THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL MEDIA ON AMERICAN AND CHINESE CULTURES: AN AXIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF AMERICAS GOT TALENT AND CHINAS

GOT TALENT SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS BY JUNLIANG WU ADVISOR: JAMES W. CHESEBRO BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA MAY 2012

Table of Content Title Page Table of Contents List of Tables Acknowledgements Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: Literature Review Chapter Three: Methods Chapter Four: Findings Chapter Five: Major Conclusions, Limitations, and Recommendations for future study Reference 77 87 1 2 3 4 5 22 41 53

List of Tables Table 1.1- Rankings of Americas Got Talent Final Shows Table 1.2- Rankings of Chinas Got Talent Season Premier and Final Table 2.1- Summary of Connotations of LTO Differences Found in Surveys and Other Comparative Studies of Values Table 2.2- Eleven American and Chinese cultural values 30 35 9 10

Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge my appreciation to Dr. James W. Chesebro for his guidance and confidence towards the completion of this thesis. I am also grateful to Dr. Maria Williams-Hawkins and Professor Christopher Flook for their constructive criticism in the writing of this thesis and for helping me to develop this research. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their constant support and patience.

Chapter One: Introduction

If there is one format of television program that would attract millions of people, the Got Talent reality television show must be one of them. In June 2006, the U.S.A debuted the talent show in the world- Americas Got Talent, which featured different kinds of performance from dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for a substantive monetary prize. Americas Got Talent became one of the most popular reality shows in American television industry and this Got Talent concept started spreading and was accepted by international television audiences. With such growing influence, China launched the Chinese version of talent contest- Chinas Got Talent in July 2010. Chinas Got Talent completely adapted the same production format and contest rules from Americas Got Talent. It quickly became popular among young Chinese people and achieved tremendous successes in Chinese television industries. Regardless of the originating cultures, this format of talent show intrigues various audiences across multiple cultures. In other words, a global popular television program has been discovered, working successfully across American and Chinese cultures. American and Chinese might have established some sort of common values. Hence, this thesis focuses on the changing nature of cultural values that are occurring in some nationstates and that appears to be stimulated and fostered by the global entertainment industry.

Some specific arguments are central to this position. First, global media programs are exerting powerful influences on their diverse international audiences. These influences are increasingly linking into what can be understood and identified as a new international or global popular culture. Second, as these global media programs have become international hits, they gradually contribute to the power of the existence and influence of a global popular culture, a new cultural system that appears fully capable of affecting nation cultural values. Third, for some individuals in various countries, both national culture and global popular culture are equally important and simultaneously influencing individual value. Fourth, at this point in time, we can illustrate that with the impact of global popular culture, American and Chinese cultural values appear to have more commonalities. These foundational and common values appear to make two cultures more understandable and acceptable to Americans and Chinese. In all, this thesis argues that a dual cultural system, combining national culture and the global popular culture, is emerging and can exist when individuals are exposed to the global entertainment industry. These two cultures need to be considered when assessing international entertainment images for their potential socialization influences. In other words, we are at the verge of a potentially massive international transformation, and this transformation--if the entertainment industry is any indication--could potentially influence the nature of cultural values within the world.

Preview of Chapter One This chapter is divided into three parts. Part one provides introductions of Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent, including the formats, performances, and

public reflections of those two reality programs. Because the two talent contest television programs are popular in two different cultures, part two explores various critical definitions of culture, global culture and popular culture. According to various definitions of culture, value is the core concept of culture and this study examines culture in an eclectic approach, especially focusing on axiological perspective. Hence, part three provides various important definitions of value.

Talent Contests Television is a significant cultural institution, which may indicate what the culture is and how it interacts with other cultures. Among all kinds of television programs, the reality show probably is one of the most popular television genres in most Western and Eastern societies. Today, almost every country airs local as well as imported reality shows, or local productions of imported formats (Cohen, J., Weimann, G., and Bar-Sinai, I. 2009). The common features of reality shows, according to Booker (as cited in Cohen, J., Weimann, G., and Bar-Sinai, I. 2009), are that they are shows in which producers create a common theme, structure and frame around a certain topic (e.g., dance, singing, business), but the events that take place within this structure are new and unpredictable as they depend on the actions and behaviors of the real people-people who use their real social identity on television. Most of the time, reality shows attract people by some sort of competitions that lead to prizes, which could be a desired job, a modeling or recording contract, and so on. Dauncey (1996) and Wong (2001) explained the reality model could potentially empower audiences by allowing them to participate directly or from home.

