Youth Perspectives on Abusive Relationships in XXI Century American Cinema

The article is devoted to studying the youth’s and future filmmakers’ opinions about abuse in partner relationships in modern American cinema. In modern culture, abuse has become somewhat of a trend. The research reveals that both theoretically and in real life, the boundaries of the concept of “abuse” are often blurred. Respondents also tend to confuse the notion of “abuse” with a partner’s character traits or existing difficulties in the relationship. The majority of the young people surveyed (71 %) expressed a negative attitude towards scenes of abuse in American cinema. At the same time, they believe that the presence of abuse in partnerships on screen can perform an educational and therapeutic functions for young people, and that art should not hush up those phenomena that are observed in real life.