***PLEASE PARTICIPATE IN THIS SURVEY!***

Please answer the questions in the survey, below.

Please type your answers under the questions and send the replies back to me.
If you've received the survey as an e-mail message from me, that will be easy to do.
If you are viewing the survey on the web, you can copy and paste it into an e-mail message. Or, you can e-mail me and I'll e-mail you the survey in the body of the message.

Send your answers to me via e-mail at: moviefansurvey@gmail.com

You can write short answers if you want. One word answers are fine.
You can write long answers if you want. You can fill pages if you want.

If you don't want to use e-mail, you can send me a hard copy of your survey answers at:

Professor Goska
Department of Anthropology
William Paterson University of New Jersey
300 Pompton Road
Wayne, NJ 07470

***THE GOAL***

My goal is to write a scholarly publication that answers some of my own questions about why movies are attractive, what meaning audiences get from movies, and why fans post about movies on the internet. I can't promise that what I write will find publication, but I will try.

I'm a college professor. I don't work for the film industry or IMDB. This survey is strictly for research. I won't share it with IMDB or the film industry.

Scholars receive no money for scholarly articles so I am not doing this for profit, and I expect to gain no profit from this research.

***IS IT SAFE FOR YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SURVEY?***

My goal is scholarly publication. For me to achieve publication, I have to treat you, my informant, with utmost respect.

I will comply with the very strict academic standards for the treatment of survey participants. I may include brief, anonymous excerpts from your survey responses in a scholarly publication. I may not include quotes by you at all. If I do include quotes by you, I will include them with a pseudonym chosen by you. I will not use your IMDB.com user name or your real name. I will never show your complete survey response form to anyone. I will not post your responses, in whole or in part, on IMDB.

I've been trained by the best ethnographers in the field, including the Peace Corps, Alan Dundes and Henry Glassie. I surveyed hundreds of people for Indiana University's Center for Survey Research, where my superiors were scrupulous about interviewers upholding every criterion for ethical research. They had to be – the data we collected was used by governments, charities, and universities.

I also interviewed people for my own research. On my website, you can read my published scholarly articles that include quotes from informants. You can see that I don't reveal people's real names unless it is their choice that their real name be revealed.

If I've not answered here a question that you have, please contact me with your question, and I'll try to answer it. Thank you.

PLEASE ANSWER THE QUESTIONS, BELOW.

SECTION ONE: ***QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU***

1) What pseudonym would you like me to use, in case I do quote you?

2) What is your age, actual or approximate?

3) What is your gender?

4) What do you do for a living?

5) Select one of the choices below as your approximate annual income. Below your choice, please type "YES."
$0-$10,000
$10,000-$20,000
$20,000-$40,000
$40,000-$60,000
$60,000-$100,000
$100,000 and above

6) What is the configuration of your household? For example, are you single and living alone? With roommates? Married? With children in the home? With your parents in the home?

7) Where do you live? (Name a city, state, or region. No need to give details.)

8) What is your ethnicity?

9) What is your most frequently used language?

10) Please tell me your highest educational level, for example, grade school, high school, college, post graduate, trade school, military.

11) In addition to posting about movies on IMDB, do you write essays, short stories, novels, fan fiction? Have you been published? If so, what have you published?

SECTION TWO: ***QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU AND MOVIES***

1) How many movies do you watch a week?

2) Do you watch movies at home on TV, on a VCR or DVD player, on a computer, in a theater, or all of the above?

3) Which is your preferred method of watching movies?

4) What is your most frequent method of watching movies?

5) How long have you been a movie fan?

6) Did you have a film mentor, for example, a parent, an older brother or sister, a teacher or a friend who introduced you to movie watching?

7) If so, what impact did this film mentor have on your life? Please go into as much detail as necessary.

8) Was there one movie that drew you in to being a movie fan? Or not?

9) Did you study film at college or university?

10) If so, what impact did studying films in college have on your movie watching?

11) Have you ever wanted to be a movie star?

12) Have you ever wanted to work behind the camera, as a director or script writer?

13) Have you ever worked in the film industry?

14) Do movies, characters in movies, or stars inspire you?

15) Do movies, characters in movies, or stars help you to solve real life problems?

16) Have movies, characters in movies, or stars changed your life? If so, how?

17) If you suddenly were not able to see any more movies, what would your reaction be?

18) Can you sum up your relationship to movies?

Relationship of movies to other art forms in your life:

1) Please compare your movie-watching to any other art form you enjoy, for example, books, paintings, poetry, music, plays, opera, etc.

