Although the relationship between Canadian and American culture is often discussed in terms of dominance and dependency, there is little cultural scholarship that examines how Canadians interpret American cultural products and how Canadian "replicas" of American products encompass infatuation and imitation of American popular culture while simultaneously offering critique, resistance and parody. By comparing the evolution of MuchMusic and MTV and the "supertext" of the two networks---programming philosophy, musical and non-musical shows, VJ's, and television aesthetics---I address how MuchMusic functions as both an example of uniquely Canadian sensibilities and as an example of Canada's complicated relationship with the United States.

There is no abstract available for this thesis. / Department of Communication Studies

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This study has presented an analytic comparison of interactivity between CNN and YTN. In the circumstance that traditional media are suffering difficulty in attracting audience, CNN and YTN adopted a timely relief to break through a slump. It was interactivity. The most authoritative and oldest news networks in each country, America and Korea, CNN and YTN began the first interactive news shows at similar time. CNN’s Rick’s List and YTN’s Topic News did interactivity with audiences in real-time. Viewer’s texting messages to specific topics were on screen and anchors responded to them. The first interactive news shows gained steady popularity even under the decreasing rating period of CNN and YTN While Rick’s List has advanced, Topic News stopped after twenty months. This study analyzed why the different results and dissimilarities have been generated in terms of culture, inveterate media custom and business circumstance. / Department of Telecommunications

This study investigated the influence of Tyler Perry‟s House of Payne and Meet the Browns on black viewers‟ racial identity, based on a survey of 145 members of four predominantly African American churches in the Central Florida area. Mirroring Allen, Dawson, and Brown‟s (1989) model of an African American racial belief system, this study proposed that both shows would positively influence three dimensions of the black identity including closeness to blacks, black separatism, and the belief in positive stereotypes about blacks, while negatively influencing the dimension that emphasizes negative stereotypes about blacks. Socioeconomic status and religiosity were also hypothesized to predict exposure to both shows. The results show that while House of Payne positively influenced two dimensions of the black identity including closeness to blacks and the belief in positive stereotypes about blacks, Meet the Browns did not have a statistically significant relationship with any of the dimensions of the black identity. Additionally, results showed mixed support for the relationship between socioeconomic status, religiosity, and show exposure. While education had a negative relationship with exposure to both House of Payne and Meet the Browns, the income variable revealed no significant results with either show. Lastly, religiosity was shown to be a significant predictor of exposure to House of Payne, but not Meet the Browns. The findings suggest that Perry‟s shows may be considered by viewers as more beneficial than harmful to viewers to their racial identity and experience, which contradicts the critiques of his images as reverberating with negative stereotypical images of the past. Findings also suggest the importance of education and religion to black socialization patterns.

This study sought to determine if and how television texts produced since September 11, 2001, reflect and address cultural concerns by analyzing patterns in their theme and narrative style. Three American television serials were examined as case studies. Each text addressed a common cluster of contemporary issues such as trauma, death, and loss.

Since World War II, the U.S. and China have gradually developed links, especially in economic areas. The world is witnessing the two economies intertwine, and it would seem that these two nations might potentially also cooperate and collaborate in social areas as well. Accordingly, it seems desirable to determine the degree to which cross-cultural communication between these two nation-states is feasible and effective. To make this comparison, television—now almost a universal medium of communication—is employed to explore the similarities and differences between the United States and China. In terms of the United States, American Idol is a popular television show which began airing in 2002. Likewise, Super Girl was a popular Chinese television show that was broadcast for three seasons, from 2004 to 2006. Both American Idol and Super Girl are singing talent television shows. The winners of these two shows receive contracts from the national major record companies and can become top popular singers and super stars. This fantasy has attracted thousands of young singers to participate in the contests every year. This study analyzes these two similar television shows, giving full recognition to the extremely diverse cultures in which they exist. Because of the differences between American and Chinese cultures, an eclectic approach would seem initially appropriate. The eclectic approach includes a combination of four research methods: content analysis; analog criticism; cross-cultural criticism; and fantasy theme analysis. The hypothesis of this study is that the same type fantasy generates different meanings and results in these two distinct cultures. / Department of Telecommunications

On April 30, 1997, for the first time in television history, an actress on a popular television sitcom announced to the world that both se and the character she played were lesbians. This study offers an interpretation of the significance of Ellen DeGeneres' coming through a cultural studies analysis of the April 14, 1997 Time magazine article in which DeGeneres comes out and the April 30, 1997 "Ellen" television episode in which DeGeneres brings her character, Ellen Morgan, out. The study revealed sites of ideological differences between the two texts that could point to a struggle over the meaning of gayness in modern American society. The results suggest that mainstream attitudes and beliefs could be in the process of shifting toward a more normalized view of homosexuality.