Cultural Study Of Soap Operas In Current China

Since 1980s, accompanying the rising and developing of popular culture in current China, Soap Operas, as an important member of Teieplays, have been becoming mature step by step. This thesis pays attention to Soap Operas on the polymorphic cultural background from the views of Culture Study, and demonstrates its cultural characters and function to our society and its individual in the setting of popular culture. This paper consists of three parts.Chapter One: Soap Operas of current China. This part consists of two aspects: the conception and history of Soap Operas. A piece of Soap Opera is an imaginary Teleplay of whole stories, who is broadcasted continuously according to fixed timetable. Soap Opera is some kind of popular culture text, whose main aim is to entertain the masses. The history of Soap Operas in current China can be separated into four periods: the starting period: 1980-1984; the exploring period: 1985-1989; the developing period: 1990-1999; the maturing period: 1999-2003.Chapter Two: cultural characters of current Chinese Soap Operas. Soap Opera, which develops on the specific cultural background of current China, has its specific cultural characters: popularizing, amusing and classifying. This has close connection with cultural transforming of current China. Since 1990s, following the development of market economy, the coming of consuming society and the growing of townsfolk, Soap Operas emerged and develops.Chapter Three: current Chinese Soap Opera as a kind of cultural phenomenon. This part analyzes the function of Soap Operas to oursociety and its individual. Firstly, the paper analyzes ideology of Soap Operas from three aspects according to specific Soap Opera texts: the ending of Soap Operas, breaking the bounds of public and private spaces, father plot and women's illusion. Then, the paper analyzes the audience of Soap Operas from two aspects: the audience as "merchandised group" and as consumers of commodities and users of cultural resources.