Аннотация:In this essay we look at dominant reasons for positive and negative attitudes to the Hobbit
films on the part of the Russian Federation viewers through their expressed regrets (Q9) and
their portraits deduced from qualitative answers characterizing their attitude to the book
(Q21), and information on cultural predilections of the viewers. Another correlation we are
looking more closely into, is with the chosen and rejected type of films as reflected in the
answers to Qs4-6. Our observations are supported by comparisons with the USA, Swedish
and French segments, which have very close numbers of respondents. The hypothesis we
are testing with our research concerns the general mode of fantasy films consumption in the
Russian Federation: we suppose it to be based on seeking moral support in life rather than
on pure distraction from reality attributed generally to a reaction called ‘escapism’.
Discussion of the results touches also upon the influence on the respondents’ reaction of
cultural and political dimensions.
Keywords: Tolkien, Peter Jackson, Russian viewers, Fantasy reception, mediapsychology,
cultural background, Fandom studies, escapism, moral values