A Comparative Study Of The Cultural Dimensions Embodied In Chinese And American Tv Series

This thesis is a comparative study of the cultural dimensions embodied inChinese and American TV series. Two family drama series are selected for the study.One is an American evergreen situational comedy Everybody Loves Raymond, and theother is a hot Chinese “city-life light comedy” called Good Times for a MarriedWoman. The research method is qualitative content analysis. The materials for thecontent analysis are selected20conversations between and among the characters inthe two television series. The theoretical framework for the study is Professor GeertHofstede’s Cultural Value Dimensions theory.The results of the study confirm the findings of Hofstede’s research. China hasstrong collectivistic values and America has strong individualistic values. Chineseindividuals are identified with their families, and follow high uncertainty avoidanceand long-time orientation trend while selecting their life partners and professionalcareers. On the contrary, American individuals are more independent from theirfamilies, and follow low uncertainty avoidance and short-time orientation trend inchoosing life companions and job positions. This thesis discuss about the analysisresults, the different points from the Hofstede’s results, and the limitations of thisthesis.