[noctuary]

So this is the question, fellow forumites: is there an objective standard by which we can judge the quality of an artwork, or is it all personal opinion?

I was discussing this with a friend recently, and the conversation got... well, quite heated. I believe that we can judge art objectively, particularly in the area of film. For example, The Seventh Seal or Rashomon is better than something like Gigli. That is fact. My friend believed that if you were of the opinion that Gigli is better, then that is true as far as you are concerned. I vehemently disagree with this viewpoint, and moreover, I find it destructive. You'll never be Ingmar Bergman. So why try to create elevated works? Why not just crank out lowest common denominator pabulum? After all, as long as someone, somewhere likes whatever cinematic atrocity you've excreted, it must be good, right?

So let me hear your thoughts. Am I an elitist snob, as my friend claimed, or is my argument valid?