Talent contests or audition type shows are one format of reality television shows. The talent show is a revolutionary entertaining programing, which provides a possibility for audiences to become potential entertainers. Among all talent shows, the Got Talent series are significant and have spawned over many countries such as America, China, Canada, and Korea. The following section provides details of Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent.

Americas Got Talent. Americas Got Talent debuted in June 2007 and it was the first full series of this Got Talent Television format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell. Americas Got Talent maintains the idea of discovering acts or other performances that have never been seen in the history and these acts and performances provide entertainments to audiences. The host and judges of Americas Got Talent claim that it provides a platform for ordinary people who have talent and who want to show off their creative, challenging, and exciting acts. The selection processes of Americas got talent are divided into four parts: producers auditions, preliminary auditions, Las Vegas Week (quarterfinals), and finally live shows. The producers audition is untelevised and held in theaters. This round is held several months before the judges audition in cities. Following the producers auditions, contestants will audition in front of three celebrity judges who will select 48 acts to the next round audition-the Las Vegas week. Despite the traditional stage competition, Americas Got Talent has created an online video audition: the YouTube special audition,

providing easy access for all talented people in the world. The final live show normally takes place over two nights: one for final competition and the other one for results. It might be appropriate to say that Americas Got Talent has adopted and employed the concept of the American dream, which emphasizes that life should be better, richer, and fuller for everyone. Interpreting this concept, life should provide opportunities according to ability or achievement, regardless of social class or circumstances of birth (Adams, 1931). Hence, this open-call format of Americas Got Talent has often been a popular one for television industry in the United States, reflected in the national rankings of American television programs. The Americas Got Talent has kept millions of TV viewers and was the number one show in fall season since the first season in 2005. Table 1.1 provides the rankings of Americas Got Talent, which identifies it is the one of the most successful and popular shows in the United States. Table 1.1 Rankings of Americas Got Talent Final Shows Season finale TV Season 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Finale viewers (in millions) 12.05 13.87 12.55 15.53 16.41 Season Average viewers (in millions) 10 12 11.38 11.91 11.02

Season 1 2 3 4 5

Rank #1 #1 #1 #1 #1

Chinas Got Talent. Chinas Got Talent first launched in July 2010 by Dragon TV, a regional satellite television station in Shanghai. China produced many talent shows before China Got Talent, and most of them continue to be popular. Super Girl, for example, was one of the

most popular talent shows aired on Human Satellite Television Station, the second biggest television network after China Central Television (CCTV) owned by the Hunan provincial government from 2004-2006 in China. It was open to any female amateur contestants regardless of ages and the levels of singing. The previous final seasons of Super Girl have drawn more than 400 million viewers (Jacobs, 2011). Similarly, Chinas Got Talent has achieved remarkable success through receiving positive feedback from Chinese audiences. Table 1.2 provides the national rating of Chinas Got Talent, which suggests Chinas Got Talent has been extremely popular and caught the publics attention since it is debuted. Table 1.2 Rankings of Chinas Got Talent Season Premier and Final1 Season 1 2 Season Premier July 25, 2010 May 01, 2011 National audience rating 1.37 2.1 Rank 2 2 Season Final Sep 26, 2010 July 10, 2011 National audience rating 5.70 5.947 Rank 1 1

With such positive reactions, Chinas Got Talent is designed to attract a larger audience and spread more Chinese culture. For instance the third season of Chinas Got Talent holds auditions in London and Liverpool / Manchester in November (Sun, 2011). In result, Chinese culture intrigues international audiences and more global elements are integrated into Chinas Got Talent. In terms of format and contest rules, Chinas Got Talent completely duplicates the selection process from the Americas Got Talent. The pre-audition stages are held by
Note: Seasonal rankings are based on average total viewers per episode of Chinas Got Talent on Dragon

