试比较中美女性杂志广告中的女性形象

重庆大学硕士学位论文试比较中美女性杂志广告中的女性形象姓名：王晶申请学位级别：硕士专业：外国语言学与应用语言学指导教师：黄赟琳20050401I()()HARPER’SBAZAAR61)2)3)()X2AbstractIIABSTRACTThisdissertationexaminesthepresentfemaleimagesofChineseandAmericanwomenthroughthecomparisonofadsintermsof“girlishness”.Thetheoreticalbaseforthisstudyisthetheoryofstructureofcultureandtherelationshipbetweencultureandadvertising(advertisingmirrorsaswellasshapesculture).Theauthorchose12issuesoftwomagazinesfrombothcountries,sixRaylifromChinaandtheotherHARPER’SBAZAARfromAmerica,withthesametarget,similarcontentandsameyearandmonthofpublication.Threehypothesesareproposedonthebasisofpriorexperienceandstudies:1)TheChineseissuescontainmorevisualgirlishrapportadvertisementsthantheAmericanissues;2)TheChineseissuescontainmoreverbalgirlishrapportadvertisementsthantheAmericanissues;3)TheChineseissuescontainahigherdegreeofgirlishness(combiningvisualandverbalrapport)thantheAmericanissues.ThenastudywascarriedouttocomparetheadvertisementsinthesixRayliissueswiththeircounterpartsinHARPER’SBAZAAR.Twocoders,aChinesewhomajorsinEnglishwasrequiredtoexaminetheadsinRayli,whileanoverseasAmericanstudentwasaskedtoexaminetheadsinHARPER’SBAZAAR.Eachadisexaminedintermsofvisualandverbalaspect.TheresultofChi-squareanalysissupportsthehypotheses.Culture-baseddifferencesofgirlishimagesinadvertisingareexplainedbycomparingtheideologicalculturesoftwocountries,clarifyingtherelationshipbetweenmaterialcultureandideologicalone.Thestudywilladvanceourunderstandingofthefemaleimagesacrossculturesinaneraofmasscommunicationandglobalization.ItwillalsoshedlightonadvertisingglobalizationandlocalizationissuesincotemporaryChina.Keywords:girlishness,girlishrapport,visualelement,verbalelement,structureofcultureChapterOneIntroduction1ChapterOneIntroduction1.1StudyBackgroundandSignificanceSincetheopening-upandreform,Chinahasgraduallybecomeanimportantmemberintheglobalvillageandgotinvolvedininternationalaffairs.Withtheprocessofglobalization,distanceanddiversitybetweenChinaandwesterncountriesseemtobevanishing.AsanimportantsectoroftheChinesesociety,youngwomenhavealsochangedalot.Theyareplayingasignificantroleinfamilies,careers,politics,andsoon.Theirperspectivesonlife,sex,love,etc,variedfromthepast.Manyresearchers(LinDanya,1997;ChenFang,2004;LuShuisheng&FangWeiqiong,2001)claimedthatChinesewomenwerewesternized.Butaccordingtothetheoryofthestructureofculture,alltheseaspectsbelongtomaterialandsocialcultures,notideologicalone.Aretheytotallytransformedtobesimilarwiththewesternwomen,especiallyAmericanwomen?AcasualskimmingofChineseandAmericanmagazinestargetingtoyoungwomenshowssomedifferences.Chinesemagazinesrevealmanysmilingfaces,especiallyintheadvertisements.However,aquickglancethroughAmericanonesshowfewersmilingfaces.AlthoughsomeoftheAmericangirlssmilebrightly,manydonot.TheJune2001issuesoftheChinesemagazineRayliandAmericanmagazineHARPER’SBAZAAR,provideagoodexampleofthewaythattheportrayalofyoungfemalesdiffersbycountry.ThemodelpicturedinthecoveroftheChinesemagazineiswearingaredknitcap,shortblouse,andshorts,andshesitswithherlegsdrapedoverthearmrestofabrightyellowwickerchair.Shesmilesbroadly,lookingdirectlyintothecamera,appearingrelaxedandhappy.Incontrast,themodelonthecoveroftheAmericanmagazineiscladinashort,tight,blueblouseandbikinibottomandshestrikesanalmostdefiantpose.Standing,sheoffersasultryexpression,neithersmilingnorfrowningasshelooksstraightintothecamera.Althoughherlipsareclosed,hereyeshintatasmileandherheadistitledinthedirectiontowardwhichherlonghairdrifts.SuchdifferencesbetweenChineseandU.S.advertisingimagessuggestthataspectsofculturemayinfluencethewayinwhichyoungwomenareportrayed.AsnotedbyPollay(1986),advertisingworkswithinaculturalcontext,selectivelyreinforcingthestyles,roles,andvaluesoftheculture.Intermsofsocietalstandardsofstyleandbeauty,ChapterOneIntroduction2theidealizedimagesportrayedinadvertisinghelpshapeaperson’sselfimage,contributingtothewayone’sidentityisdefinedinsociety(Richins1991;Solomon,Ashmore,&Longo1992).Therefore,examiningadvertisementscanilluminatehowassumptionsaboutandunderstandingsofselfareculturallyconstrained.WethusdecidetoexaminefemaleimagesinChineseandAmericanmassmediabyinvestigatingtheextenttowhichvisualandverbalportrayalsof“girlishimages”areusedinmagazineads.Throughthisstudy,wecangetaviewonthepresentfemaleimagesofChineseandAmericanwomenintermsof“girlishness”,whichmayprovidevaluablereferenceforadvertisersandsociologists.AbhijitBiswasandcolleaguesnote:“Crossculturaldifferencesinadvertisingexpression[are]agrowingandimportantareaofresearch,primarilybecauseanunderstandingofthesedifferencesisneededinordertotakeonthecreativechallengeofcommunicationtopeopleofdiverseculturalbackground”(qtdinMueller,1998,p.151).Althoughfemalestudiesdatebacktocenturiesago,researchesabouttheaccuracyandfairnessofportrayalsofwomenhavedevelopedrecently(Baldwin,1996;Peirce,1993;Snyder,1996).Inthisstudy,however,weanalyzetheprevalenceofgirlishimagesintwomagazinesrepresentativeofthosetargetingtoyoungwomeninChinaandtheUnitedStateswithoutpositioning“girlish”withinapol