International Journal of Media and Information Literacy

249-258

Authors: Safa Ilyas Ahmed, Anjum Zia

In this study the social media interactivity among digital natives and digital immigrants in Lahore has been evaluated. The primary goal of this research is to determine whether they are participating in social media interactivity or not. In continuation to this their social media interaction patterns have been highlighted. The interview of total 16 participants were carried out. These participants belong to a variety of communities including students, academics, psychologists, sociologists, and housewives. They are chosen based on their interest in and frequency of social media interactions. Data was collected through a semi structured interview and examined using thematic analysis. The results revealed that the digital natives and digital immigrants both spend a significant time of their daily lives interacting with social media. Both natives and immigrants have comparable intentions of staying connected, following recent trends on social media and interacting with friends and family. These research threads address high-profile problems and debates surrounding both groups' involvement in social media interactivity, and they provide fertile ground for future research.

274-282

Authors: Tatiana Byundyugova, Anna Babikova, Elena Kornienko

Global technological changes and the widespread use of information and communication technologies lead to the need to study the formation of information literacy skills of various demographic groups. The formation of the information economy creates increased requirements for the level of proficiency in digital and information technologies in order to successfully exist in a modern high-tech environment, which leads to the need for changes in the education system. These changes are aimed at developing the ability to understand the dynamics of the information world, to navigate the increasing flow of information. To this end, the latest technologies are actively used in educational programs, which, on the one hand, improve the quality of the educational process, helping to master educational content more effectively, and on the other hand, contribute to the mastery and use of digital and information technologies by students. This study examines the technologies of visual learning, which significantly improve the quality of the educational process. As part of the study of modern trends in the educational environment, the emphasis was placed on the use of visualization as a form of presentation of educational material. Different forms of visualization were investigated: active, passive, value-semantic, universal for different age groups of respondents (schoolchildren, students, adults), a total of 412 people participated in the study. For six months, they worked with different forms of visualization as part of the training. It was revealed that it is necessary to take into account age factors, motivational features that will allow you to build individual training routes based on operating with different forms of visual information, which will allow you to critically and systematically study materials, qualitatively develop skills and abilities, be effective, achieve goals and results.

289-298

Authors: Beatriz Feijoo, Charo Sádaba, Gemma Martínez

Despite its relevance, the difficulty in reaching consensus on the definition of digital competence slows down its implementation. The need of prior development of specific skills to advance in digital development has been recently reported. The acquisition of skills involves making the most of the opportunities offered by the digital environment. This article shows the results from a research conducted on 501 parent-child dyads in Chile in which minors aged 10 to 14 reported their self-perceptions on who (parents, siblings and peers) taught them certain technical and operational digital skills on mobile devices. Parents were also surveyed to know their perception about this children’s social mediation. Socio-demographic variables are also analysed. Chilean minors have a clear perception of autonomy in the acquisition of digital competence, parents underestimate their ability to influence, and other socialization agents such as siblings play a significant role. Age, gender and socioeconomic level to a lesser extent mark differences in the acquisition of these skills. In addition to providing a comparison on the perception parents and children have on the extent to which minors are accompanied while on their mobile phone, the article goes beyond parental mediation strategies and collects parental reflections on types of mediation.

311-320

Authors: Olga Gorbatkova

This article is dedicated to the problem of teenage extremism as a form of social deviation in the configuration of modern media texts in the transformation processes of Russia (based on the material of online mass media) and specific features of the media messages embodying extremist materials impact on the consciousness of the adolescent audience. The relevance of the reviewed subject is confirmed by the fact that recently the phenomenology of the concept of “teenage extremism” is a discursive object in the research space. A significant increase in the level of attention to the study of extremist counterculture reflection in the media continuum of Russian society in the context of transformational processes is noticeable. The author revealed that there is a tendency of active disputes regarding the disclosure of the essential features and signs of “extremism” concept, which is a confirmation of the complexity, versatility of this phenomenon. The basic core of the research work is the implementation of the hermeneutic analysis of Russian media space continuum in the practical segment, which recreates the ideological meaning of the image of teenage extremism manifestation. As a result of the research, the author revealed the main tendencies of extremism among adolescents in modern Russian society, specific features and content characteristics, gender, religious, ideological, worldview context of the text of online mass media. The media educational potential in the context of reducing the level of risks in the media associated with the broadcast of extremist manifestations among adolescents to the society is indicated.