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separate untelevised producers' auditions which come to various provinces across China. At any time during the audition, the judges may present his/her disapproval to the act by pressing a buzzer which lights a large red X on the stage. If all the judges press their buzzers, the act must end immediately. Starting from the semi-finals, the three judges cannot completely decide who would be able to go to the final stage. The competition system switches the power to one professional group which consists of 50 representatives of audiences. Each representative votes for the contestants if they like their acts. The three judges, in this round, have 10 votes, which largely give their rights to support their favorite contestants. In the final stage, judges do not have the right to decide who would be the first-place winner. The final winner is reached by receiving votes from audience through text messages. The most popular performances in Chinas Got Talent are singing and dancing. Contestants regularly decide to show their talents in singing and dancing. Bai Shuping, a sixty-five-year-old Chinese grandmother, created a viral sensation of Michael Jackson by showing her Jackson moves. In contrast, Chinese traditional artistic performances are not salient among the young performers in the contest. Tang Kangmin plays a Chinese traditional music instrument Kou Xuan () which is a tiny harmonica. She was recognized well in her first performance, but only achieved sixth place in the final contest. By observing public reactions to all performances, western acts evidently have dominated the Chinas Got Talent and convinced Chinese audience to learn and to spread those acts through the television and the internet. In all, the two successful Got Talent shows are well-accepted and unbelievably popular in two American and Chinese cultures. Contestants in Americas Got Talent and

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Chinas Got Talent act similarly, mostly focusing on dancing and singing. Hence, it may appropriately claim that this talent format television program is acceptable by American and Chinese audiences. This phenomenon may also suggest that the global television programming is affecting American and Chinese cultures by developing and generating more cultural commonalties. Up to this point, it is essentially to present the importance of a culture to all individuals, and therefore, part two offers various critical definitions of culture. Definitions of Culture Culture is defined as a combination of human creations with emphasis on enumeration of content such as histories, traditions, symbols, ideas, values, attitudes, and behavior. From a wide range perspective, Kluckhohn and Kelly (1945) defined culture as a complex whole which includes artifacts, beliefs, art, all the other habits acquired by man as a member of society, and all products of human activity as determined by these habits (p.82). Herskovits (1948) further stated: Culture is essentially a construct that describes the total body of belief, behavior, knowledge, sanction, values, and goals that mark the way of life of any people. That is, though a culture may be treated by the student as capable of objective description, in the final analysis it comprises the things that people have, the things they do, and what they think (p. 625) In recent studies, vast majority of scholars have agreed that culture is imperative to determine individual behavior and values. Hall (1976) recognized culture is a word, which stands for the sum of earned behavior patterns, attitudes, and material things. Kim

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(1993) focused on the structural and socialization function and he discussed that culture is significant because it is mostly through culture that human groups organize, direct, and pattern their behavior. Indeed, culture is a complex system that reflects the complexity of patterns such as behavior and values and defines how individuals act in various situations. These wide range definitions provide preliminary evidence that culture sets regulations for individual behaviors and eventually affecting ones value and cognitive systems. The advantages of knowing broad definitions are to have a general view of what culture is and what function it has. However, a precise definition of culture sometimes provides better understandings and deeper interpretations. The popular definitions of culture often associated with norms, symbols, and values. Ting-Toomey and Oetzel (2001) defined culture as a learned meaning system that consists of patterns of traditions, beliefs, values, norms, and symbols that are passed on from one generation to the next and are shared to varying degrees by interacting members of a community (p.9). Kuper (1999) suggested that culture is essentially a matter of ideas and values, a collective cast of mind. The idea and values, the cosmology, morality and aesthetics, are expressed in symbols, and so-if the medium is the messageculture could be described as a symbolic system. Chesebro (2008) further interpreted culture as imposed to create or replicate a sense of coherence and system, culture is an integrated pattern of symbol-using reflecting and constructing a system of values, behaviors, technologies, and social institutions transmitted from one generation to the next. In this regard, it is appropriate to consider that culture is symbolically constructed and imposes the symbolic function, passing down our behaviors, values and other distinctive human characteristics from one generation to the next.

