Details of Research Outputs

With changing media consumption patterns, and especially with the rise of internet, many online American TV programmes have found popularity with Chinese audiences, among them Friends, Desperate House Wives, Prison Break, etc. Yet few studies have examined how Chinese audience receive these cross-cultural texts, particularly in comparison with audiences from other countries. Based on Scott Robert Olson's Narrative Transparency Theory (1999) and other audience studies models, this article explores Chinese audiences' cross-cultural interpretation of the U.S. sitcom Friends. With 3 focus group interviews and 4 online instant message interviews, this studies finds that by applying their own cultural experience and values, Chinese respondents read the text of Friends as "transparent" to a considerable extent. This article also addresses the issue of "cultural discount" and other aspect of audience interaction with Friends. The integration of theoretical approaches aims to provide a comprehensive picture of how Friends is received in China.