Moved to Justice: The Effects of Socially Conscious Films on Social Justice Concerns

ABSTRACT

The unique blend of fun entertainment and social relevance in socially conscious films, e.g., Black Panther (2018), appeals to viewers’ pleasure-seeking motives while it delivers social commentary. The present study examines the impact of pre-screening expectations and post-screening reflections on concerns for social justice. A two-stage 2 × 2 experiment was conducted to test the potential main effects and interactions of film expectations (socially conscious vs. fun expectations) and reflection (socially conscious vs. fun reflection) on social justice concerns, and meaningful affect. Results showed that socially conscious expectations increased social justice outcomes and meaningful affect. Mediation tests revealed that meaningful affect and threat-to-freedom explained the link between expectations and social justice concerns. Further, when conservative and some moderate viewers expect the film to be “socially important,” their perceptions of affirmative action policies become less negative. The present research provides initial evidence for the positive effects of popular, socially conscious films toward raising concerns for social justice.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Jeeyun Oh for providing helpful discussions about this project. Our gratitude also extends to the Psychology faculty at Roanoke College for their valuable suggestions and encouragement.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

¹ Responses were coded independently as a dichotomous variable by the second author who did not conduct the main analyses for the present study. 10 participants were coded as having guessed our study goals.

² O’Keefe (2003) argues that research on the psychological effects of message variation does not require a manipulation check because the independent variable is “quite independent of participant perceptions” (p. 257). Unlike a concept like “perceived vividness” where specific perceptual outcomes are part of its definition, the present study operationalized film expectations as exposure to two different film reviews or messages.

³ Film stimulus exposure and participant race are potential confounds in the present study design and context. The main analyses were repeated with these additional covariates, but the results remain unchanged. Further, the main results were also unaffected when only two controls were used, prior exposure and ideology.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Guan Soon Khoo

Guan Soon Khoo is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Roanoke College, Salem, VA, USA. He earned his Ph.D. in Mass Communications at The Pennsylvania State University. As of Fall 2020, he will join the faculty of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin.

Erin Ash

Erin Ash is an Associate Professor in the Communication Department at Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA. She earned his Ph.D. in Mass Communications at The Pennsylvania State University.