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If a cultural system is constructed by symbols, value is considered as a core concept of culture. Thomas (1937) once said culture is the material and social values of any group of people, whether savage or civilized (their institutions, customs, attitude, behavior reactions) (as cited in Kroeber and Kluckhohn, 1952). In this sense, cultural value consists of diverse human activities in a group or society and it dominates communicative methods by determining value systems. Kroeber and Parsons (1958) cross-disciplinary definition of culture as transmitted and created content and patterns of values, ideas, and other symbolic-meaningful systems as factors in the shaping of human behavior and the artifacts produced through behavior (P. 583). In all, culture is one of the most complex systems in human society. It is a creation of dynamic contents such as traditions, social interactivities, and influence of technology. In recent society, the rapid development of digital technologies and the internet are the two major factors controlling and integrating different cultures. According to YouTube statistics (2011), over 3 billion videos are viewed a day. Hence, the internet and global media platform extend individuals ability of getting new knowledge and exchanging information. Meanwhile, they reduce the feelings of discomfort, frustration, and irritation and high level of anxiety when encountering people from other communities or countries. This is the result of cultural globalization. Accordingly, the next subpart provides definitions of global culture.

Global Culture and Globalization. A global culture is a cultural mixture which integrates commonality such as attitude, behavior, and value from numbers of cultures. As countries exchange products

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and share information, cultural conflicts are being reduced and a global culture is being constructed. Indeed, culture involves dynamic changes, especially in the world with technology and the internet. However, people start establishing common attitudes, behaviors and values by using such advantages. Koning (2009) understood interactivity is one of the major characteristics of global culture and provided such definition: global culture is expressed through cosmopolitan consumption practices and tastes, as well as connection to international social network. Smith (1990) argued that supranationalism is the greatest function of global culture. He suggested global culture, by definition and intention, is supranational and is capable of eroding cultural differences between participants. Two scholars have elucidated the major characteristics of global culture; others focus on more precise functions that the word global can serve. Robertsons (1992), for instance, has reported the concept of globalization focused on an intensified compression of the world and peoples increasing abundance of global connections and general spread of global phenomenon. Spybey (1996) argued that globalization in its structural dimensions can be regarded principally as the nation-state system, cultural spreading, world military order and other internationally dispersed activities. Among numerous ways of defining globalization, Anthony Giddenss (1990) definition is probably one of the best known and most comprehensive: Globalization can thus be defined as the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice verse (p.64).

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Recognizing the conception and the importance of global culture, a large number of individuals, especially business merchants, have started creating and adopting global cultural attitudes for expanding business corporations. Polson (2010), for instance, discovered that the expansion of capitalist enterprise relies on a force of professionals employed in sectors such as advertising, accounting, engineering, law, etc., who are bi- or multi-lingual, willing to live abroad, and able to work in a multicultural team. These groups of mobile/global elites, who live with cosmopolitan life styles that include traveling first class or using private air craft, and their identity is not linked to any specific society, but to membership of managerial circles of the informational economy across a global cultural spectrum (Castells, 1996). Given all of these conceptions and examples, it becomes clearer that globalization could function as an important level of the communication process. Specifically, as this thesis argues explicitly in chapter 4, this global level of the communication process can potentially influence individual behavior and eventually change the concept of value. Adapting from global culture, popular culture is merging and influencing national culture by allowing people to share social values on multiple platforms. Popular Culture. Defining the notion of popular culture is important because this thesis examines culture and cultural values from two television shows. Storey (2001) defined popular culture as a simply culture which is widely favored or well liked by many people. In this sense, popular culture refers to a quantitative index that the majority of people find acceptable and enjoyable. Bennett and Storey (as cited in Parker, 2011) defined popular culture in six dimensions 1) quantitatively superior, 2) qualitatively inferior, 3) mass

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culture, 4) a product of the people, 5) a battlefield for hegemony, or 6) a chimera to deconstructed by postmodernism by many people. The power and influence of popular culture in cultural system is profound. It is playing a crucial role in creating public cultural identities and perceptions of other cultures and groups. Film serves as a good point to demonstrate the concept of popular culture that can be well received by global citizens. Take Kung Fu Panda for instance, the film had received favorable reviews from audiences all over the world. Both films in the series were well received by Chinese audiences who were impressed with the film's faithfulness to their cultures. The film topped the box office in its opening weekend, grossing $60,239,130 for a $14,642 average from 4,114 theaters, which was also the highest-grossing opening for the DreamWorks film at the time. With the international success and positive reputation it received, the 3D animation Kung Fu Panda 2 was released on May 26, 2011, which is 3 years after the original one. It has rocked the world again with a gross of $159,014,430 in the United States and Canada, as of July 10, 2011, as well as bringing its worldwide total to $563,014,430. It may now be appropriate to identify the potential power and significance of global popular cultural systems. In this regard, Facebook, can function as a particularly vivid and significant example of global popular cultural system. It is known as one of the biggest social networking platform in contemporary age and has been widely accepted by most of internet users. Beginning in 2004, Facebook was a social network that only works for Harvard students. It quickly encompassed users at most university and college campuses in the United States. Two-thirds of users log in at least daily and spend an average of 20 minutes on the site (Freiert, M. 2007). In 2011, Facebook announced that it

