GPSA - “EMPIRE OF LIGHT: A Data Scientist Analyzes What American Movies Say About Our Culture,” Book Talk with Author Dr. R. Grant Steen
Tue 7/7 • 6PM PDT
Zoom
A conversation with 1985 UCLA graduate alumnus R. Grant Steen, PhD on his newly released book: “EMPIRE OF LIGHT: A Data Scientist Analyzes What American Movies Say About Our Culture.”
There will be a moderated discussion and conversation with the author and he will entertain questions from the audience.
For Empire of Light, Dr. Steen analyzed the 20 most popular movies in America for every year between 1940 and 2020. In those 1,600 examples, the book demonstrates that movies are not just about
entertainment. Popular movies reveal what we value, what we fear, and what we hope to become. Seminal films help us understand important currents in American culture, reveal hidden truths about society, and
both reflect and influence culture. Furthermore, recent movie trends suggest that Americans feel a sense of powerlessness. Only by unlearning this helplessness can we hope to fix a broken America.
About the Author: Dr. Steen received his PhD in Biology from UCLA in 1985. He currently is a Research Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine. He has held research faculty positions at University of Washington, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, UNC- Chapel Hill and completed postdoctoral training at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His research interests cover MRI, MRS, brain tumors and orthopedic surgery.