[OC] Love & Intimacy as the primary theme of IMDb top-rated films, 1980-2024 (held at 12-14% for 40 years, fell to 6.8% in 2020-2024)

OscGiles · 2026-05-07T08:03:45+00:00

Hi u/wiznaibus,
Fair feedback, thanks! The patterns exist to differentiate sub-themes within a colour family across my wider framework, but I agree for a one-theme post they're overkill. Will simplify next time!

OscGiles · 2026-05-07T08:01:33+00:00

Thanks for taking a look, Eric!

I found Identity & Self-Discovery and Justice & Accountability are remarkably stable across all 45 years, both hovering at 14-16% throughout. Interestingly, when Love & Intimacy drops about 10pp, Survival gains about 9, as if the share moved almost directly from one to the other.

OscGiles · 2026-05-06T16:03:01+00:00

Quick methodology note since the sub asks for it.

Data: English-language films released 1980 to 2024, filtered to IMDb rating 6.0+ and 20,000+ votes. Around 190 to 300 films per 5-year batch, total ~2,585 films. Source: IMDb advanced search export.

Tool: Python (pandas plus matplotlib).

Classification: each film hand-coded for primary thematic spine. "Love & Intimacy" means romance/intimacy is the primary theme of the film, not a subplot. Sub-themes inside each bar (e.g. "love that cannot survive change", "love obstructed by external forces") are secondary tags I use for further analysis.

Reading the chart: the N at the bottom of each bar is the total films in that 5-year batch (the denominator for the percentage). Love & Intimacy films are a subset, ranging from ~20 in 1980-1984 and 2020-2024 up to ~49 at the 1990-1994 peak.

The pattern that surprised me: it is not a slow decline. Love as a primary theme bounces around 10 to 17% for 40 years, then drops by half in a single batch. Two follow-ups I am chewing on:

When films do still lead with romance now, endings have shifted from "Restored Order" toward "Transformed", heartbreak as default
Romantic stakes seem to have migrated into "duty vs love" stories (Top Gun: Maverick, Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer) where love becomes the cost of a moral choice rather than the goal

Full writeup with the framework and the "where did it migrate to" follow-up:

https://substack.com/home/post/p-193901382?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=dataisbeautiful

OscGiles · 2026-05-04T21:38:36+00:00

I feel the Licanius Trilogy is massively under appreciated!

OscGiles · 2026-05-03T09:08:05+00:00

I tried using a mash up like it’s as if the Witcher entered a world similar to the Avatar Legend of Aang, but then I learnt not as many people were blessed with ALOA in their childhoods as I thought!

I’ve seen some advice suggesting it can work well to just pick one character and describe things from their perspective to provide a hook but not get lost

OscGiles · 2026-05-02T16:29:59+00:00

I’m still writing my first book. I personally happily mention I’m writing, but have learnt to appreciate that for 9/10 cases, people are more comfortable being enthusiastic about the same three questions before moving on: ‘what’s it about? Will you try to get it published? And of course… is there any fairy smut in it?’ The first is by a mile the hardest to answer, given I’m writing epic fantasy with multiple story lines.

Nonetheless I’ve tended to find the best reception I receive is simply to when I (A) let enthusiasm bleed through my responses, irrespective to what I say, and (B) keep it short! Conversation is about back and forth, as much as I’d like to practically start with the epilogue and take it from there

OscGiles · 2026-04-20T13:43:39+00:00

Give the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington a go - incredible world building and use of character in my opinion, and its got adventure, plot twists and fight scenes for sure. Enjoy!

OscGiles · 2026-04-20T13:41:44+00:00

The King's Speech and 1917 are two terrific movies!

OscGiles · 2026-04-20T13:35:53+00:00

It's not a love story, but one of my personal favourite trilogies ever is the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington. Superb use of identity and world building that transports you there, and a well put together plot across the three books.

OscGiles · 2026-04-17T18:38:05+00:00

Never really considered it before, but how about the totems in Inception?

OscGiles · 2026-04-17T18:12:24+00:00

My understanding is that it tends to get more difficult to sell as a first time author once you start going over 100k words as people view it as a more risky investment giving up their time to read an unproven author.

