Visual Political Communication in Popular Chinese Television Series

Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-90-04-22148-2
Verlag: Koninklijke Brill NV

Buch, Englisch, Band 22, 296 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 435 g

Reihe: China Studies

In Visual Political Communication in Popular Chinese Television Series, Florian Schneider analyses political discourses in Chinese TV dramas, the most popular entertainment format in China today. Schneider shows that despite their often nationalistic stories of glorious emperors and courageous officials, such programmes should not be mistaken for official propaganda. Instead, the highly didactical messages of such series are the outcome of complex cultural governance practices, which are influenced by diffuse political interests, commercial considerations, viewing habits, and ideological assumptions. Schneider argues that these interlinking factors lead to a highly restrictive creative environment and to conservative entertainment content that ultimately risks creating precisely the kind of passive masses that Chinese media workers and government officials are trying so hard to emancipate.

Zielgruppe

All those interested in political communication in the People's Republic of China, particularly the political relevance of contemporary Chinese popular entertainment and visual discourse.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schneider, Florian

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Medienwissenschaften Fernsehen & Rundfunk
• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Filmwissenschaft, Fernsehen, Radio TV-Drama
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Kommunikationswissenschaften Kommunikation & Medien in der Politik
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Medienwissenschaften Medientheorie, Medienanalyse

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction: Cultural Governance and Chinese TV Drama Series
Chinese TV content between liberalisation and control
Regulating TV content to regulate Chinese society – an issue of cultural governance
Researching popular TV series – a semiotic approach to visual discourse
Structure of this book

PART 1: Political Discourse in Popular TV Series

2. The State and its Officials in TV Dramas
Emperor Wu – the benevolent ruler
The Commissioner and his superior - devoted CCP officials and government leaders
Professional bureaucrats and effective state administration

3. Securing the State: Law Enforcement and Military Action
Human trafficking and loitering: public security as comical plot complication
Strong men and their war against crime
Securing the homeland through warfare

4. Justifying the State: Political Legitimacy and Accountability
Wholeheartedly serving the people
The perfect hero and model worker
The masses are watching
Constructing the general public

PART 2: The Factors of Discourse Production

5. Creating the Political Discourses of TV Dramas
Chinese production companies
Risks and moral hazards in China’s drama market
Investors and their motives
Creatives at work – planning and producing a TV drama series
Selling the drama – marketing and distribution in the Chinese TV drama market
The Buyers: TV Stations and their motives
The forces of production

6. The Chinese Television Drama Audience
Constructing the audience: the Chinese audience measurement system
Finding an audience: who watches TV dramas in China?
Addressing the audience: broadcasting conventions and viewing habits
Likes and dislikes: the genres that audiences watch
TV as a public sphere? The role of audience feedback

7. Government Regulations and Censorship Mechanisms
Effectiveness of media governing mechanisms

Über Autor(innen)

Schneider, Florian
Florian Schneider, Ph.D. (2009), University of Sheffield, is Lecturer for the Politics of Modern China at the Leiden University Institute of Area Studies. His research focuses on political communication and mass media in contemporary China.