Inventing the ‘authentic’ self: American television and Chinese audiences in global Beijing (original) (raw)
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American television fiction is gaining traction among educated urban Chinese youths. Drawing on 29 interviews with fans among college students in Beijing, this article examines a shared perception among these youths that American television is " real. " This perceived realism, which is essential to their viewing pleasure, has two sources: American programming " s textual quality and the Chinese context in which it is consumed. First, US television appeals to Chinese youths because they perceive its topical content and complex characterization as true to life. This perception can be explained by the higher transnational cultural capital of these youths, which renders US programming intellectually more proximate and relevant than domestic programming. Second, the perceived realism must be understood within the socio-cultural context of contemporary urban China. Disillusioned with the largely lackluster domestic television content, and critical of state media regulation and cultural control, Chinese youngsters embrace US television " s relative openness and narrative complexity as more " real. " This study attends to the textual, contextual, as well as emotional aspects of the Chinese fascination with American television. It contributes to the literature on cross-cultural media consumption by demonstrating how perceived realism is both organized by media texts and shaped by consumption contexts.
Small Screen Lives: Television and Cultural Identity in the New Zealand Chinese Diaspora
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Postgraduate Diploma in Arts in Film and Media Studies, 2012
In today's digital age popular culture plays an ever-increasing role in the construction of identity. We use it to search for role models as well as guidance in the ways of performing individual identities which mark us as members of a collective whole. For minority groups, such as the Chinese diaspora, privileging of whiteness in mainstream media prevent their full incorporation into Kiwi society. The advent of globalisation and digital media however allows for greater access to popular culture from Greater China. This allows diasporic subjects to 'return home' without having to leave New Zealand through the consumption of transnational texts. This thesis looks at the popularity of Chinese-language television with Chinese living in New Zealand and why it is so attractive to them. The creation of 'Chineseness' and the makeup of what is considered 'Pakeha' or 'Kiwi' in New Zealand is also considered in the light of current identity theories. I argue that the Chinese diaspora constructs a sense of self based upon the sameness of their racial-markedness and an imagined historical link to Middle Kingdom China, as a contrast against the dominant white society in which they live but are barred from fully participating in. Through an examination of a selection of television texts available on New Zealand free-to-air broadcasting, the thesis argues that there is a decisive lack of representations of Chineseness in general, but especially of non-Orientalist stereotypes. The thesis concludes that this combined with the resonance of narratives of Chinese-language media encourages Chinese diasporic subjects to turn back to China in order to construct their sense of self.
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Asian Journal of Communication, 2021
Employing empirical focus group research and drawing on transnational audience studies, this article investigates the consumption and reception of American films by Chinese college students. The article argues that Hollywood films satisfy the Chinese audience's need for entertainment, visual pleasure, and escape from the restraints and hardships of daily life. In addition, Chinese audiences' reception of Hollywood films functions as a site of negotiation of different political and cultural values. Hollywood films evoke Chinese youth's global imagination, trigger their reflection on and debate over their own culture and society, and inspire a collective desire for alternative modernities and an alternative way of life. Chinese audiences engage in a process of civic participation by actively debating and contemplating a functional and ideal society and value system, bringing in agency that is crucial to audience studies.
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(De)Constructing Identities? Encounters with ‘China’ in Popular Japanese Television Dramas
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The history of Japanese television drama is nearly as old as the history of Japanese television itself. Since the first production was aired the same year television emerged there (in 1953), television dramas have been highly successful. Although the influence of American family dramas and movies was enormous, Japanese TV stations – both private and public – soon began producing their own dramas, which over time became more popular than American productions (Hirahara 1991a: 19-20).
International Communication Gazette, 2012
In recent years, online viewing has become an important way for Chinese audiences to watch foreign TV dramas. This exploratory study investigated the predictive power of lifestyles, gratifications sought, narrative appeal, and demographics on the viewing preference for and frequency of American and Korean TV dramas among a sample of 455 Internet users in urban China. The results show that narrative appeal, viewing habits, and gender were predictors of viewing preference. Lifestyles were significantly linked to gratifications sought. Frequent American TV drama viewers tended to be motivated by learning about American language, culture, and fashion; attracted by the complicated plot; and preferred online viewing. The study supports and expands understanding of the uses and gratifications theory, and argues that viewing foreign TV dramas could be an index of social distinction in urban China. Practical implications for the media industry are discussed.
global journal of media studies, 2022
This season of global pandemic has made international travel difficult, but like other academics I can still do most of the things I once did. I just have to do them mostly from the narrow boundaries of my own home. Although I miss that travel and the wealth of experiences it made possible, especially in China, this time has given me a chance to reflect on how they have shaped my intellectual directions. I value these international connections, exchanges, and collaborations, especially as new nationalisms around the world threaten to restrict them and turn us inward. Perhaps this journal's readers may be curious about how, as a Westerner, my own China journey came about. This will be a personal reflection, but even global structures are based on countless individuals and their relationships.