The Simpsons did it: Exploring the film trope space and its large scale structure

Share This Post

How do you make a popular movie? A group of researchers ran a meta-analysis of various “cohesive elements or patterns” (tropes) to create a data-driven approach to writing stories, and drama seems to be king. Drama films — including war films, family terror, and dark sci-fi — usually employ tropes related to the description of villains, highlighting the general audience’s fascination with categorising evil characters, whether it be a “NightmareFace (a horrible face)” or, the slightly comic, “BaldOfEvil (the villain is bald)”. Read full article here

More To Explore

Research

Researcher uses AI to make texts that are thousands of years old readable

The Gilgamesh Epic, the oldest work of world literature, has been brought back to life by LMU researchers in the Electronic Babylonian Literature project. Using their new Fragmentarium tool, they have discovered hundreds of manuscripts, including the most recent tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic which dates from 130 BC – thousands of years after the earliest known version. This shows how highly valued the Epic was, even at a late period. With the public release of the Fragmentarium, anyone can now explore the thousands of cuneiform fragments and explore the ancient Babylonian literature. Read full article here

Economics

Why a Strong Media Presence Will Help You in Economic Downturn

In times of recession, companies are looking for ways to cut costs, but instead of slashing their marketing budgets, they should be considering earned and owned media strategies. These are much more affordable alternatives and can be extremely effective – earning a company trust and loyalty from customers, which is essential to their survival. With the right amount of effort, earned and owned media can be an invaluable tool for companies looking to stay in the public eye. Read full article here

Do You want to embrace intellectual freedom and join our premium users?

FASCINATING READS, SUMMARISED

The occasional email full of conversation-worthy content