Chinese Complex TV: A Case Study of 1986 Journey To The West and Blossom Shanghai

Description

Jason Mittel (2015) introduced the concept of complex TV drama, which is a new TV narrative strategy blending the narrative structure of series and serials. Based on its concept, this study explores the complexity of the narrative structure of complex TV dramas in the Chinese context. The paper reviews the three principal narrative modes of traditional TV dramas and the existing analytical perspectives on complex TV. By taking two representative Chinese TV dramas, Journey to the West (1986) and Blossom Shanghai (2023), as examples, the study examines their narrative modes by applying the narrative analysis method to their case studies. It is found that both cases exhibit narrative complexity and that their narrative structures are influenced by literary works. Thus, answering the main question of the dissertation, Chinese television melodramas demonstrated narrative complexity before the 1990s and have been retained in the contemporary market. Despite the limited amount of sample size and the fact that both subjects were adapted from literary works, the study proves the existence of complex TV in China and provides a direction for future research to think about.

Period	2023 → 2024
Examination held at
Degree of Recognition	National