The Reception of“ Middle Class TV Drama” in Present Day China

Resorting to the Audience Research Theory within Cultural Studies

Abstract

This article focuses on“ Middle Class TV Drama”, a new genre of TV that began

around 2000. Through an analysis of selected reception theory, such as the

encoding-decoding model developed by Stuart Hall and the i dentity construction

of Ien Ang, this article uses qualitative research （the ethnographical approach

employed by David Morley）with various audiences from different age groups,

educational and occupational backgrounds. In the results of this research on the

different responses to “Middle Class TV Drama”, particular attention was paid

to uncover whether respondents constructed dominant, oppositional or negotiated

readings（ the three categories of readings proposed by Hall）. By then analyzing

the social backgrounds of “Middle Class TV Drama”, i t was found that

“Middle Class TV Drama” i s the result of the collective function of multiple social

forces. Finally, this article considers possible ways to approach the meaningful

study of the media reception process i n present day China.