen a product or service on this website "ticked" with a and wondered, "What is this?" I'm about to explain...

The process of evaluating a work starts with the RIGID ROMAN (I, II, III, IV). It is the foundation or "keystone" onto which everything else in the system is built.

The view is further refined with the RATING (6.9 – 9.9).

And the view is completed with the RANKING (1 to infinity).

This system may seem complex at first, but it forms a complete thought. And it allows you to see how your opinion has evolved over time (if you bother to keep records).

And, yes, I'm saying that YOU SHOULD adopt the RIGID ROMAN as your own person rating system. (All I ask is that you credit me as being the CREATOR of the system.) It took me 10 years, to develop and refine this system to perfection. An additional 10 years of application has found this rating system to be "without flaw." (This may sound like "snobbery" on my part, but I am entitled -- I have "consciously" spent my entire life in the pursuit of knowledge -- and, at every turn, attempting to find the elusive "Objective Truth." While my searches have often bore no fruit, and even though my endeavors have more-times-than-not met with failure and disappointment, I have learned much. But, most importantly, I have enjoyed THE JOURNEY OF LIFE.)

Now, if I can just explain THE RIGID ROMAN SYSTEM to you...

Getting Started

Use the Rigid Roman to broad-stroke your feelings toward a work. Ask yourself if you like it or not. If you do not like it, then you know the result is going to be a "I" or a "II"; conversely, if you do like it, then you know the result is going to be a "III" or a "IV."

The Rigid Roman permits no "fence straddling."

In other words, there are no "half points." To further explain: there is no such thing as a "III.5"

"I" equals "worst" -- means that the Work is a waste of time for everyone, including those who made it.
"II" says that you "dislike" the Work, but that you (reluctantly) admit that it did work well in a few areas.
"III" declares that you "like" the Work, but acknowledge that it contains many flaws.
"IV" equals "best" -- indicates that the Work approaches perfection in most areas.

Now, we move on to the RATING system, which has a range of 6.9 to 9.9

Sometimes, where applicable, this sub-system is broken down into two parts: a Story Value and a Production Value.

The Story Value has more to do with "your feelings" (whether or not you like the work). This value comes from the artistic side of you; it has to do with the intangible, the abstract, and personal aesthetics; it comes from that part of you that you don’t quite understand, and your reasoning would oftentimes be indescribable.
The Production Value (often abbreviated to "Prod. Value," by yours truly) is a more technical and (hopefully) more objective look at the work. If you were evaluating a movie, and attaching a Production Value, then you would be asking yourself these kinds of questions: How well were the visual effects executed? How accurate and precise is the sound editing? Are the camera moves distracting or unprofessional? And the list goes on and on.
The 6.9 to 9.9 scale was subconsciously derived, I feel, from two places: high school and the Olympics. In elementary school, our grading system went "A," "B," "C," "D," and "F" (what happened to "E"?), with lots of pluses and minuses thrown in there. Back then, you could make a 60 (a "D") and still be "passed" to the next grade.
When I got to high school in the 7th grade (yes, I said seventh), everything changed. There, you had to make at least a 70 to pass (a "C") –- the "D" was no longer part of the vernacular.
I did not much like school, so when I developed my system, I dropped the scoring system by a decimal place. In this way it falls more in line with the Olympics –- only in my system, there is no perfect "10." My belief is that all movies are flawed (all collaborations are –- because no matter how well people meld, there’s always some little thing that feels out of place, and it was probably contributed by the 101st member of the cast and crew), so no movie gets a 10. Stated more clearly: no "work" gets a 10.
A similar thing happens at the other end of my spectrum: the lowest score that can be given is a 6.9, because even the crappiest movie (or "work") requires an enormous amount of effort. You bump the decimal forward a place, and once again you’ll see how it is tied into my high school’s grading system, where a 70 was passing. I believe in a rating system that has the capacity to completely "flunk," or flush (down the toilet), a movie – but I’m not willing to go any lower than a 6.9.

When comparing the RIGID ROMAN to the RATING sub-system, things equate (or relate) in the following manner:

I = 6.9 & 6.95
II = 7.0 to 7.95
III = 8.0 to 8.95
IV = 9.0 to 9.9

(And, yes, the RATING does go to two decimal places, but only in steps of 5 one-hundredths. And, yes again, it is more crowded at the very bottom.)

The final leg of this journey is completed by the RANKING.

When you conclude that a work is the best (and beneath it are all the rest), then you have decided that the work is ranked "No. 1."

These three sub-systems are all part of the Rigid Roman System and should help you understand how I feel about a work. And if you choose to adopt this system -- in part, or in whole -- it should serve you well.

The RIGID ROMAN should help you better see (and understand) the nuances of fluctuation in your own opinion.

A final example: The movie SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, from me, gets a , a RATING of 9.9, and a RANKING of No. 1. In other words: I feel that it is the best film of all time.

Best wishes,
The Rigid Roman

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July 2008