‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Gone with the Wind’ Characterize the Love Lives of Americans this Valentine’s Day Season
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Gone with the Wind’ Characterize the Love Lives of Americans this Valentine’s Day Season (‘Dirty Dancing’ Makes the Cut for 25-44 Year-olds)
But, in the spirit of President’s Day…Jon Stewart for President? 18% of the vote on a hypothetical ballot
Princeton, New Jersey – Feb. 13, 2015 – This week brought us a host of news stories, from turmoil in the Ukraine to the suspension of Brian Williams, to the announcement of Jon Stewart’s forthcoming departure from the ‘Daily Show.’ Through all of the fray, the holiday seemingly custom-made for love and affection – Valentine’s Day – is around the corner tomorrow, Saturday, February 14th.
Braun Research, Inc., has commissioned and released the findings of a recent survey today showing what Americans are thinking and feeling about each of these afore-mentioned topics. The Braun Research ‘Valentine’s Day’ study was conducted via telephone, using a dual-frame, probability Random Digit-Dial (RDD) sample. The study was conducted, across the 50 United States, amongst a total of 805 adults 18 years of age and older with n=326 of these via cell. The margin of error is +/- 3.5% at a 95% confidence level. Data were weighted per 2010 U.S. Census statistics.
Valentine’s Day will be on the mind of many tomorrow, as, for example, cards, flowers, chocolate, jewelry or other presents will be unwrapped by their recipients. In the spirit of the holiday, we wanted to know how people see their love lives in terms of the movies – not just any movies, but those enduringly-appealing romance movies. A fifth of American adults (20%) associate their love life most with ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ with one of the versions of this movie made by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1991, based on the French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont. Significantly more females than males (24% versus 17%) identify with this film. And, across ages, most 25-34 year olds closely associate their love lives with the movie (43%).
Almost a fifth (19%) think their romance reminds them of the 1939 classic ‘Gone with the Wind,’ about a tumultuous love triangle in the metaphorically tumultuous Civil War years and starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. ‘Dirty Dancing’ (a coming-of-age film from 1987 about a teenage girl’s steamy relationship with her dance instructor at a resort during her family summer vacation in the 1960s) is the film chosen by 13% of Americans. Fully 12% feel that their romance is most reminiscent of the 1942 Ingrid Bergman/Humphrey Bogart melodrama, ‘Casablanca,’ the story of lost love, honor, and sacrifice, set against a backdrop of the Second World War. And, almost a quarter (24%) of the 25-34 year olds consider their love life illustrative of ‘Dirty Dancing.’ Those aged 35-44 are about equally split (21%) between ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Dirty Dancing.’
This past Tuesday, February 10th, Jon Stewart announced that he will be leaving the ‘Daily Show’ after sixteen years. If Mike Huckabee left his highly-rated program to run for President, could this be the motivation of Mr. Stewart? If he were to put his ‘hat into the ring’ to run for U.S. president, and the candidates were Democrat Hillary Clinton, Republican Jeb Bush, and Independent Jon Stewart, if the election were held tomorrow, ‘voting results’ in this fictional scenario, among U.S. adults registered to vote, we see Hillary Clinton taking the win at almost 4 in 10 (37%) and Jeb Bush coming in behind at a little over 3 in 10 (31%). Yet, 18% of those registered to vote would also select Jon Stewart for their U.S President, if he were to appear on this hypothetical ballot.
Regarding the crisis in the Ukraine, while a ceasefire is currently being negotiated, on Monday, February 9th, U.S. President Barack Obama said he did not rule out supplying "lethal defensive weapons" to the Ukraine if diplomacy failed. We asked people, “Should the U.S. get directly involved in sending the Ukraine lethal military aid in the country’s fight against Russian separatists?” About half (49%) are against lethal military aid, with a little more than a third (36%) being for it.
We also wanted to determine degree of trust Americans have in NBC’s News Anchor Brian Williams, given the revelations that have appeared throughout news channels that he has made misleading statements about what happened to him in Iraq while covering the invasion in 2003. Somewhat less than half of the respondents in the study (47%) still consider him ‘very’ or ‘somewhat trustworthy.’ However, a little over a quarter (27%) think he is ‘not trustworthy at all.’
Braun Research, Inc. (BRI)
The Braun Research network of companies, founded in 1995, combined employ 39full-time and over 236 part-time employees engaged in data collection via telephone, and internet for various survey research firms, government and advertising agencies, local community organizations, local and national business groups, foundations, universities and academic entities, as well as religious organizations. In 20 years Braun Research has conducted almost 10,000 research projects by telephone, internet, and mail worldwide. Braun Research is an active member of AAPOR (The American Association for Public Opinion Research); AMEC (International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication); MRA/CMOR (Market Research Association/Council on Marketing and Opinion Research); and CASRO (Council on American Survey Research Organizations).
You may view the press release via http://www.braunresearch.com/in-the-news. For more information about the Braun Research ‘Valentine’s Day’ study or to receive a copy of the full ‘Valentine’s Day’ study results, please see the following pages or please contact:**
Cynthia L. Miller
Managing Director
Braun Research, Inc.
271 Wall Street
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
USA
001-609-279-1600, x 130 (phone)
001-609-279-0381 (fax)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (email)
www.braunresearch.com (Web)
Michael Bacon
Social Media Project Manager
Braun Research, Inc.
271 Wall Street
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
USA
001-609-279-1600, x 123 (phone)
001-609-279-0381 (fax)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (email)
www.braunresearch.com (Web)
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** Please note that any of the data are available for public release.
