The article analyzes the reflection in the national screen culture of the theme of social confrontation between different segments of society as a kind of continuation of the historical traditions of class struggle. The empirical material for the study is films and television projects of various stages of the development of Russian screen culture. The chronological framework of the study covers the practical centenary of the history of Russian cinema and television. The author comes to the conclusion about the distorted interpretation of this phenomenon due to the conflict of interests of various elites of Russian society.