The Role of Viewers' Value Conflicts and the Peculiarities of Movie Preferences

Abstract

This aim of this research is to clarify the mechanisms of resolving value conflicts of the youth audience according the movies they choose. The study was conducted in the format of a written survey, 210 students of Nizhny Novgorod universities (118 girls and 92 boys, aged 18-22 years) were recruited for the study. The methods used were the author's method of studying movie impressions, the method of the value profile of the personality of S. Schwartz. It was revealed that the preferences are influenced by the viewers’ identification with their favorite movie characters, as well as the presence of conflicting motivational formations in the viewers’ value system. We picked out the following criteria of film selections, sensitive to the value characteristics of the audience:,the country of origin, dynamics and realism of the narrative. We found out that the characteristics of exclusive and inclusive orientation of discrepancies in the value perception of oneself and of movie characters also play an important role in forming viewers’ movie preferences.