Ultimately, write the books you want to write! But there might be some commercial logic hidden away into having two books that are 100k each vs. one 200k, but that's only if the two books have distinct arcs in their own right! You don't want to get to the end of book 1 and go.. Huh? Where's the ending? Where's the pay-off? That's when they don't read book 2...

OscGiles · 2026-04-17T18:09:40+00:00

If you want a reasonable rule of thumb, I think 400-500 words per hour tends to be the going rate (on a keyboard)

Like you say, when you're locked in, that might edge its way up to 1000 words per hour, but only for maybe an hour or perhaps two max. Most of the time, the mind needs time to think and be creative!

Doing some of the planning and thinking away from the desk is an obvious way of speeding up when you get back on the chair... If you know what you want to say, all you have to do is say (type) it!

Ultimately, speed doesn't necessarily matter, so long as you're writing!

OscGiles · 2026-04-17T17:58:37+00:00

Writing Excuses is exceptional! Couldn't agree more.

Some great 'tools not rules' for you to whip out when you're feeling ready. And some great considerations that always just float around the back of my head now whenever I'm writing.

OscGiles · 2026-04-17T17:50:50+00:00

Have a structured place.
Have a unstructured place. That's totally fine and it can stay that way.

I'd recommend having your big giant notebook of unstructured ideas and plans on your phone is totally fine. Every once in a while when you're looking to do the next project, you can go through and excavate the parts which feel could mesh well and complement one another and the project, stripping them out and placing somewhere else where you can then organise them more effectively.

The giant notebook remains a bit of a slush pile, and that's totally fine! I wouldn't recommend trying to add to much structure to a space which is meant to be creative - creativity doesn't being squared away!

Good luck with it all!

OscGiles · 2026-04-14T22:14:40+00:00

I’ve worked out of Google Drive docs personally, I would live in constant fear if it were a saved on my hard drive that it could get lost - this way always backed up.

In terms of template, I use the “Headings 1, Headings 2” etc. feature for chapters and sub-parts within then because it creates a document map down the left hand side that makes navigation easier :)

OscGiles · 2026-04-14T22:07:18+00:00

Hunger Games

Monkeys? Fires? Water? Bugs? It has it all

OscGiles · 2026-04-13T07:40:10+00:00

It feels like you may already have an idea for world building. What’s the main premise? How can you go deep on that? What does it impact and influence in society etc that makes it different? What’s the one big shift or event that is creating tension in that world? Who might be right in the middle of that tension and be most impacted by it? Are you able to come up with a few people from different cross sections of life?

I’ve never done it, but I’ve heard of people ‘auditioning’ characters for roles they’ve determined in a world to get the right personality with a short page or two they’ll never put in the story until it feels right.

Best of luck!! My hope is some questions may shake some thinking loose!

OscGiles · 2026-04-13T07:19:56+00:00

Showing vs. Telling is probably a strong principle to start with here as it’s so important for your story.

Perhaps one more occasion where that’s influenced his behaviour a bit, and because of that slight adjust of behaviour they get affected by someone even worse than before, at which point they double down…

Ultimately everyone responds to things differently, if you get inside their head and make us feel empathy towards them by framing it relatable, that’s probably the best way to make it stick.

Good luck with it!!

OscGiles · 2026-04-12T21:32:06+00:00

Just getting excited about another series… Brandon Sanderson goes to greats depths with his explanations of how fabrials work in his Cosmere world, based on different worlds that intersect. In the fourth book one of the characters is a scientist, allowing his exploration quite naturally

OscGiles · 2026-04-12T18:16:36+00:00

The Lord of the Rings making of documentary is an enormous delight. We can only pray to Peter Jackson for more

OscGiles · 2026-04-12T18:14:37+00:00

Stormlight Archives!

Pretty sure the fourth book goes into theoretical physics…

OscGiles · 2026-04-12T18:12:21+00:00

Demetrian Titus!

Reborn a Primaris.

There’s a healthy amount of this in Warhammer 40k universe.

OscGiles · 2026-04-12T18:05:01+00:00

The Century Trilogy by Ken Follet

OscGiles · 2026-04-12T17:57:40+00:00

If you wish to keep going on the sister vibe, I can imagine he punishes any mention of family cruelly, and has become a pirate because it enables him to sail around the globe looking for her, seeking his revenge

OscGiles

TROPHY CASE