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has more than 750 million active users with 50% of them log on Facebook in any given day and 250 million mobile users. Facebook platform has been built in 190 countries. There are more than 900 million objects that users are interacting with and the more than 1 billion pieces of content shared every single day. Although Facebook has been blocked in China, numbers of internet users have found ways including special software used to bypass the complex online censorship system. Bill Bullock (cited from Levin, 2010) the chief executive of Witopia, a Virginiabased company that sells a VPN popular among expatriates in China for $60 a year, said people want their Facebook and Twitter and they are not going to tolerate a censored internet. In addition, according to David Gordyansky (cited from Levin, 2010), founder of the U.S-based AnchorFree, about one million people in China are using the free VPN Hotspot Shield, a software that helps users to bypass firewalls and access all content without censorship, and the numbers of people who start to know how to use these types of software are increasing. In all, all of these particulars lead us to one of the key concepts in this thesis, the word value. With the development of digital technologies, a global popular culture starts to make an impact on national culture and eventually affect individual values. Therefore, we should ask: Is the concept of value changing? Is this change international? Are digital technologies and systems, such as the internet, fostering these transformations throughout the world? Does global popular culture generate universal values at least in the television industry? Can Americans and Chinese share similar cultural values? With these questions in mind, we should consider what we mean by the notion of value.

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Definitions of Value Kluckhohn acknowledged that the study of values seemed to merge with the study of culture, and to engage with the same problems (as cited in Powers, 2000, p. 27). Kluckhohn referred to was many theoretical and methodological problems still required a better understanding of cultures and values to generate comprehensive answers. This statement also points out that the study of value has been and will be crucial in the study of culture. Indeed, as researchers (Kluckhohn, 1951; Hofstede, 2001; Schwartz, 1992) consider value as the essential concept of culture, the relationship between two concepts is inseparable. Hofstede (2001) described the manifestation of culture at different levels by using an onion metaphor. On the outside layer lie symbols (i.e., words, gestures, and objects), heroes (i.e., iconic representation of the admired in the culture), rituals (i.e., collective activities and teachings), and eventually values as the core concept of culture. Indeed, culture may be defined more than value, yet value is the most important and foundational part for culture. Schewartz (2006) noted that cultural value shapes and justifies individual and group beliefs, actions and goals and further argued that studying value directly is an especially efficient way to capture and characterize cultures (p. 139). Hence, scholars tend to study cultural values and value orientation in order to understand the essence of cultures. Similar to culture, researchers (Kluckhohn, 1967; Hofstede, 2001) attempt to define values in various ways. Kluckhohn (1967) provided a precise anthropological definition: A value is a conception, explicit or implicit, distinctive of an individual or characteristic of a group, of the desirable modes, means and ends of actions (p. 395). Shearman (2008) probably provides the most comprehensive definition:

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Values are the beliefs that are held individually or collectively, perceived consciously or unconsciously, communicated explicitly (verbally/articulately) or implicitly (symbolically), used as the criteria for cognitive, affective, or behavioral judgments to guide our choices out of available options, as they influence society, while society influences them (p.4). According to Shearman (2008)s definition, a few characteristics and qualities of value are presented. First, value is something that can be either owned by individuals or shared by a group of people. This statement could also be understood as values can be held at different levels: ones that could be shared with someone in the group, others that held by individuals. Second, value may express explicitly or implicitly. Some Eastern cultures emphasize implicit messages, nonverbal cues, and symbolic behaviors, while some Western cultures prefer to send direct message and express ideas by using verbal cues. Third, values provide evaluative criteria and guide individuals to make decisions. The values provide us with normative criteria, which deal with what is perceived as normal, typical, and socially acceptable, and evaluative criteria, which refer to individuals judgments regarding what is good or bad, what is true and false, and what is desirable and undesirable (Shearman, 2008, p. 5). Fourth, value has an impact on human behavior, which are guided by a set of expectations. People desire and want different things, especially with different values in different cultures. Samover and Porter (2004) explained: culture strongly influences your beliefs, values, and your worldviews: it is reflected in your use of language, your nonverbal behavior, and how you relate with others (p. 3). Fifth, value has impact on individuals, while individuals also affect cultural values. On the one hand, children learn cultural values through social traditions and

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heritages. People tend to respect traditions and pass them from one generation to another. On the other hand, new values would be generated through dynamic social activities.

