Cinema Consumption and Related Social Factors

Introduction: In the past, consumption was used as a topic of study in economics, but in recent decades it has become as a subject in social and cultural studies. Indeed, the late nineteenth and twentieth century scholars have emphasized on the cultural consumption and have deemed it as an important component of modern society. In the definitions, Consumption of cinema is one of the aspects of cultural consumption, but has been studied less attention than other aspects. According to above, this study sought to examine the cinematic tastes of different strata and groups of people, with emphasis on age, gender, education and occupational status variables.
Theoretical Foundations: As theoretical Principles have been used from Pierre Bourdieu's perspectives which spoken from consumption and class tastes.
Methodology: The method of research is survey; and it has been conducted with using questionnaire. According to Bourdieu's theory, there is usually need two surveys. The first survey was done to collect data related to the variables and to measure cinematic tastes of individuals. The multi-stage cluster sampling method was used for gathering data. Finally, 410 questionnaires were distributed among citizens over 15 years of Mashhad as examples. Also, second survey was required to measure the status of cinematic taste. Due to some problems, a new method to achieve the status of cinematic taste was used in the present study. In fact, two indicators were used to measure the cinematic taste of individuals: Artistic and social values of cinematic taste and interest in various film genres. In this study, imdb site was used to evaluate the status of individual’s cinematic taste.
Results: Based on the findings, there is no significant relationship between age and artistic and social value of cinematic taste. However, whatever age of persons goes up, their interest in action and exciting genres, melodrama and psychoanalytical genres, Scientific - fantasy genres and Comedy genres are much less; But their interest in historical, documentary and heroic genres are much more. Also, gender, education, and employment status are significantly and positively associated with social and artistic values of the individual’s cinematic taste. Actually, the results show that artistic and social values of cinematic tastes for men and people with higher education and occupational status, was higher than artistic and social values of cinematic tastes for women and people with lower education and occupational status. Whatever education of individual are higher, their interest in historical, documentary and heroic genres, melodrama and psychological genres and academic - fiction and comedy genres are more. Whatever employment status of individual are higher, their interest in action and exciting genres, and historical, documentary and heroic genres are more. Of course, correlation coefficient of employment status variable and interest in action and exciting genres are weak.
Conclusion: It seems that women in the "cinematic field and arena"- in Bourdieu's concept- have fewer opportunity and ability to foster their cinematic taste. This limited "field of action" can continue from difficulties of attending in cinemas to structural constraints for renting and buying movies, and even social controls of watching foreign movies for women at home. Higher education and higher occupational status likely make people to feel a different class than the person who have lower education and occupational status. Also, they create the greater opportunity to increase cinematic awareness and knowledge. On the other hand, they can leads to an increase in Individual capital (economic capital, social capital and cultural capital). It seems that these factors lead people - with higher education and higher occupational status - to select transcendental movies and higher artistic and social value movies.