Table of Contents
Introduction
The story begins with an exploration of cinematic history through the CMU Movie Summary Corpus published in 2013. Movies have always been a mirror of society, reflecting the complexities of human interactions. Through this article, we aim to uncover how trends of movie plots and characters potentially reflect historical events.
But let's begin from... the beginning right?
This is a historical video from the Roundhay Garden Scene, considered one of the oldest surviving motion pictures.
The Roundhay Garden Scene (1888) is the world's earliest surviving motion picture and the very first movie in our dataset. This 3-second, silent short film from the UK is significant for its pioneering use of moving images to capture everyday life. Directed by Louis Le Prince, it features people walking in a garden. Though it lacks a plot, its importance lies in marking the dawn of filmmaking as an art form.
Exploring the Movie Summary Corpus
A preliminar analysis of the total number of movies released by country highlights the overwhelming dominance of the United States, which accounts for 42.04 % of the database. U.S. cinema especially beginned to look like the potential candidate to be scoped under a rich lens through which explore two compelling themes: war and social changes. These themes These themes cover the main events that have shaped history and continue to influence our understanding of it.
The Initial Vision: A Tale of Two Rivals
Originally, our analysis aimed to compare American movies with those from Russia, driven by the long-standing rivalry between the two nations. This rivalry, steeped in decades of proxy wars, economic and political differences, and iconic historical moments—such as the Cold War, the Space Race, and the fall of the Berlin Wall—offered a unique opportunity to explore contrasting cinematic perspectives.
The timeline of significant events in the U.S.-Russia relationship aligns closely with the period covered by the dataset. This seemed to provide a fertile ground for comparative analysis. However, this ambition was met with a challenge: dataset bias.
Why Focus Solely on American Movies?
While comparing the two nations’ cinemas was an exciting proposition, the dataset proved, not surprisingly at this point, that U.S. cinema dominates in terms of quantity, diversity, and completeness of data, making any meaningful comparison with Russian films difficult. This lack of balance between the two sides of the rivalry hindered our ability to draw fair conclusions.
As a result, we decided to shift our focus to American cinema (with some interesting exceptions).
Movies Produced in the USA Over Time
As we dive into the analysis of trends in American cinema, it's essential to start with a general overview of movie production over time. A graph showcasing the number of movies produced in the USA across decades provides a clear picture of the evolution of the American film industry.
Key Observations:
- Early Growth (Pre-1940s): The initial surge in movie production aligns with Hollywood's rise as the global hub of filmmaking, establishing the USA as a leader in the industry.
- Golden Age (1940s-1960s): A steady production level marked by iconic genres such as westerns, musicals, and noir defined this period.
- Modern Expansion (Post-1970s): A noticeable increase in production reflects technological advancements, globalization, and the diversification of genres.
We hope to provide a nuanced understanding of the response of American cinema and others, to historical events. Stay tuned as we explore these themes further in our analysis, highlighting the power of cinema as both a storyteller and a historical archive.
Collaboration in Movies Between the USA and other Countries
An interesting dimension of our analysis lies in exploring international collaborations in filmmaking. To visualize this, we created a heat map that displays the normalized fraction of movies co-produced by the USA with other countries over time, using time bins of 10 years. This heat map provides an effective lens to examine historical and geopolitical links to cinematic partnerships.
Key Observations:
- Collaborations with Allies: The USA has consistently collaborated with countries such as France and the United Kingdom over the decades. These collaborations reflect long-standing cultural and political alliances, especially in the aftermath of WWII and during the Cold War era.
- Rivals Avoided: Unsurprisingly, the USA has had no significant cinematic collaborations with its key geopolitical rivals, Russia and China. This aligns with historical tensions stemming from the Cold War, ideological differences, and trade barriers.
- Japan: A Unique Case: Japan stands out as a country where collaboration trends evolve over time. After WWII, Japan gradually opened up to the USA, leading to an increase in cinematic partnerships. This mirrors Japan’s broader post-war economic and cultural integration with Western powers.
- Global Influence: The USA's dominance in cinema is reflected in its ability to engage in numerous partnerships worldwide, albeit selectively. This pattern highlights how soft power operates in shaping international relationships, with cinema serving as a cultural bridge—or boundary—depending on the geopolitical landscape.
The heat map offers a visual narrative of how cinema intertwines with diplomacy and global relations, spotlighting patterns of collaboration and exclusion shaped by historical context.
Part 1: Wars
Nazi (1940s and 1960s-70s)
During the 1940s, Nazi-related films were primarily produced as wartime propaganda to rally support against Axis powers during World War II. These films portrayed the Nazis as clear antagonists, often emphasizing themes of heroism, sacrifice, and the fight for freedom.
