Family and Family Education in the Mirror of Soviet Feature Films (1960–1985)

Feature films about family life are powerful cultural artifacts that shape the upbringing of youth by modelling behaviour, reinforcing values, and addressing moral and ethical dilemmas.They provide young people with tools to navigate their own family relationships, foster empathy, and influence their aspirations for future family life.By portraying a range of family experiences, films help youth understand the complexity of relationships and the importance of communication, compassion, and responsibility in a family setting.Hence, studying feature films about family life in the context of film studies and media education plays a significant role in the upbringing of youth by shaping their understanding of family relationships.Our content analysis of Soviet feature films about family and family education during the period of "stagnation" showed that they reflected the desire of the Soviet government to maintain stability and order through the propaganda of the ideals of a strong and stable family.However, despite the official positive narratives, the films increasingly raised issues of the crisis of family relations, the conflict of generations and moral dilemmas, which spoke of the real problems of society.The worldview of the film characters of the "stagnation" period is characterized by a combination of conformism, the desire for stability and an internal search for the meaning of life against the background of general social stagnation.The characters are torn between traditional family values and a feeling of internal dissatisfaction, which creates tension and forces them to solve personal and moral dilemmas.