Riformatori sociali e cavie umane. La rappresentazione della sociologia nel cinema muto americano

In American silent cinema there are often sociologists (or individuals who, as amateurs, are interested in sociology). The article is an analysis of a corpus of 26 silent films featuring sociologists. The source on which the research is based are the synopses published in the film magazines of the time (in particular Moving Picture World). The presence of sociologists is concentrated in a particular way in the years between 1913 and 1919 (while in the following years there is a sudden decline). In line with the prevailing image of American sociology of the period, in the films considered, sociologists are identified above all with social reformers and philanthropists, moved primarily by the goal of improving the lives of workers and the poor and the redemption of prisoners. However, there are also some simplistic representations of sociologists driven by mainly theoretical interests and intent on conducting ‘social experiments’. In addition to providing useful elements to understand the perception that surrounded American sociology in the early decades of the twentieth century, the article sheds light on a group of little-known but symptomatic films.