329-337

Authors: Olha Harmatiy, Zoriana Haladzhun, Olena Makarchuk, Peter Kravčák

Nowadays, governments recognize the importance of communicating with citizens, especially communication online – given the high popularity of the Internet and modern technical achievements. For the authorities, the Internet expands opportunities to explain and promote their programs and decisions, to establish and maintain dialogue with the public, especially with young people as the most active and promising part of it. For citizens, Internet-based communication is a powerful tool for studying government activities and understanding the public influence on decision-making processes. Its importance is particularly acute in crises, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic, as government responsibility grows up, complexity of communication tasks rises, and demands, inquiries, and scrutiny from the public increase. The results of the survey of university students from Slovakia and Ukraine confirm the need in government information at crisis time. According to the study, local government official websites and local government social media sites are prior sources of information and news during the coronavirus outbreak. The obtained data provide implications for a better understanding of how young audiences perceive government online communication during the crisis in light of increasing Internet usage on the one hand, and public demand for open, accessible, and transparent government on the other hand.

354-363

Authors: Andrii E. Lebid, Mykola S. Nazarov, Natal'ya A. Shevchenko

This paper analyzes the use of the terms ‘information resilience’ and ‘social resilience’ in the context of national resilience strategies. It is shown that information resilience reflects transformations in the system of international relations and the domestic policies of different countries, as well as prospects for the development of information-and-communications technology and its impact on social processes. Based on the results of a research project implemented as part of this study, a hypothesis was formulated which stated that the majority of the Ukrainian people are not aware of the reality of information threats at this time. This hypothesis was supported based on an analysis of empirical data collected for the study. The study helped identify gaps between government and society in Ukraine in the following five key areas: values, goals, capabilities, motivation, and communication. It is shown that these gaps have had a significant impact on the overall level of information and national resilience in Ukraine. The information resilience of Ukrainian society was analyzed at the local level (through the example of Ukraine’s eastern and southeastern regions). It is suggested that the issue of social and information resilience is of particular relevance in the context of information and media literacy amongst the population, especially within small communities. In this context, an analysis was conducted of the information space of Ukraine’s eastern and southeastern regions. The resulting conclusion was that the level of media culture in Ukraine, determined by a number of both subjective and objective factors, is relatively low at this time.

376-386

Authors: Maria V. Plotnikova, Vladyslava M. Zavhorodnia, Sergey I. Degtyarev, Lyubov G. Polyakova

This paper aims to explore the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in the area of regulating the activity of online media, as well as establish the information, axiological, and legal potential of the Court’s decisions for shaping the content of new media literacy education. Insight is provided into a set of factors governing the need for adopting new conceptual approaches to establishing a sound legal framework for the operation of contemporary social media. The authors analyzed the provisions of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights dealing with the correlation and balance between the right to freedom of speech and expression and the right to privacy and the protection of the honor, dignity, and reputation of physical and legal persons. The authors singled out a set of legal provisions that need to be particularly focused on and promoted as particularly facilitative of the development of media literacy among both professional journalists and ordinary social media users who can create and/or distribute media content.

396-405

Authors: Lyudmila Seliverstova, Anastasia Levitskaya, Ilya Seliverstov

This article seeks to contribute to a theory of media's construction of reality – study the ways mass media use to shape a public figure's image, on the example of the Russian political leader's representation in foreign media. The main focus of the research is on the linguistic means by which this image is created and reinforced. The data are drawn from a selection of publications of the American newspaper Daily news and the German magazine Der Spiegel in the online format from 2000 to 2004 and from 2018 to 2020 . The authors examined is a striking and by far not unique example of how the world media construct the social reality for a contemporary man. In most cases, creating the media image of the President of Russia V. Putin, the Daily News and Der Spiegel appeal to readers’ negative emotions. Although on the pages of the German edition over the last three years it was possible to identify language means that positively characterize the leader of Russia, their share is insignificant. Since the selection of linguistic means directly affects what image will be formed in the mind of the reader, it can be concluded that the Western media deliberately form a predominantly negative media image of the Russian president, thereby manipulating the opinion of the German-speaking and English-speaking people. It should be admitted that powerful structures of information warfare and anti-Russian propaganda have long been developed in the West, and this propaganda itself, often mixed with Russophobia, has practically turned into a factor of global politics.

