Representation, Context And Decoding:TV Adaption Of Classical Literature Works Under Cultural Studies Theories

This research, with two TV versions of The Story of the Stone (the1987version and the2010version) selected as cases, adopts qualitative methods (text analysis, discourse analysis and in-depth interviews, etc.) to cast an analytical eye on the TV adaption of classical literature works under cultural studies theories, with representation, context and decoding set as three major sections.The findings in the representation section reveal that the two versions have made clear distinctions in terms of the narration and the symbols. The narration structure of the1987version is made up of the main narrative and the super-narrative, two clear-margined, very concise layers while the2010version adds apart from the previous two a layer of infra-narrative, constituting a complicated, overlapping narrative web, in a poetic style. Also, while representing the "Classical China" with symbol systems, on costumes and music, the1987version takes a brief and approach, returning to traditions; however, the2010version borrows widely elements from Kunqu Opera costume and modern music. Reasons for such distinction Lies in the adapters, who make full use of their imaginary signifiers, combined with the discourses of their times, to accomplish the stylish "reverse interpellation" of the myths from bottom to top.The context sectbn argues that the birth of the1987version was facilitated by the intellectual consciousness and state discourse, embodied in the self-written ending by intellectuals and the anti-feudal theme set by the state. The2010version was born in the embryo Chinese "consumer society", in which various discourses, like mass culture, clash and cooperate. Therefore, commercial logic is highly visible in the operation of the2010version.In the decoding section, this research concludes three characteristics on how the modern audience receive the2010version. Firstly, on the media choice, online watching replaces family television to be the major channel for audience to watch the Story of the Stone. Thereby, the dual decoding structure between intellectuals and the pubic was replaced by the online "heterogtossia". Secondly, the audience are accustomed to interpreting the2010version in an intertextual manner. When their expectation horizon is not satisfied, they are inclined to resist in ways like "spoofing"; meanwhile, construct their subjectivity as members of the "grassroots" in the society; Moreover, The craze for traditional Chinese literature and culture, brought about by the TV adaption of classical literature works, reflects that, ethnic cultural identity, against the background of the advancing globalization, makes spontaneous adjustments to stabilize through assimilation and elimination.