The role of the woman in urban Chinese society has evolved since the socialist era, when Mao was striking for a genderless society. Today, gender roles are defined in a societal framework and...Show moreThe role of the woman in urban Chinese society has evolved since the socialist era, when Mao was striking for a genderless society. Today, gender roles are defined in a societal framework and Chinese women are facing discrimination and pressures at all levels. Media in China is known to be the main source that promotes Chinese societal values, in accordance with the party’s ideology. Previous research finds that the representation of Chinese women in media with a feminist approach is an underdeveloped topic, thus not focusing on the emancipation of these women. This thesis focuses on how urban Chinese women are portrayed in Chinese media, and more particularly in Television Dramas. Conducting an analysis of the Chinese produced television series Ode to Joy (欢乐颂) through the lens of four Feminist Film Theories; the male gaze, the female voice, the female as a sign, and the female spectator, the thesis shows how this chosen case study represents the emancipation of urban Chinese women in regards to romantic relationships, professional career and gendered expectations. Moreover, it relates this representation to the existing discourse in China's urban areas.Show less
The People’s Republic of China has had an increase in economy, population, and military for the past three decades, becoming one of the most dominant powers in Asia. Therefore, the relationship...Show moreThe People’s Republic of China has had an increase in economy, population, and military for the past three decades, becoming one of the most dominant powers in Asia. Therefore, the relationship between The United States of America and The People’s Republic of China has been covered extensively by the media, especially when it concerned the territorial dispute of the South China Sea in 2001. The media uses frames to show different perspectives of an event or issue. This thesis concerns itself with how the media in China and the United States framed their position and the South China Sea island dispute. To uncover the frames, a qualitative, inductive frame analysis is conducted on a set of articles from the New York Times, Washington Post, China Daily, and People’s Daily, from the span of 2011 to 2012. Uncovered were seven different frames. Four from the New York Times and Washington Post and three from China Daily and People’s Daily. In The New York Times and Washington Post, the United States was mostly framed as an ally to the smaller and militarily weaker ASEAN States, with a special focus on the Philippines. The second frame established the Chinese position in the dispute, which unlike the United States had a more ‘negative’ connotation. It concentrated on the aggression that came from China’s action within the South China Sea dispute. These frames were the opposite in the Chinese media outlets. China was deemed the peaceful power, while the interference of the United States has led to participant countries becoming more aggressive in their actions against China. While American media, concentrates on presenting the South China Sea dispute as a tense and long-standing issue, Chinese media looks at it, as a new way to increase and deepen regional ties. Both countries shine a positive frame on their actions, while simultaneously casting the other in the role of aggressor or villain.Show less
The aim of this thesis is to explore Official Chinese English-language media for the purpose of researching if the Chinese leadership instrumentalizes protests for international purposes. I...Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to explore Official Chinese English-language media for the purpose of researching if the Chinese leadership instrumentalizes protests for international purposes. I compared rational protest management theories and a theory based on the Chinese concept of 'face'. I used two different cases studies to analyze the applicability of these theories: the 2012 anti-Japanese and the 2017 anti-THAAD protests. Case study research shows that the Chinese leadership uses anti-foreign protests as an instrument to justify foreign policy and international actions. However, the leadership does not always have complete control over protests. I propose to compare the leadership's policy position and nationalist demands to predict and explain protest management.Show less