416-425

Authors: Larisa Skorova, Daria Suvorova

The study of the system of moral values of young people using film narrative, which has an effect on the impressions, meanings, significations, attitudes of people and values, human beliefs, treatment of people and values would determine mental health of an individual and psychological well-being of a society as a whole. Teenagers are those most susceptible to the exposure. The novelty of the study was that the evaluation of the impersonations of the characters in a situation of moral choice, transmission of moral values presented in the film narrative, was studied in adolescents without parental oversight, living in residential care facilities for more than 10 years. The methodological foundation of the study was the psychosemiotic approach to content analysis. A toolbox of techniques was used in the study: theoretical analysis, immanent analysis of the film; factorial analysis; a dedicated semantic differential was used to discover the factors revealing the semantics of the impersonations of the characters of the film narrative in a situation of moral collision, and to compare their perception by different groups of teenagers; analysis of letters to the character was carried out using the procedure of content analysis. We proceeded from the assumption that teenagers' perception and semantic evaluation of the characters of the film narrative in the situation of moral choice was determined by their experience of living in the situation of moral choice and conditions of their upbringing; the system of values presented in the film narrative, the situation of moral collision experienced by the characters, determined the perception and semantic evaluation of their impersonations by modern teenagers. The study was carried out on the basis of schools in Irkutsk, facilities for children without parental care (Republic of Buryatia, Irkutsk) (n = 78). 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas' motion picture was used as stimulus material. It was demonstrated that teenagers left without parental care would perceive the characters of the motion picture in positive categories of morality more often than those raised in families. The attitude towards the characters of a movie who were in a situation of moral choice, was determined by the categories of nobility, peacefulness, humanity, tolerance, and piety. The identified differences could be explained by their experience of living in a situation of moral choice, the attitude toward children in situations of living hardships, the individual psychological differences of adolescents. Differences in attitudes could also be seen as the reason for differences in the effectiveness of the impression of the movie. It was substantiated that the situation of moral choice in cinematography served as a tool for shaping moral values. The study sustained the idea of the potential of motion pictures, their effect on shaping moral values of adolescents, complemented the data on the effect of the film narrative on personal development and individual differences in the evaluation of media products. The obtained findings set the task of identifying the mechanisms of positive influence of movies on different groups of adolescents.

436-446

Authors: Sonali Srivastav, Shikha Rai

The study is aimed at examining the online brand image building and user engagement strategies adopted by the two Video on Demand Service providers, Amazon Prime Video India and Netflix India. It also analyses the communication patterns between the subscribers and the brand. The paper utilizes a method called Netnography or virtual Ethnography and studies two communities – the official Facebook groups – Netflix India and Amazon Prime Video India. Data was collated by acquiring two approaches, Observation and Extraction of archival data. The method not only shed light on strategies used by the service providers to engage the audience, but also witnessed the efforts by the brands of converting consumers into fan bases. It helped in discerning the communication process within the community, within the members and with the brand, contributing towards a brand building exercise on the Facebook group. Lastly, the data gathered also helped in evaluating quantitatively and qualitatively if the methods are working in favor of the brands or not. The results are not only indicative of how social media presence affects a brand image, but also how fan cultures have replaced the relationship of a service provider and buyer. These groups are emerging not only as sites of creating market space, but also for fan congregations. Participants interact not only with the brand, but also with each other and further inviting new subscribers to the group as well, laying a case for virtual word of mouth publicity. These groups are also instrumental in providing a quick feedback to the administrators of the page about the strategies adopted for marketing their content through Facebook groups.

453-463

Authors: Safeena Yaseen, Ibtesam Mazahir, Jeyasushma Veeriah, Iqra Iqbal

The term electronic word of mouth has witnessed a constant evolution due to the technological advancements and increased internet mediated consumer conversations. The topic has become a subject of interest for both business professionals and academic scholars with its growing importance in business research. Past studies mostly discussed the dynamic nature of eWOM under the strong influence of emerging concepts and technological innovations. However, very few research studies have viewed its extensive evolution in the context of a basic model of communication. In this research paper, a theoretical review was conducted to systematically organize the literature findings to develop an eWOM communication model. From participants’ classification and motivation to generate eWOM to its influence on receivers, the model elaborates all the basic elements of communication process which also include content type and transmitting platform. This paper significantly contributes to elaborate the basic eWOM communication process by the extensive analyzation of the existing body of knowledge which will help in building a strong foundation of the topic for future studies.