In the 1960s and 70s, the resurgence of Nazi-related themes likely stemmed from Cold War anxieties. Filmmakers revisited authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, drawing parallels between Nazi ideologies and the oppressive nature of other adversaries. This period also witnessed a shift in tone, with more nuanced storytelling exploring the psychological and moral complexities of war.
Vietnam (1960s-80s)
The Vietnam Proxy War left a profound imprint on American cinema, producing two distinct waves of films.
- 1960s-70s: Early films depicted the Vietnam War through a lens of nationalism and heroism, reflecting the initial public sentiment and government stance.
- 1980s: A critical reappraisal emerged as filmmakers began to question the morality and consequences of the war. This era produced iconic anti-war films that examined the psychological toll on soldiers, the impact on Vietnamese civilians, and the divisive effect on American society. These films often featured raw and introspective narratives, challenging audiences to grapple with the broader implications of war.
Middle East (Post-2004)
The early 21st century saw an increase in U.S. films focusing on the Middle East, especially in the aftermath of the Iraq War in 2003. These films often reflect Hollywood's reaction to the geopolitical and military dynamics, delving into themes such as terrorism, the ethics of war, and cultural clashes.
The Marine, Syriana, and Jarhead are often discussed in the context of Iraq War films due to their portrayal of military and geopolitical themes. The Marine (2006) reflects the action and emotional toll of soldiers returning from Iraq, even though it focuses on a rescue mission. Syriana (2005) explores the intersection of oil, politics, and the Middle East, critically addressing the Iraq War’s broader consequences. Meanwhile, Jarhead (2005) depicts the emotional and psychological strain of military service in the Middle East, resonating with soldiers' experiences during Iraq. These films offer various perspectives on the war's impact, from personal struggles to global politics.
Italy’s Post-War Cinema: Reflections of Struggle and Rebirth
Italy's post-war cinema, particularly the Neorealist movement, emerged as a raw and poignant reflection of the nation's struggles and resilience following WWII. Films such as Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Rome, Open City (1945) depicted the harsh realities of everyday life, poverty, and societal recovery with an unflinching honesty. This era marked a significant artistic and cultural rebirth, using cinema to process collective trauma and offer hope for renewal.
However, by the 1960s, the movement declined as Italy transitioned into an economic boom, and themes shifted toward escapism and commercial filmmaking. While the Neorealist approach faded, its influence on global cinema remains profound, inspiring generations of filmmakers worldwide.
CoreNLP Analysis
In this section, we discuss the analysis performed using CoreNLP, we tried to extract a description of the characters or personas from the movie plots, and to perform latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) to form cluster of similar personas. We used the CoreNLP model to identify the characters named in the plots and to find the words used to describe these characters. We chose to look for 100 clusters of personas, to have enough to form meaningful categories, while not looking for too many to keep the results manageable. For each of these clusters of personas, we identified the 10 most relevant words, however, these groups of words are difficult to interpret as they are formed from the distances between personas and this logic doesn’t match with a human understanding of characters in movies. Nonetheless, we looked for trends in the distribution of these topics over time for all american films and subsets of films linked to certain historical events. .
Several visualizations were generated to study these topics, including a cumulative graph:
Evolution of Topics in Middle East-Related Films Over Time: Focused analysis of topics in films addressing the Middle East, filtered to include only topics appearing at least five times.
Evolution of Topics in Vietnam-Related Films Over Time: Similar analysis for Vietnam-related films, also filtered to a minimum of five appearances per topic.
Despite these efforts, a preliminary analysis did not reveal any particularly striking patterns or insights, with one notable exception: Topic 87. This topic stood out due to its record presence across the dataset, warranting further investigation into its content and significance.
Hypothesis on Character Role for Topic 87
Based on the words correlated to Topic 87—wears, order, despises, hurls, examine, divorced, unsuspecting, disturbed, relax, retaliates—we can hypothesize that this topic is associated with a character who likely experiences emotional or psychological turmoil. These words suggest a character who:
- Experiences conflict: Words like "despises," "hurls," "retaliates," and "disturbed" indicate a character involved in significant conflict, either internal (psychological) or external (with other characters). This could be a character who is angry, seeking revenge, or dealing with deep emotional issues.
- Has a strained or complex relationship: The inclusion of "divorced" suggests that this character has experienced a failed relationship, which may be a central part of their story. The words "unsuspecting" and "examine" imply that the character may be in situations where others around them are unaware of their internal struggles, or they might be trying to figure out the truth about someone or something.
