Research On Image Construction Of Middle-Class In Chinese Urban TV Serials

Over the past decade,the domestic urban series have been developing.They go beyond the household affairs,and begin to pay more attention to emotional and survival topics,which not only creates series of high reputation,but also creates a lot of classic "middle class" figures.However,with the growing creation,communication and influence of the domestic urban series,the construction of the middle class" figure is worthy of rethinking to explore the difference to what it was ten years ago.In this context,this study takes the figure of "middle class" as the starting point,reviewing both the domestic and foreign scholars' research on the definition,population and characteristics related to the "middle class",as well as construction of middle class' s figure.And then basing on the CSM Media Research's ratings data,pick out 50 urban series that rank high in recent 10 years and arise wide attention.With the use of content analysis,75 roles of "middle class" defined by the screenwriter in these series were taken as samples for this study.Through a detailed and objective coding method and the categories construction,this study analyzes 75 "middle class" characters with the theory of media reality and representation,and tries to explore the construction mode and transformation of the "middle class" image over the past.On this basis,this study reveals the difference between the image of middle class in television and reality,and explore the possible causes.At last,the research found that among 10 years,the middle-class in urban TV serials has developed in basic image such as salary and education background.As for value,there is a significant trend from collectivism to individualism.But for consuming image and characteristic image,this comparison shows no difference in terms of ten-year time.Besides,we also found that the image shows a stereotype for example,these middleclass actors probably live in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai,being shaped as young,highly educated workforce fighters,showing positive characteristics and indifference to politics,which exists deviation compared with the truth.But for consumption and value,there shows no big difference between middle-class in urban TV serials and in our lives.