viii, 116 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / As Mainland China transitions from a planned socialist economy to one more market-focused, its economic successes have garnered attention worldwide. However, this astounding economic growth brought with it a number of negative side effects, including corruption and a resurgence ofprostitution. Gender relations have also undergone major shifts from state mandated gender equality in the Mao era to a call for the refeminization ofwomen in the Reform era. How is the Chinese population navigating this transition? In this thesis, I utilize existing melodrama theory and relevant sociological studies to explore how three Chinese TV dramas-I'm Not a Hero (2004), Close to You, Make Me Warm (2006), and Give Me a Cigarette (2006), later renamed Evening Rain--expose and explore some of these existing social problems, providing a platform for their viewers to reflect on and explore these issues on their own. / Committee in Charge: Tze-Ian Sang, Chair; Alison Groppe; Eileen Otis

This thesis is an attempt to analyze the binary oppositions between the &ldquo / rich&rdquo / and the &ldquo / poor&rdquo / as well as the &ldquo / good&rdquo / and the &ldquo / evil&rdquo / in the 1960s&rsquo / YeSil&ccedil / am melodramas. It analyzes the narrative structure of YeSil&ccedil / am melodramas which interweave fiction with certain embedded social values and argues that a number of cooperating and contending discourses interanimate each other in the form of binary oppositions in YeSil&ccedil / am narratives. The cinematic representation of the lower and upper class is analyzed, underlining how the relation between the two was constructed by YeSil&ccedil / am melodramas. The study focuses on the symbolic world established by YeSil&ccedil / am narratives through the use of common meanings attributed to characters (e.g. delikanli and z&uuml / ppe), values (e.g. honesty, modesty, ostentation and artificialness) and places (e.g. meyhane and coffeehouse).