The production of television ideologies

Abstract

This case study seeks to identify and explain the ideological diversity of two Hong Kong TV dramas produced by public and commercial television respectively. Textual analyses show that the commercial drama can be classified as "choric drama" which resonates with mainstream ideology, while the public drama can be called "lyric drama" which negotiates with the establishment. In the production context of commercial TV, the organizational schema of commercialism, working together with popular aesthetics and feedback system of mass rating, create an unobtrusive reference framework which favors creative options in the choric mode. In public TV, the organizational schema of non-commercialism, working together with elitist aesthetics and feedback system of critical review, creates an reference framework which favors creative options in the lyric mode.

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