This paper discusses problems and approaches in assessing intercultural variation in the affective impact of visual aspects of screen media (film and filmstrips). As a first step in approaching the problem, a semantic differential was used to compare responses of Spanish-speaking and English-speaking samples. Each group saw two films and one filmstrip, completing specially developed semantic differential scales after each viewing. The resulting pool of data contained 78 sets of responses from Spanish speakers and 127 sets of responses from English speakers. Results from correlations, factor analyses, and ANOVAs of resulting factor scores are discussed for each sample and for the various films viewed. Evidence for intercultural similarities, as well as differences in judgments, is discussed, as are problems of interpretation caused by limitations in the experimental procedures. (AA)