Summary This study examines two reality shows, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent that applied similar formats and structures and well accepted by audiences in American and Chinese cultures. The analysis provides full recognition to the new cultural system: global popular culture. With the rapid development of global media programming and digital technology, the global popular culture is exerting powerful influence on national culture and becoming important to individuals. Meanwhile, cultural values serve as a core concept of culture. Global popular culture has affected American and Chinese cultures by generating common values. Chapter two, the literature review, presents statistical research on the topics of cultural variabilities and the concept of emerging common values between America and China. In terms of methods of this thesis, chapter three introduces an eclectic approach of mixing four methods used in this research and presents the means in which these methods will be used to address the stated research questions. Chapter four presents results and findings in two talent shows. Chapter five gives major conclusions and limitations of this study. It also includes some suggestions for the future study.

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Chapter Two: Literature Review

This thesis dissects the impact of global media on American and Chinese cultures, mainly focusing on cultural values that are shared by Americans and Chinese. The world is in a compression process and global media programing connects people from different nations by establishing similar attitudes, belief, and eventually a set of values. With such influences, individuals are given plenty of opportunities to know other cultures. Hence, to effectively and accurately understand the impact of global media on promoting and transmitting global popular culture and values, this chapter provides research on the topic of culture and cultural values. Some previous studies directly present tremendous differences between America and China in a cultural manner. Others suggest that there are mixed areas between American and Chinese cultures.

Introduction of Chapter Two The literature review is divided into two major parts. Part one reviews some major contributions on cultural polarization, especially focusing on Hofstede (2001)s five major cultural variabilities: power distance, individualism and collectivism, masculinity and femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long versus short term orientation. These five cultural dimensions largely differentiate America and China in terms of cultural values and social norms. Although cultural differences between America and China are

enormous and absolute, the world globalization suggests that America and China have established and developed commonalities and values in many domestic and international situations. Accordingly, part two provides definitions of eleven core values and commonalities found in both American and Chinese cultures.

Cultural Variabilities America and China offer two study cases that have been frequently discussed and used to describe the cultural differences between West and East. Indeed, it is common for people to view American and Chinese cultures as polarized. American tourists are mostly interested in Chinese historic relics such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Terra Cotta Warriors, whereas Chinese people love to have advanced technologies and the modern life in the United States. Among all differences, five cultural value dimensions significantly stand out: power distance, individualism and collectivism, masculinity and femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term verses short-term orientation.

Power Distance. Hofstede (2001) listed the power distance as the first dimension of cultural difference between America and China. The concept of power distance initially was defined by Dutch social psychologist Mauk Mulder (1977, as cited in Hofstede, 2011) based on his power distance theory on laboratory and field experiments. He defined

power distance as the degree of inequality in power between a less powerful individual and a more powerful other, in which individual and other belong to the same (loosely or

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tightly knit) social system (p. 90). Hofstede (2001) further redefined the concept based on Mulders definition and suggested that power distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally (p.98). Interpreting Mulder and Hofestedes definitions, it is obvious to see that both scholars have realized that power distance is associated with social equality and authority. In this sense, nations differentiate power distance as large power distance and short power distance. Chesebro (2009) explained in a large-power-distance culture, people feel dependent on those in authority and expect direction from them, whereas in short-power-distance culture, people are more willing to challenge or even approach their bosses. In short-power-distance culture, equalization is one of the most important elements to be developed. In this sense, short-power distance societies tend to pay less attention on authorization and more on equality. In contrast, large-power-distance cultures promote the concept of obedience and tend to pay less attention on equalization and more attention on authorization. Therefore, children are required to obey parents teaching and should be dependent on teachers at school. The power distance values between America and China are significant. China is one of the large-power-distance cultures. According to Hofstede (2001), the power distance value of China is at 80, which suggested that the Chinese society believes the inequalities amongst people are acceptable. In this sense, the relationship between subordinate and superior tends to be polarized into dependence and counter dependence (Hofstede, 2001, p. 86). On the other hand, the power distance index value based on Hofstedes (2001) study repeats that America scored low on this dimension (40), which

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suggested that Americans pursues liberty and freedom and focus on equal rights in all aspects of American society and government.

