So I've come to notice how much overrated as been being used across fanpop. And on top of that, a good number of people really don't know what it means--or so it would seem. So I wanted to make an article of it since I seem to be making the same comment over and over again explaining overrated across the site; it's just so much easier to have an article to link to. Yes, parts of this are taken from my comment on my overrated poll.

All of the italics are from old comments

First and foremost; what is overrated?
A lot of people seem to have it mixed up (not just on this fan club either).
Overrated has nothing to do with liking a character or disliking him or her. Liking doesn't mean underrated, dislike doesn't mean overrated an the reverse.
Overrated (and underrated) also doesn't mean 'bad character'.
Overrated/underrated is simply referring to how much hype the character receives.

By exact definition; overrated: have a higher opinion of (someone or something) than is deserved. And this is very subjective; the amount of likability is different to every person really. Dislike =/= Overrated. Like =/= Underrated. Annoying/boring/stupid =/= Overrated.Overrated deals in how much love and attention something gets. And whether or not that this is as good as people make it out to be. And that's where I take issue with the term overrated itself; because it's just so subjective of a term. I've seen so many characters I love get called overrated (Icy and Morgause among them). Which leads me to; I don't think people really know what overrated is; on the Icy poll there were at least 4 or 5 people who picked overrated and commented something like 'I don't like her, she's annoying.' People automatically click 'yes, it's overrated' when they don't like the thing in question. Which is another thing I have against overrated itself. There is just such a negative connotation with overrated and I don't necessarily think it has to be as bad as people make it out to be. Overrated =/= bad/shitty/lame/boring.

In short overrated has nothing to do with likes and dislikes as most people seem to think. What overrated deals with is how much love and adoration something attains.

Now for the why's. Why do I personally dislike the use of overrated.


My big main reason for disliking 'overrated' so much is that it's just so subjective. If a group of people likes a certain character then the character is good...at least in their eyes. Personally I think Bella(trix) is rated just right; she has a handful of fans as all the other characters do and actually kind of a larger hate-base. She isn't neglected in terms of attention nor is she constantly talked about. And when she is talked about, it's usually the same few people. And that's not overrated. Of course her handful of fans are going to talk about her and love her. And she really is an neat character.

This comment addresses overrated in the sense of how much attention a character gets; the less attention, the less overrated. But it should be noted that overrated implies that the attention is undeserved and this is another area where I start to take issue with it. Because who is setting that bar as to how much attention something deserve or doesn't deserve. That matter varies from person to person, preservative to preservative. (This part was taken from the comment on my poll).

Not only is the term 'overrated' itself to the eye of the beholder, but so is its very definition. Exactly who is this person who get to decide 'yeah this sucks and doesn't deserve attention. For instance I think Bloom is overrated, but other's don't. So in the end is there really even a such thing as overrated at all? I mean if someone somewhere thinks the character earned the recognition they have then it's true...at least for the characters fanbase. Going with this old comment, it is very clear that I think Bloom (from Winx Club) sucks anus. But who am I to say 'yeah Bloom sucks, so any fans she has are undeserved.' And by all means I don't think she deserves any fans. But she has lots of them and they disagree. Likewise I think Bellatrix deserves every last one of her fans. So who has the final say in whether or not something sucks? Exactly. No one. I mean you could go with this 'majority rules' mentality, but I personally disagree with that; if fans think something is likable then it's likable even if you disagree.
So again I pose the question; if there is no standard bar set, is overrated really a thing at all?

Okay yeah but overrated and underrated doesn't have as much to do with liking or disliking as it does the amount of attention the character receives right. Right? You can like a character that's overrated and one that's underrated. And vice versa. Taking it in that route; Of course fans like her, that's what fans are. And when you really think about it, she's got a hand full of them (at least on fanpop) we're simply really vocal. There are less polls about her than (say) Hermione and Snape. I counted 2 specifically about her in the 7 pages I clicked through when looking for the links below. However she still gets attention so she isn't underrated either.


Like the above the prior italics this gets at the blurred line between dislike and overrated as well as the received attention. Factoring in how vocal a small group can be. Something can have a tiny fanbase that makes it seem like it's more loved than it really is if that makes sense. And again, who gets to dictate if that attention is deserved?

So my next point then refers back to the negative connotation associated with overrated. Just one more issue I have with it as that people seem to assume that 'if it's overrated, it must be bad' and that isn't necessarily true. It's okay to like something that people deem 'overrated'. Don't rule something out just because it has a hype to it. Harry Potter had a huge hype and I think it's wonderful. Frozen and Twilight not so much. But that loops right on back to the subjectivity of they hype itself.

That said, it would also seem that overrated and popular can almost be used interchangeably in this day and age. If something is popular and has a big following people are quick to drop the O bomb. So where then do we draw the line between 'just popular' and 'omg so overrated'? Which is one more issue I have with the term.

All that said, it should be pointed out that I'm not telling people "OMG don't use 'overrated' it's bad!!!1!!" I just don't care for it myself.

In short I am very clearly not pro-overrated. I have nothing against people who use it--I myself do sometimes--but I'm kind of weary of doing so. There are just so many 'but's' and objections surrounding 'overrated'.
Agree or disagree, comments and opinions are more than welcomed.