The role of contemporary cinema in shaping students' perceptions of the future

The purpose of this study is to determine the role of contemporary cinema in shaping representations of the future among Russian university students and to identify the structural components of these future-oriented images formed under the influence of audiovisual media content. The methodological framework integrates political-psychological, sociocultural, constructivist, semiotic, and spatiotemporal approaches, as well as the theory of social representations. The empirical basis includes an online survey of 1,116 university students in the Krasnodar Territory and ten focus-group interviews involving representatives of different segments of the student population. The findings demonstrate that cinema serves as one of the key channels through which young people construct their social time perspective: respondents frequently engage with films and series depicting the future, with dystopian, science-fiction and post-apocalyptic narratives being particularly prevalent. The emerging images of the future are marked by value-based and emotional ambivalence, combining hope, optimism, and interest in Russia’s future with concerns related to social, political, and environmental risks. Three interrelated components of these future images are identified − valuebased, symbolic, and agency-related − which structure young people’s understanding of personal and collective responsibility, possible trajectories of national development, and their own place within these scenarios. The theoretical significance of the study lies in clarifying the mechanisms through which visual culture exerts political-psychological influence on young people’s temporal perspective and social imagination. The practical significance is associated with the potential application of the findings in youth policy design, media education, and the development of educational and cultural formats aimed at fostering constructive, value-oriented, and socially responsible visions of the future.