Television possesses the power to frame people’s lives and activities on a scale that no other form of media has ever been able to enjoy. This paper explores the various political missions of the...Show moreTelevision possesses the power to frame people’s lives and activities on a scale that no other form of media has ever been able to enjoy. This paper explores the various political missions of the Chinese television broadcast, and examines the modern type of propaganda publicized and disseminated throughout contemporary TV formats. Since its first introduction to China, the domestic digital box has become one of most efficient media for the spread of a new form of propaganda, thus helping the Party in its attempts to construct people’s identities. Given the findings that the media have always acted as mouthpieces of the government, this research points out that some particular television formats have been widely employed as thought work distributors. This thesis focuses primarily on TV serial dramas, which, despite often appearing to be the most innocuous and entertaining of broadcasts, are instead practically brimming with political discourses. More specifically, the main aim of this study is to explore the social and political contexts that have given rise to Dynasty dramas, which have emerged as the most conspicuous genre present on prime time TV thus far. Which sorts of political messages are concealed behind historical dramas? And for which reasons is the Party so committed to promulgating these types of ideas? Do these messages serve to legitimize the Party’s mandates? This research departs from the well-researched trend of exploring governmental media use in broad terms, turning its attention instead to television in particular. This essay widely examines the use of television in modern society, and epitomizes it as the new platform upon which the Party is able to construct or mold “politically educated” and “spiritually civilized” identities. Ultimately, the active engagement of dramas with cultural and political issues is proved, through the analysis of two of the most renowned contemporary Dynasty series “Yongzheng Dynasty” and “The Great Han Emperor Wu”-.Show less
