Learn to produce classic TV: BBC’s influences on China’s early television drama production

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International Communication Association (ICA)’s pre-conference ‘Crossing Borders: Researching Transnational Media History’, Fukuoka, Japan

At a time when Chinese television is experiencing a flourishing of forms and genres, and global television format trade is occurring at both national and local levels, there is value in rediscovering China's television history within a global context. This paper is an outcome of the presenter's ongoing project, which aims to investigate a delegation from China Central Television that visited the BBC around 1978, marking the end of the Cultural Revolution period. Members of this delegation have since played a significant role in shaping TV drama in China, particularly in the realm of historical dramas and literary adaptations. One influential figure, Fulin Wang, who later became a pioneer in China's Post-Cultural Revolution television drama industry, played a key role in fostering a new understanding of television as a popular medium and introducing new forms of television drama. The term 'serial television', derived from this visit, continues to be used in China. The research project involves studying the BBC Written Archives and conducting interviews with personnel from CCTV and the BBC. Drawing on this research, this paper critically examines how the discourse of classic television, initially generated within the Anglo-sphere, has been appropriated and re-articulated in China's Post-Cultural Revolution television drama productions.
Period9 Jun 2016
Event typeOther
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