This study employs Bormann's symbolic convergence theory to examine gender relationships in five U.S. and five Canadian produced fictional television programs. The Fall 1991 A. C. Nielsens were used to select these programs. The five U.S. produced television programs were Roseanne, Murphy Brown, Cheers, Designing Women, and Full House. The five Canadian produced television programs were Road to Avonlea, Street Legal, Counterstrike, E.N.G, and Neon Rider. The major research questions explored were: (1) How were the relationships between the men, between the women, and between the men and women portrayed for each program? (2) Were there differences or similarities in the U.S. or Canadian portrayal of these male-male, male-female, and female-female relationships? / Each program was videotaped for five months or approximately fifteen episodes. By using Bormann's fantasy theme analysis methodology and interviews from the television industry's professionals, such as American and Canadian producers, story editors, writers, actors, and directors, prevalent fantasy themes and types were found for each program regarding gender relationships. / Based on these numerous fantasy types, a rhetorical vision differentiating Canadian and American televised gender relations emerged. This vision states that for the U.S. programs, power in gender relations is segregated by series. For example, Cheers is a patriarchal society where the males are dominant and females are powerless while Designing Women reverses these roles. In Canadian programs such as Street Legal and E.N.G, the power between males and females is more equally distributed in an episode of a series. Possible explanations for these differences could be due to the more gender conscious broadcasting code of ethics held by the Canadian networks as compared to the codes held by U.S. networks. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-07, Section: A, page: 1731. / Major Professor: Thomas R. King. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77190 |
| Contributors | Phillips, Deborah Kay., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 295 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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