` No, not exactly. The Encyclopedia Britannica often has an ``Assessment`` section at the end of an article on a major public figure (not just artists) who has passed away. It is essentially a summation & consensus of the critical or academic opinion of his/her entire career or ``legacy``. The person's reputation and ``place in history``. It changes, of course, over the decades. In the case of Kubrick it would be a fairly high place these days among film directors in the US & the world    at least judging by the Sight & Sound 2012 poll of 10 greatest movies of all time (2001 gets #6 on the critics' list & #2 on the directors' list; Barry London, although it doesn't make the top 10, has also been polling high on such lists in recent years). But it's not just a matter of opinion polls or popularity contests. It would be a summation of serious critical opinion, such as Thomson's (negative, as it happens) view in his books.   `