Movies provide an excellent medium to display the culture at the time of each film’s production. They often reflect people’s views on pressing matters that they believe should be presented to the masses.

Recently, Hollywood films have included diverse cast members, in terms of gender and race, to play lead roles in movies such as the new Star Wars films, which have a female protagonist driving the story along with her friends (including characters of multiple races) in The Force Awakens.

Some movies also discuss social commentary; the movie Zootopia, for example, touches upon segregation and negative stereotypes towards various species of animals, mirroring the racial segregation that lead to the Civil Rights movement. The recent movie Hidden Figures recounts the tale of the African American women who helped launch astronaut John Glenn into space with their mathematical expertise. Due to their race and gender, these women faced many obstacles in their profession, but strived to overcome them.

These films often reflect our views of society and create a time capsule of the way we think. They display our values as well. The movies represent the wave of protests on subjects from women’s rights to the recent travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. They show our thoughts on current events in ways we may not recognize, or movies like these may be made just to sell tickets due to their focus on modern issues. In any case, these films and many others, including Moonlight and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, may provide insight on the way we perceive the world around us.