4-16

Authors: Adamkolo Mohammed Ibrahim, Thi Phuong Vi

While adolescents in many nations across the world are getting exposed to various forms of cyberbullying and online harms, little attention has been devoted to examining the implications of gender and peer influence in secondary school adolescents’ involvement in cyberbullying in Nigeria. Addressing this void in the literature, the present study investigated the internet use pattern and peer victimisation among 992 secondary school adolescents in the fourth to sixth (senior) grades (age ranging from 15 to 17 years; males = 55.9 %). The data were collected using a questionnaire with a very high alpha coefficient of α = .92 and analysed using SPSS (v. 22). The findings revealed an alarmingly high incidence level (76 %) and that more male adolescents were involved in cyber victimisation and more female adolescents in cyber predation, a quite surprising phenomenon as far as the Nigerian school context is concerned. The results of the study highlight the importance of gender difference, peer influence and the degree of internet use as potential risk factors of cyberbullying among Nigerian in-school adolescents.

34-45

Authors: Farahat Ali, Muhammad Awais, Muhammad Faran

This study examines how usage of social media influence political polarization. Using data from the students of different public and private universities of Lahore, this study investigates the association between usage of social media and political polarization and proposes that political engagement and political loyalty can be potential mediators between the relationship of social media usage and political polarization (issue based, leadership based, and party based). Correlation research design was used to collect the data. A sample of 350 students were taken through purposive sampling technique. Smart Partial least square 3.2.7 has been used to analyze and test the conceptual model. Findings show that usage of social media has significant direct effect on political engagement and political loyalty. In addition to this, social media usage is a significant predictor of political polarization. Results further show that indirect effect of social media usage on polarization was mediated by political engagement and party loyalty. We observed that more usage of social media helps the participants to engage in politics and identify themselves with a certain political party. This study has highlighted the role of social media in motivating the users towards political participation. This high-level users’ participation on social networking sites is creating ideological divergence. The implications of these findings have been discussed in detail.

57-65

Authors: Tatiana V. Byundyugova, Anna V. Babikova, Elena V. Kornienko

This study examines the formation and development of information literacy skills of the population in the context of the penetration of information and communication technologies in all spheres of activity and the formation of a global digital space. The analysis of the scientific literature showed a significant interest of scientists in the category of information literacy of various population groups. Based on the analysis, it was revealed that most attention is paid to the development of information literacy among young people. Schools, colleges and universities successfully teach young people modern technologies. As a result of the study, it was revealed that there are practically no training programs aimed at middle-aged people, although they are the active users of information technologies both in everyday life and in professional activities. Based on the results of the review, the study of modern visual techniques for the development of digital skills and methods for evaluating the effectiveness of such training in different conditions can be proposed for subsequent research. In the course of the survey of respondents, three groups of people were identified, to varying degrees focused on the digital environment. The results show that Respondents who are highly focused on the digital environment most often use it in a functional version: they use it exclusively for paying bills, receiving services from the state. Those who are on average focused on the digital environment, most often try to self-actualize in it, to find conditions for self-development. They have the most constructive and creative attitude to the possibility of using it. Based on the results of the study, recommendations were proposed for training centers on the use of visualization technologies, which will help significantly improve the efficiency and quality of information literacy development in middle-aged people.

77-87

Authors: Anfal Khadidja Dekhil, Hanane Sarnou

The current study revolves around the use of TikTok application by Algerian teenagers, highlighting its specific type of communication (nonverbal communication) that has significant effects on the transmission and communication of cultural values among generations, as it leads further to unequal online practices and behaviours. In this insight, at first, we established the link between the historical evolution of language in TikTok as a modern social media platform and its hidden effects on Algerian teenagers’ cultural values. We attempted to make its users aware of the behaviours and habits decline in their cultural values and how it could influence them unconsciously. To reach our goal, we conducted the research study with 116 Algerian teenagers to confirm or nullify our hypotheses; and to collect the appropriate data we employed an ethnographic research method using online observation and online questionnaire as research tools. The results indicated that the nonverbal language used in TikTok application is a weak tool for communication. It has disturbed the flow of the local cultural values among adolescents because TikTok is enabling its users to create their content which is a factor that contributes to losing their cultural values and traditional standards by sharing useless and funny content.

