Left-right ideology has long been recognized as an informational shortcut for individuals to perceive and understand the political world both in the domestic and international realms. However, in Brazil, there is neither a definite answer to whether the Brazilian public possesses a coherent understanding of left-right ideology, nor any exploration of the relationship between ideology and public perception of foreign issues. China is Brazil's most important trading partner, and its rise has brought great influences over Brazil both economically and politically.To know whether left-right ideology is related to the way the Brazilian public perceives China's rise, a survey targeted at students from the University of Sã o Paulo (USP) was conducted. Built on the OLM models, analysis results show that surveyed USP students demonstrate the ability to correctly identify themselves in the ideological spectrum and that the left-right position is significantly related to their trust in China's rise in different aspects.

In this article, we explore the relationship between soft power projection and public opinion, specifically investigating how cinema as a soft power resource can shape people's positive perceptions about a country. While soft power has been defined as a form of persuasive power associated with intangible resources such as culture, ideology, and institutions, the link between these resources and public opinion has received limited attention in previous research. This study aims to fill this gap by using the film industry as a proxy for soft power projection. We compare the United States’ and China's soft power sources and projections through an online survey with 908 participants in Brazil. Our findings indicate that exposure to soft power via films can shape people's positive perceptions of countries. However, some dimensions of soft power appear to be more challenging to activate than others, such as patriotic films’ association with admiration for US military power. The study also discovered that soft power activation may be context dependent, with greater knowledge of a country's soft power resources in a particular context leading to increased soft power projection/activation. We contribute to research by empirically expanding our understanding of soft power dynamics and how power resources can be converted into public opinion in world politics.