Individualism and Collectivism. In 1980, Hofstede initially conceptualized individualism-collectivism as a great dimension representing the cultural difference between West and East. Hofstede (1980) agreed that Chinese culture is a collectivistic culture, whereas American culture keeps the individualism as its central value. By definition, individualism is generally defined as a social pattern that consist of loosely link individuals who view themselves as independent of collectives and collectivism refers to a social pattern consisting of closely linked individuals who view themselves as parts of one or more collectives (family, co-workers, tribe, nation) (Triandis, 1995, p.2). This individualism and collectivism represents the degree to which individuals are integrated into strong and cohesive groups. To discover the essences of individualism and collectivism, Kim (1994) employed statistical analysis and demonstrated six values for individualism: Individuation, Autonomy, Self-fulfillment, Freedom of choice, Uniqueness, Assertiveness, and six values for collectivism: Relatedness, Interdependency, Succorance, Nurturance, Common fate, Compliance. In a similar vein, Oyserman, Coon, and Kemmelmeier (2002) provides a comprehensive content analysis sorting seven values of individualism: Independence, Individual goal striving, Competition, Uniqueness, Self-privacy, Self-knowledge, and Direct communication, and eight important components of collectivism: Relatedness, Group belonging, Duty, Harmony, Seeking advice from others, Hierarchy, Preference for group work, Contextualization.

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Driven by a strong sense of collectivism, the individual members of the Chinese family tend to be more willing to submit their own self-interest to that of the family (Huang, 2011). In China, it is common to see that a son is asked to inherit his fathers business, whether he likes or not. The son may lack of knowledge or motivation to run this family business, but a sense of collectivism, one for all and all for one, always drives people to sacrifice their individual interests. The Western view of self, in contrast, is driven by individualism as the main theme for life; it is natural that the West encourages individuality, independence and autonomy (Huang, 2011). This individualism is a cultural assumption shared by many Americans. It is very important for an American to establish his or her independence and self-reliance. Parents raise their children to be independent to stand on their own two feet (Storti, 1994). All individuals should be guided by a duty to self and the obligations to do what he or she sees as morally right no matter what beliefs the others follow.

Masculinity and Femininity. The third dimension of cultural value is masculinity and femininity, which are correlated with sexes, genders, and gender roles. Hofstede (2001) used the word sex when referring to biological functions and gender when referring to social functions. Men and women are born with tremendous biological differences. In society, people generally tend to view men as average, taller, and stronger than women, while women have on average greater finger dexterity and for example, faster metabolism, which makes them recover faster from fatigue (Hofstede, 2001, p. 280). Accordingly, these absolute and statistical biological differences allow women and men to serve different gender roles in society. In

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this sense, men are supposed to be assertive, competitive and tough; whereas women are supposed to be more concerned with taking care of the home, the children, and people in general- to take the tender roles (Hofstede, 2001, p. 280) After providing the definition of sexes, genders, and gender roles, it is appropriate to introduce the definition of masculinity and femininity. Hofstede (2001) stated: Masculinity stands for a society in which social gender roles are clearly distinct: Men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success; women are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. Femininity stands for a society in which social gender roles overlap: Both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life (p.297). With the definitions of masculinity and femininity in mind, Chetwynd & Hartnett (1978) noticed that the sex-role system is at the core of our cultural norms (p. 3). The differences between masculine culture and feminine culture are depending on several key values such as achievements and competitions. Chesebro (2009) claimed that a masculine culture is tough, exhibiting aggressiveness, decisiveness, and competitiveness, and it places greater value on achievement outside of the home, power, grandeur, and welldefined gender roles. Chesebro (2009) further discussed that a feminine culture is tender, exhibiting modesty, reticence, caring for others and concern for a favorable environment, and it places greater value on nurturing, harmony, and interchangeable gender roles, settle conflict by negotiation and compromise, and is relationship oriented. In the category of masculine and feminine cultures, America and China are both masculine societies. In this view, winning competition and receiving achievements and

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recognitions are significant in both cultures. Americans are willing to take challenges and competitions in order to achieve success and become the best in the field. Americans understand that everyone could be the best by hard work. Hence, during the competition, they may ignore other important matters such as relationships. Similarly, Chinese people would sacrifice family and leisure priorities for work. The Beijing Olympic Games, for instance, was created by millions of people sacrificing family times and health for one purpose: to present the best Olympic games in history.

