Male characters in movies were more likely to demonstrate active emotions, such as anger and hatred. (image: Korea Bizwire)
DAEJEON, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Many films worldwide continue to express womanhood in a stereotypical manner, a recent study has showed.
A research team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on Monday that 40 movies from Hollywood and South Korea screened between 2017 and 2018 depicted women to be more prone to expressing passive emotions, such as sadness, fear, and surprise.
In contrast, male characters in movies were more likely to demonstrate active emotions, such as anger and hatred.
Female characters were less likely to appear in movies with automobiles than males (55.7 percent) while more likely to appear with furniture and in a household (123.9 percent).
Female characters appeared less frequently in movies than males (56 percent) and were on average younger (79.1 percent). These comparisons were more vivid among South Korean films, the research team said.
The research team used eight indices that they developed to conduct the study.
The team used computer vision technology to compare levels of emotional diversity, spatial/temporal occupation, average age, impression of an intelligent character, emphasis on outward appearance, and the types and patterns of surrounding objects, which allowed for a successful analysis of how male and female characters were depicted in various movies in quantitative terms.
The team downsampled movies from 24 frames to 3 frames per second, and used Microsoft’s facial recognition technology (Face API) to verify the gender, emotion, age, and location of the character on screen.
The team then applied object detection technology to collect information on the types and location of the surrounding objects that appeared with the actors, which showed that most films depicted women from a stereotypical perspective.
“Film is a form of media that can heavily influence audiences in their way of thinking,” said Prof. Lee Byeong-ju at KAIST who spearheaded the research team.
“We should think twice before creating roles for male and female characters.”
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
