There’s something quite amusing about “organized” internet polls and their irrelevance to pop culture at large. With all due respect to Heath Ledger’s fully excellent performance, it generally seems much more believable to let the cinematic dust settle a bit before declaring a brand new film to be THE. BEST. EVAR!!!

Slashfilm wonders, Are Dark Knight Fanboys Burying The Godfather? Obviously:

The Godfather has fallen to the #3 spot, after nearly a decade at the top of the Internet Movie Database’s listing of the Top 250 Movies of All Time. As we reported a couple weeks ago, The Dark Knight overtook The Godfather’s throne, but this latest development is really interesting because it might show evidence of a fanboy mob at work. Could it be that Dark Knight fans are intentionally voting down Godfather in hopes of keeping The Dark Knight at the top spot? Why else would The Shawshank Redemption have overtaken The Godfather in a time when neither film is in the public forefront? The percentage of users who gave Godfather a 1 out of 10 (the lowest rating possible) grew from 6.1% to 6.4%, just enough to push Shawshank ahead, while the percentage of participating users who loved the film, giving it a 10 out of 10, remained the same (57%). It’s also worth noting that while any IMDb user can vote and effect a movie’s overall rating, only regular IMDb users can influence the film’s top 250 placement.

This is just a hunch, but I’d wager that regular IMDb users don’t even come close to an accurate representation of the moviegoing public. Furthermore, these are probably the same jackasses who harassed critics who dared not to bestow entirely stellar reviews upon The Dark Knight:

[T]he Internet has a mob mentality that can overwhelm serious criticism. There is superb film writing in blogs and discussion groups — as good as anything I do. But there are also thousands of semi-literate tirades that actually reinforce the Hollywood status quo, that say: “If you do not like The Dark Knight (or The Phantom Menace), you should be fired because you do not speak for the people.”

Well, the people don’t need to be spoken for. And a critic’s job is not only to steer you to movies you might not have heard of or that died at the box office.** It’s also to bring a different, much-needed perspectives on blockbusters like The Dark Knight.

In other words, put away your angry erections, fanboys. With the passage of time, all shall be revealed.

UPDATE: Now, IMDb users have, apparently, ranked The Dark Knight not only #1 Best Film but also the #1 Worst Film as well. Oh, this is pure class.