100-110

Authors: Abul Hassan, Mohsin Hassan Khan, Djezair Ziberi

Barriers in a communication process hinder the intended feedback which, if not sent back to the message sender, disperse in the surrounding. This study intends to relate those communication barriers with the message-receiver, who instead of sharing his or her views back to the message-sender, contends to disseminate it among peer groups and social media platforms. The study conducted in-depth interviews of 9 students who were scrutinized as message receivers in their communication roles of parents-children, teacher-student, and religious scholars-religious follower. Five communication barriers; cultural, psychological, educational, economic, and religion were analyzed as hindering factors in a smooth communication process. The study found out that people, if suppressed for their feedback opinion, contend to multiple channels to do catharsis, consoling their ideology and attain resonating responses. Intra-communication, peer groups, and social media are those platforms that initiate a free flow of information from different message-receivers who could not give their feedback to the real message-sender due to pressure of cultural patterns, psychological divergence, educational incompatibilities, economic limitations, and religious conventions. Hence, the feedback message which was supposed to be shared with the parents, teachers, and religious scholars, reaches other segments of society which are not directly related to the particular communication.

119-128

Authors: Mariana Kitsa

Popular science journalism is an effective method of communication between the scientific community and ordinary people. In the article it is considered popular science media as an important part of mediaspace. On the basis of overview of Ukrainian media, it is done the analysis of the current situation with popular science information in media. To understand the expectations of audience it was conducted the survey (N = 200). Thus it was determined the role of scientific information for the audience, as well as identified relevant methods of presenting scientific information. The survey showed that popular science journalism plays an important role in the lives of Ukrainians. Especially it is actual during world pandemic, when citizens want to know about the newest means of treating from COVID-19. Most respondents, as expected, actively use the Internet to learn about the latest advances in science and technology. As it turned out, Ukrainians read not only domestic publications, but also foreign ones, but there are still respondents who are poorly oriented in the topic, are not informed in the current situation with new in science and in particular with the COVID-19 researchings.

146-155

Authors: Elena A. Makarova, Elena L. Makarova, Vera I. Mishchenko

Recent research shows significant effects of the pandemic COVID-19 situation information in mass media on the population’s mental health. These effects have to be impartially assessed and thoroughly analyzed in order to prevent mental and psychosomatic diseases, maladjustment to restrictions caused by a lockdown. Social media platforms are among the most widely used sources of information in the world, the easy and inexpensive access to the internet and a large number of social networks make them the most effective ways to disseminate information. The problem is that this information may be truthful or fake. Mass media play a crucial role in people’s lives in regular situation and is especially significant in the situation of lockdown due to COVID-19 spreading. It is obvious that for complete understanding of people’s anxiety and unexplainable fear social surveys using standard psychological tools should be used, although special scales for evaluating pandemic effects on people’s lives have not been created yet. The authors emphasize the need to take into account qualitative analysis of the entire completeness of stress effects in a situation of pandemic (virtual threat and information stress, deprivation, self-isolation, loneliness, socio-economic stress) and suggest a means to prevent stress-associated mental and psychosomatic disorders.

166-175

Authors: Bashir Memon, Muhammad Ibrahim Mirbahar, Rashid Ali Khuhro

News is the foundation of the media. The main function of news is to update the people and based on that they make decisions. Thus, the public needs to know about what news is. What are its functions? What is the credibility of news sources and the medium it is circulated? The public can get an insight into the above questions through news literacy. News media literacy is a specific part of media literacy. In this way, the purpose of this is to assess the news media literacy level of the students and their knowledge about the production of news media content. The researchers used a cross-sectional survey to collect data from purposively selected students of three leading public sector universities of Sindh, province of Pakistan. The findings exhibited that students at the public sector universities in Sindh province of Pakistan are literate about news and they know about contribution. The contributed content for media organizations particularly for traditional media in the content genres like articles, features, and writing letters to the editors and contributed for social media in the form of texts, photos, audio, and video clips as well. The studies related to media literacy should be conducted in other universities of Pakistan.

