Violence in the media can be regarded as one kind of pathogenic text, although it is probably not the most harmful one. Action thrillers have recently flooded Ukrainian television and movie screens. A comparison of the contents of these thrillers and the nature of totalitarian propaganda reveals that the two have much in common. However, totalitarian propaganda has been much more harmful, because it has resulted in the deaths of millions of people. Both the propaganda and the violence in the media express aggressiveness in different types of society. Both keep aggressiveness at a certain level and support the fighting spirit of the societies. However, Ukrainians today are more vulnerable than others to media violence because of the psychological changes that were brought about by the totalitarian practices of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.