What is Data Scraping?

Data scraping is a method of software used to organize data from a particular post on a social media platform such as Youtube. Comments can be filtered to identify trends. We used the software “Netlytic” to conduct data scraping on the trailers for two American films and two French films. The two American films are “Coda” and “The Upside”. The two French films are “La Famille Belier” and “Les Intouchables”. The films were the basis of our comparison for our comparison of how the public perceives disability representation amongst French and American films.

The American Perspective

Coda

The Upside

On the American side…

  • Commenters expressed appreciation for the fact that actors in the American remakes had disabilities

  • This is meaningful for people with disabilities because there is typically a lower employment rate for them than the general population

The French Films

La Famille Belier

Intouchables

On the French side…

  • We found that an overwhelming number of people in France, and in the U.S, were aware that “Coda” and “The Upside” are remakes of “Les Intouchables” and “La Famille Belier”.

  • Most people were disappointed that Hollywood consistently makes remakes and preferred the French storylines.

Findings:

Taking into account all of the research, it becomes clear that representation across both industries is lacking, and it does not reflect the scope of the disabled person in society. The lack of representation has consequences, including fear and misinformation. Both industries are very different in terms of their priorities for making movies. In Hollywood, it is common to have blockbuster movies. In France, the movies run on a smaller budget but with a greater emphasis on a good story. However, improvements across both industries will contribute to a more inclusive and understanding society.