- Is in a situation of control or power struggle: The word "order" could imply that this character is in a position of authority or has a need to control their environment, perhaps linked to their emotional state or history.
- Desires or struggles with relaxation: "Relax" suggests that this character may have moments of introspection or attempts to find peace, but they may be disturbed by ongoing struggles, making it hard for them to truly relax.
Hypothesis: This set of words could describe a protagonist or antagonist who is a disturbed, vengeful, or emotionally scarred character. They might be going through a difficult period, such as post-divorce or recovering from a traumatic experience, leading them to seek revenge or to confront those around them. They may be portrayed as having moments of introspection but struggling to find peace due to internal or external conflict. A character type that fits this description might include a disillusioned ex-spouse, a person seeking revenge, or a traumatized individual who wrestles with emotional or psychological issues, leading them to react impulsively or aggressively. This could be a tragic hero or a complex anti-hero in a drama or psychological thriller.
Part 2: Society
This section explores the portrayal of social change in cinema, focussing on the struggles of marginalized groups for equal rights, such as the civil rights movement and feminism.
Civil Rights Movements (1950s-1970s)
The Civil Rights Movement in the United States was a pivotal period in history, marked by activism, protests, and legal battles for racial equality. This era of social change was reflected in American cinema, with films addressing themes of segregation, discrimination, and the fight for civil rights, such as Malcolm X, The Rosa Parks Story, and George Wallace.
As the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, a new genre of film emerged in the 1970s known as blaxploitation. These films, typically produced by African American filmmakers, focused on urban culture and often featured African American protagonists fighting against systemic oppression. While some of these films were seen as a response to racial struggles, they also exploited certain stereotypes and exaggerated violence for entertainment. Movies like Shaft, Superfly, and Foxy Brown were emblematic of the genre, which became both a commercial success and a point of controversy.
Despite criticisms, blaxploitation films played a significant role in offering African Americans more prominent representation in Hollywood. They reflected the desires for empowerment and visibility in an era where the media often marginalized black voices. While these films were seen as controversial for their portrayal of violence and exaggerated stereotypes, they also served as a platform for African American filmmakers to challenge traditional narratives and present a different view of black culture.
Women's Empowerment and Feminism (1960s-1990s)
In the mid-1990s, particularly around 1994 and 1995, there was a noticeable increase in films addressing themes of women's empowerment and liberation. This period saw a rise in movies that highlighted women's experiences and challenges, reflecting growing cultural discussions about gender equality and societal expectations.
If Someone Had Known (1995) and The Stranger Beside Me (1995) are just examples of the films from the mid-90s that reflect issues related to women's rights and liberation. If Someone Had Known highlights the struggles of women in abusive relationships, shedding light on domestic violence and societal stigmas. Meanwhile, The Stranger Beside Me, while focusing on the victims of a serial killer, touches on women's vulnerability and the justice system's often inadequate response to crimes against women. These films represent the growing attention to women's autonomy, safety, and representation, which were key themes in the feminist discourse of the time.
Analysis of Anti-War Movies and Political Satire (1960s-80s)
The 1960s to 1980s witnessed a significant rise in anti-war films within the U.S. film industry. This trend aligns with critical societal moments such as the Vietnam War, its aftermath, and the anti-nuclear protests that gained momentum during the Cold War.
Interestingly, the same time period (1960s to 1980s) saw an increase in political satire films. These films often critique governmental actions, societal norms, and institutional failures, providing a lens through which to question authority and challenge established narratives. The rise of this genre during this era reflects the growing discontent with political decisions and societal issues, paralleling the anti-war movement.
To quantify the relationship between these two trends, we performed a correlation analysis of the frequency of anti-war and political satire films over time. The results are as follows:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Correlation Coefficient | 0.59 |
| P-value | 0.04 |
The positive correlation coefficient suggests a mild association between the rise of anti-war and political satire films during this era. The p-value, being less than 0.05, indicates that this relationship is statistically significant, though not strongly pronounced.
The mild correlation may point to shared societal drives for both genres, that thus could have played together during this particularly tumultuous historical period.
While the correlation is not overwhelmingly strong, it just seems like something could be there.
Conclusion
While the correlations drawn between movies and social events in this analysis are not strong or absolute justifications, they do provide some interesting insights into how cinema could reflect the world around it. The patterns observed suggest that movies often engage with the societal issues and cultural shifts of their time, offering a lens through which we can better understand the social, political, and economic contexts in which they were created. In this way, cinema can be interpreted as a mirror of society—capturing the hopes, fears, struggles, and transformations of different eras.