Why It’s So Cool To Hate The Big Bang Theory

4. People Often Hate Things That Become Popular

The Big Bang Theory
CBS

The Big Bang Theory's mix of popularity in terms of ratings and negative cultural perception does seem like a massive contradiction, and it is quite an extreme example, but it's also part of a larger trend: quite often, and simply, people hate things that are popular.

Part of the reason is that, a lot of the time, popular does not equate with being good. It might simply be that they have broad appeal, or very good (and sometimes cynical) marketing: it's why the list of the highest-grossing movies of all time includes the likes of Minions and Transformers: Dark of the Moon among the top 20, neither of which have much in the way of critical merit, but both of which you'll find folk who have some very strong opinions on.

The same applies to Nickelback, who became the band to hate, despite their commercial success. You can extrapolate it outside of pop-culture, to businesses like Starbucks as well. Mass produced, mass appeal, and little in the way of genuinely great quality or something to make it unique, it's part of the 'system', an easy target, and people want to go against that. The Big Bang Theory, with tens of millions of viewers, fits into a similar bracket, although there are some more genuine criticisms to be made as well.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.