The Study Of American Values Reflected In Desperate Housewives

Values are the abstract concept that identifies individual words and deeds,which deeply root in a culture,that is,the core of a culture.They contain one's attitude,belief,hobby,hope and fear,etc.So knowing the core values is a foundation of knowing a nation.Values have its relative stability and durability,history and selectivity as well.America is a melting pot with a complex cultural backgrounds,thus it forms the peculiar values.No matter how complicated the values are,they inevitably display in one's social life.American TV series,Desperate Housewives,is a family ethical play which fully demonstrates all aspects of American life.Hofstede's cultural dimensions are the theory in measuring the cultural differences.This thesis makes quantitative and qualitative analysis of verbal language in the TV series Desperate Housewives from four different aspects,such as marriage cultivation,children education,the relationship between parents and children,as well as the relation among neighbors based on Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions which include power distance,collectivism/individualism,masculinity/femininity,uncertainty avoidance as well.Combing with the contrast analysis and example analysis,a great deal of verbal language is collected in this thesis.The author tries to indicate that in a different historical period and economic condition,culture is dynamic and values also slightly change.The study on contemporary American values from the point of TV series may help audiences better understand American culture,benefit the success of inter-cultural communication,enrich the research scope as well.This research has profound guiding significance for contemporary Chinese values and for difference between Chinese culture and American culture.With the passage of time and research in-depth,this change will cause the attention of more scholars and broaden the research scope.