2) Do you see any relation between your movie watching and religious activity? (Movie audiences, like participants at a religious ceremony, join together in giving their attention to a movie; this could be understood as a ceremony. Movie fans sometimes devote worshipful attention to their favorite stars; some call this "worship." Moviegoers sometimes derive great meaning from film plots. Many men, for example, use "The Godfather" as a guide on how to live life. Movie characters, like Batman and Superman, become almost mythic figures to some viewers. Watching a movie in a theater can be like entering a dream state, or meditation. One departs from the real world, and enters into an alternative reality.)
How about you? Do you see any relationship between your movie watching and religious activity? Or do you see any relationship between others' movie watching and a religious activity? Or not?

Your Favorite Genres

After each item on the list below, please type "YES," "SOMETIMES," or "NO"

If this is one of your favorite genres please type "YES"
If this is a genre you watch every now and then please type "SOMETIMES"
If this is a genre you don't like please type "NO"

Action / Adventure
Animated
Bio-pic or Biography
Children's / Family / Disney
Comic Book Superhero
Costume Romance
Crime
Disaster
Drama
Docudrama
Documentary
Epic
Film Noir
Gangster
Gross-out comedy
Historical
Horror
Martial Arts
Mystery
Play adaptation
Musical
Romantic Comedy
Science Fiction
Screwball comedy
Silent film
Sports
Supernatural
Suspense
Teen
Thriller
Underground / Independent movies
War movies
Westerns
Other genres (Please name)

International Films

Are movies from any particular country favorites of yours? If so, what country? The US? The UK? France? Denmark? Sweden? Poland? Czechoslovakia? Russia? Iran? Israel? India? Hong Kong? China? Some other country?

Your favorite movie decade

Do you have a favorite movie decade or time period?
If you do have a favorite movie decade or time period, which is it? The 1930s? The 1940s? The 1950s? The 1960s? The 1970s? The 1980s? 90s? 2000s? The Silents? The Golden Age? The Studio era? The New Wave? Some other era?

Companions

1) Are you most likely to watch films with others, or alone?

2) Do your face-to-face friends and family share your enthusiasm for movies?

3) Can you discuss films with your face-to-face family and friends as you can on internet bulletin boards?

SECTION THREE: ***QUESTIONS ABOUT POSTING AT IMDB.COM***

1) What is the approximate number of hours a week you read and post messages about film on the internet?

2) Have you learned anything from posting at IMDB?

3) Has posting at IMDB changed you as a person?

4) Is there anything that IMDB posters do that really annoys you? If so, what do IMDB users do that annoys you?

After the statement or statements, below, that best describes your posting at IMDB, please type "YES." You can choose more than one answer if more than one answer fits.

I post in the summer, when the blockbusters come out.
I post in the winter, when the Oscar-bait movies come out.
I post during downtimes at work.
I post during winter vacation / summer vacation / spring break.
I post after seeing a movie or TV show that moves me a lot.
I post after an event like the death of a celebrity.

IMDB Boards you prefer. After the ONE statement below that best describes the boards you post on most frequently, please type "YES."

I post most often on many different message boards, some for movies, some for stars, some for other topics.
I post most often on a board dedicated to a given performer. (Please name the performer.)
I post most often on a board dedicated to a given movie. (Please name the movie.)
I post most often on a board dedicated to a given TV show. (Please name the TV show.)
I post most often on boards not related to movies at all, for example the food board, the sandbox, the politics board, or the religion board. (Please name the board.)

After the ONE statement, below, that best describes your posting, please type "YES."

I post more film reviews than messages on the message boards.
I post more messages on the message boards than film reviews.

Please select the ONE statement, below, that best describes how you divide your time at IMDB. After the statement that best describes you, please type "YES."

I never read other people's comments; one hundred percent of the time I post my own comments..

Ten percent of the time I read other people's comments; ninety percent of the time I post my own comments.

Twenty-five percent of the time I read other people's comments; seventy-five percent of the time I post my own comments.

Fifty percent of the time I read other people's comments; fifty percent of the time I post my own comments.

Seventy-five percent of the time I read other people's comments; twenty-five percent of the time I post my own comments.

Ninety percent of the time I read other people's comments; ten percent of the time I post my own comments.

One hundred percent of the time I read other people's comments; I never post any comments of my own.

Debates at IMDB and your participation.

By "debate," I mean the lengthy discussions about topics like the following:

· The meaning of the final episode of the "Sopranos."
· The "Twilight" books and films and whether or not they are good for girls or bad for girls.
· The Cecil B. DeMille film "The Ten Commandments" and its depiction of Ancient Egypt.
· Whether or not Addison Dewitt in "All About Eve" is gay.
· Jennifer Aniston v. Angelina Jolie, and Brad Pitt.
· Debates about whether or not a given movie is racist.
· Debates about violence in films.
· Debates about whether or not an Academy Award was deserved.

