Abstract
We investigate social networks of characters found in cultural works such as novels and films. These character networks exhibit many of the properties of complex networks such as skewed degree distribution and community structure, but may be of relatively small order with a high multiplicity of edges. Building on recent work of Beveridge and Shan [4], we consider graph extraction, visualization, and network statistics for three novels: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, Steven King’s The Stand, and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Coupling with 800 character networks from films found in the http://moviegalaxies.com/ database, we compare the data sets to simulations from various stochastic complex networks models including random graphs with given expected degrees (also known as the Chung-Lu model), the configuration model, and the preferential attachment model. Using machine learning techniques based on motif (or small subgraph) counts, we determine that the Chung-Lu model best fits character networks and we conjecture why this may be the case.
Research supported by grants from NSERC and Ryerson University; Gleich and Hou’s work were supported by NSF CAREER Award CCF-1149756, IIS-1546488, CCF-093937, and DARPA SIMPLEX.
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Bonato, A., D’Angelo, D.R., Elenberg, E.R., Gleich, D.F., Hou, Y. (2016). Mining and Modeling Character Networks. In: Bonato, A., Graham, F., Prałat, P. (eds) Algorithms and Models for the Web Graph. WAW 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10088. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49787-7_9
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