But like I said, there are other criteria.
And a lot of punk, or post-punk really, was actually more complex and innovative than it's given credit for. Simon Reynolds' Rip It Up And Start Again opened my eyes to that,

But it's one indicator of quality. And there are others.

But by saying "That's My Boy is a better movie," you are stating it as fact. If you said "I prefer That's My Boy", then that would be your opinion. As I can't argue that your opinion isn't 'true', at least to you. But It hasn't settled the original question.

But we can say that 'The Marriage Of Figaro is a more complex and difficult to perform piece than [opera X]'

Aw snap! Aw snap!
Come to my macaroni party and we'll take a nap
Aw snap! Aw snap!
Come to my macaroni party and we'll take a nap

Says who? Seriously.
I know that's the party line for critics these days, but is it really true?
Is it possible to make the case that, say, 'That's My Boy' is as good of a film as, say, 'Blazing Saddles'? If everything is subjective, you should be able to make that case convincingly.

That makes a real lot of sense frankly. You summarised very neatly the ideas that have been rattling around in my head for a while now. Kudos!

Really? Oh man that's sweeeeet.

I miss the monoculture primarily because it was the sheer weight of the presence of some pop culture landmarks in the zeitgeist (Nirvana, Star Trek: TNG, Pulp Fiction) that lead me to explore avenues of pop culture my parents or friends wouldn't have exposed me to.

"because there is no objective quality in art"

I long ago resigned myself to such.
Though I maintain that there is a lot of great music being made today; it's just that none of it is popular. And this baffles more than angers me.

As he says, if something truly is that popular, he should already be aware of it. It's not like he hadn't heard of The Beatles or something.
It's not hipsterism if you're not aware of something that is A) Not marketed to you, B) Not popular in any of the social circles you might frequent, and C) Not very good anyway.…

530 albums sold in the whole of the UK!

I imagine you as Donald Sutherland at the end of Body Snatchers saying that.

The problem with the idea of 'Song Of The Summer' is that there no longer seems to be any correlation between a song's mainstream success and it's actual objective quality. People like Marah and the music critic on Vulture frustrate me because they keep acting as if the two things are still related.

Exactly.

This is a pointless comment anyway, because we know how planet earth will end up in the far future, but in this movie I cared about the fates of these specific humans and apes.
About a third of the way through Dawn, I turned to my friend and whispered "I kinda want this to end now while everyone is happy."

Rick Wakeman's Journey To The Center of The Earth sold 14 million copies in 1974. That's 14 times as much as Yeezus sold in total.

In other news, a mere 24,000 copies can get you to #9 on the charts.

The Golden Rule, exactly. Or Kant's categorical Imperative. Or whatever. Basic politeness essentially.