182-192

Authors: Ida Rosida, Muhammad Azwar

This study explores the construction of gender roles performed in The Irvandi's YouTube channel. By deploying cultural studies approach and working within the framework of the circuit of culture by Stuart Hall, this study aims to show how gender role is regulated, produced, consumed, and represented, which then constructs Indonesian women's identity. The result shows that the gender role is regulated through religion by which Islamic teachings are applied in her daily life and the social construction rooted within the patriarchal ideology. Next, the video's content is produced as the content creator accepts the gender roles tightly related to the regulation. Further, the video is consumed by its viewer where power, ideology, gender, and social class have shaped each other. Within its consumption, the video reveals the gender stereotyping and brings the effect of empowering women. As an interrelated element, the circuit of culture represents Indonesian women as ideal Muslim women (shaleha). The identity of women in the video is constructed through representation. She constructs her identity as a religious woman and shaleha. Besides, showing viewers where she usually buys home furnishing products indicates that she shows her middle social class. In conclusion, YouTube has become a new culture in Indonesia and has created an Islamic cultural industry as the content is presenting a series of images, practices, and religious values which is marketed especially to Muslim women. Then, this kind of YouTube video is re-strengthening and re-emphasizing the role of women in the family. The differentiation of roles between men and women is reconstructed and reproduced within this online video sharing platform.

201-210

Authors: Hamza Shaheen, Farahat Ali, Muhammad Awais, Muzammil Saeed

The study revolves around online health related information seeking. Hypothetically, the use of social media and other internet-based platforms is becoming common. This information seeking behavior further leads to self-medication which can be dangerous, so it requires theoretical attention. While many studies have been conducted to cover this behavior, there was a need to explore this area in the context of Pakistan. Internet is the focus of this study which is further sub-categorized into other media forms like Social Media, Google Search, Online Web T.V./Radio and E-Magazines/Papers. Data was gathered using purposive sampling technique from the intended population (N = 300) and to examine the data. Findings of this study indicated that the relationship of information-carrier characteristics and online health information seeking was significantly mediated by utility of information channel. On the other hand, utility was significantly predicted by beliefs, interest, and information-carrier characteristics. Furthermore, direct experience and salience are not significant predictors of utility of online health information seeking. The study also helped elaborating the extensions of comprehensive model of information seeking, which are helpful in applying this model in context of the latest digital media.

219-230

Authors: Larysa Shevchenko, Dmytro Syzonov, Olga Pliasun, Volodymyr Shmatko

The article presents screening of Facebook and Instagram news pages for the degree of media literacy of modern recipients in the perception and further dissemination of information about COVID-19. We state that in most cases modern recipients do not check the information obtained from media sources (as confirmation, we present the results of an electronic survey). Nowadays most respondents do not pay attention to the information provided and are ready to repost the material on their social media pages. The data obtained confirm this thesis: 45.8 % partially 23.7 % fully do not check the information from media sources, therefore, almost two thirds of respondents trust the facts presented in media. We associate low media literacy with the rapid globalization of modern media, due to which the flow of information is uncontrolled, especially in Internet communication. Another reason for low media literacy is the "skill" of journalists to mislead recipients through bright headlines. It is proved that a bright headline, compositionally organized as an interrogative or exclamatory sentence, has a greater impact than a narrative construction. According to our survey, headlines with lexical manipulative resources are the most popular (44 %), while headlines with phonetic manipulative means are less affected by the recipient. Most of the interviewed recipients are still ready to check the factuality of the information in a media text (we emphasize that we have deliberately selected fake news). Some recipients (22 %) pay attention to fake news because of a bright headline (or trusting a verified media resource) and are ready to repost the news without verification. Due to the resonance of the news related to COVID-19 journalists have used not only objective but also fake news as a tool to influence the recipient. The questionnaire clearly indicates that media literacy of modern recipients is influenced by the political orientation of a media source, as well as the recklessness of recipients to verify the facts and trust any information obtained from official sources and interpreted in media.

239-245

Authors: Marina Tselykh

In 2021 the Publishing House SM "Information for All" published a book by Professor Alexander Fedorov "Record holders of the banned Soviet cinema (1951-1991) in the mirror of film criticism and viewers' opinions" (Fedorov, 2021). In this interview with Professor Marina Tselykh, Alexander Fedorov discussed the reasons for which films were banned, shelved or interrupted at various stages of their production in the USSR, how audiences reacted to the release of such "shelf" films during "perestroika," and other aspects of the topic. After reading this book it becomes clear how difficult was the fate of Soviet film directors, screenwriters and actors. The lives of some of the most talented filmmakers were ruined... For example, Alexander Askoldov was banned from working in the film industry for twenty years after his film "Commissar" was shot. And Soviet many films have been banned from cinemas and television or stopped while they were still in the making. And this despite the fact that many of them had real artistic value, were masterfully filmed.