Please provide answers to some or all of the following questions:

1) Which debate did you participate in?
2) Why did you put time and energy into the debate? What did you get out of it?
3) Did it feel good to convince others of your point of view?
4) Did you feel that you were making a contribution to an important matter?
5) Were you just blowing off steam?
6) Did you learn something from reading the posts in the debate, or did you learn something by composing your posts in the debate?

YOUR RESPONSE TO THE FEEDBACK YOU GET FROM OTHERS
Please select ONE of the following as closest to your point of view. After the selection that best represents your point of view, please type "YES." Please add any comments you want.

I don't care at all whether or not anyone else reads my message board posts or movie reviews. I never go back to see if anyone has replied to a message board post by me. I don't check to see if anyone has cast positive or negative votes for one of my movie reviews. If someone posts a rude reply to my message board posts, or if my movie review has received negative votes, I do not care.

I somewhat care if others read posts by me. Every now and then I go back to my message board posts to see if anyone has replied, and I return to my movie reviews to see if anyone has voted for my review. It bothers me somewhat if I receive rude replies to my message board posts, and if my reviews receive negative votes. I feel somewhat happy or gratified if my message board posts receive appropriate replies, and if my movie reviews receive positive votes.

I care very much whether or not others read posts by me. I return to my message board posts to see if anyone has replied, and I return to my movie reviews to see if anyone has voted for them. I feel positive feelings when I receive positive and engaged replies, and I feel negative feelings when I receive negative replies and negative votes.

***QUESTIONS ABOUT POSTING ABOUT MOVIES ONLINE AND COMMUNITY***

Do you have a sense, when you are reading and posting messages at IMDB.com, that you are part of a group, a community?
Or do you feel alone?
If you do feel like you are a part of a community, how do you experience that?

Please select any comparisons, below, that describe what posting at IMDB feels like to you. Please type "YES" after any response that works for you as a comparison to posting at IMDB.
Posting at IMDB is like:

Being in a shopping mall with other shoppers
Being in a movie theater with other audience members
Being in a church with other worshippers
Being in a school with other students
Being at a family reunion
Being at a lecture, political meeting, or other similar public event
Being in a crowded city where I don't know anyone

Contact with other users
1) Do you exchange private messages with any of the posters at IMDB.com?
2) If so, do you exchange just a few private messages over a short period, or have you exchanged more than twenty private messages with another IMDB.com poster over more than three months?
3) Has anyone you've met through posts at IMDB.com ever become a friend?
4) Have you met face-to-face anyone you first encountered through IMDB.com posts?
5) Have you had any bad experiences with other posters at IMDB?
6) Have any IMDB posters sent you abusive private e-mails, or followed your posts on several boards, or caused you any other problems?

SECTION FOUR ***QUESTIONS FOR FANS OF PARTICULAR STARS***

The following questions are for fans of particular stars. If you are not a fan of a particular star, please feel free to skip these questions.

1) Who is your favorite star? Do you have one favorite star or several? How and when did you first become interested in this actor?

2) What do you do as part of being a fan of this star? Do you post on his/her discussion board at IMDB? Have you written a fan letter to this actor? Have you received a reply? Have you purchased products associated with this star, like books, posters, or memorabilia?

3) Have you had other favorite stars in the past?

4) Have you had a favorite star in the past that you lost interest in? Why did you lose interest in a previous favorite star?

5) What do your friends or family members make of your fandom? Are they okay with it, or do they wish you'd stop being interested in your favorite star? Do they ever give you gifts related to your favorite star? (Books, DVDs, tickets to plays your favorite star is performing in)?

6) What is it about your favorite star that claims your attention and affection?

7) Do you have anything in common with other fans of your favorite star? Would you want to be friends with others who are fans of the same star as you?

8) If a magic genie gave you wishes, would your favorite star play any role in those wishes? In other words, if a magic genie offered to create for you a boyfriend / girlfriend who was just like your favorite star, would you accept that offer? Or would you want something else from the genie – for example, if you are a Darcy fan, would you ask the genie for a house like Pemberley? Or would you ask the genie to turn you into someone like your favorite star?

9) Has your interest in your favorite star had an impact on your real life? Have you entered a career, or moved to a new location, or changed how your dress or do your hair, or adopted a certain style of speech, or made any other change to your life or attitude because you were inspired by your favorite star?

10) What would mean "going too far" in a fan's dedication? Is hanging photographs of your favorite star on your bedroom walls "going too far"? Is waiting outside a stage door to get a star's autograph going too far? Is writing a personal letter to a star going too far? If not, what is going too far? Have you ever concluded that you are going too far in your dedication to your favorite star? Do you know someone else who has gone too far in his/her dedication? What was that like?

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? Is there anything else I should ask in this survey by a movie fan, for movie fans, about reading and posting messages on internet bulletin boards devoted to movies?

THANK YOU *** THANK YOU *** THANK YOU

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