The Effects Of United States Films And Television Dramas On The Value Hierarchies Of Chinese College Students And Their Perceptions Of The United States

Nowadays most Chinese college students see more U.S. films and television series than Chinese ones. As college students represent an important part of a nation's future, it is of great significance to study the effects of U.S. films and television dramas on them.The study uses Bandura's Social Learning, Gerbner's Cultivation, and Hofstede's Value Dimensions theories as the theoretical framework. A survey questionnaire is conducted to obtain information about Chinese college students'consumption of U.S. films and television dramas, interpersonal contacts with Americans, value orientations, personalities, perceptions of United States, acceptation of U.S. values and behavioral models, and intentions to study or live in the United States. The effects of U.S. films and television dramas are examined by correlating the samples'value hierarchies and the amount of U.S. films and television dramas they have watched.Little evidence is found in support of the central hypothesis linking the amount of U.S. films and television dramas watched by Chinese college students and their personal value hierarchies. Weak correlation is found between the amount of U.S. film and TV drama consumption and the samples'exhibition of personalities typical of the Americans. The confirmation of other hypotheses in the study demonstrates that the level of American movie and television drama consumption is positively correlated with the samples'acceptation of American values and behavioral models, likeness of the U.S., and intentions to study or live the United States. Nonetheless, the majority of Chinese college students like Chinese culture better than American culture, and prefer to live in China than in the United States. It is also found that U.S. films and television dramas could cultivate wrong or stereotypical images among Chinese college students. The study concludes that the Chinese culture is not threatened by the influx of American films and television series.The study would be of help to educators, sociologists and policy makers in understanding the effects of U.S. films and television series on Chinese college students. It is also helpful to Chinese movie and TV series producers in knowing Chinese youth's criterion for good movies and TV series.