Children's Television Programs in China: A Discourse of Success and Modernity

Abstract

This chapter shows that while the children's television programs broadcast on CCTV, the national television network of China, are predominantly produced locally, they emphasize intellectual development related to science and technology which is consistent with the nation's drive for the “Four Modernizations” (i.e., modernization and development in agriculture, industry, science, and technology). The programs embed modern Western values with traditional Chinese values in their discursive organization as represented in the legitimization of competition with peers mixed with the glorification of collective success, and in the values of modernity for the nation mixed with the value of yielding to authorities. The first part of this chapter examines media usage and the role of television in children's lives. The second part provides a brief profile of children's programs in China. The third part discusses the results of a discourse analysis of a typical week of children's television programs.