Uncertainty Avoidance. The fourth dimension of cultural value has been labeled as uncertainty avoidance. The notion of uncertainty avoidance is largely associated with controllability and predictability. Hofstede (2001) defined uncertainty avoidance as the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations (p.161). Chesebro (2009) suggested the low uncertainty avoidance culture is associated with a preference for unstructured environments, more tolerant of experimentation and deviant ideas, while members of high uncertainty avoidance cultures prefer structured situations, conformity to formal rules and established norms, tend to have higher levels of anxiety, often manifested in greater emotional expression and aggressiveness; and, they find it difficult to relax. According to Hofstedes (2001) empirical study, America and China belong to two different categories. The American society is a low uncertainty avoidance culture. Americans have cultivated a large degree of acceptance creative ideas, innovative products, and are willing to try new and different activities, whether the future is

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predictable or not. Meanwhile, the low uncertainty avoidance affects education systems in which the teaching process is determined. At school, teachers encourage students to express original and creative ideas, no matter good or bad. Consequently, the United States is one of the countries that won the most Nobel Prize recognition in academic fields. On the other hand, China is a high uncertainty avoidance culture. The old Chinese saying Ju An Si Wei(), which urges everyone to be prepared for danger in times of safety and to be vigilant in times of peace, reflects a tradition of Chinese people not accustomed unstructured environments and unpredictable situations. Television stations in China, for instance, are state owned. The Chinese government has full ability to control the content aired on all TV channels. Television programing is censored before it is aired because unpredictable results certainly might cause negative social impact and unnecessary harmful activities.

Long- Versus Short-Term Orientation. The last dimension of a national cultural value is identified as long-versus shortterm orientation. This value dimension was found in the answers of student samples from 23 countries around 1985 to the Chinese Value Survey (Hofstede, 2001, p.351). Hofstede (2001) provided definitions of long and short-term orientations: Long Term Orientation stands for the fostering of virtues oriented towards future rewards, in particular, perseverance and thrift. Its opposite pole, Short Term Orientation, stands for the fostering of virtues related to the past and present, in

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particular, respect for tradition, preservation of face and fulfilling social obligations (p. 359) Hofstede (2001) further pointed out key values of long-term orientation and shortterm orientation. The long-term orientation consists of values including persistence (perseverance), ordering relationships by status and observing this order, thrift, and finally, having a sense of shame. The opposite pole, short-term orientation, includes values of personal steadiness and stability, protecting your face, respect for tradition, and reciprocation of greetings, favors, and gifts. Hofesde (2001) concluded connotations of major differences between long-term orientation and short-term orientation, as Table 2.1 provided. Table 2.1 Summary of Connotations of LTO Differences Found in Surveys and Other Comparative Studies of Values. Low LTO Quick results expected. Status not major issue in relationships. Nice people know how to spend. Shame is not a common feeling. Personal steadiness and stability Protection of ones face Respect for traditions. Reciprocation of greetings, favors, and gifts. Children should learn tolerance and respect for other people Leisure time important Most important events in life occurred in High LTO Persistence, perseverance Relationships ordered by status and this order observed. Nice people are thrifty, sparing with resources. A sense of shame common. Personal adaptability. Face considerations common but considered a weakness. Adaptation of traditions to new circumstances. Reciprocation considerations are problematic, risk of overspending. Children should learn thrift. Leisure time not so important. More important events in life will occur in

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past or occur in present Students consider persistent not an important personality trait. Small share of additional income saved. Investment in mutual funds

future Students consider persistent an important personality trait. Large shared of additional income saved Investment in real estate.

With knowing the major differences between long-term orientation and short-term orientation, it is important to find out which category American and Chinese cultures belong to. According to Hofstedes (2001) long-term and short-term orientation index, the United States scored 29 on this dimension and employs short term oriented culture. In this sense, the short term oriented culture makes Americans focus on current time and quick results are expected. American business, for instance, measure the performance on a short-term basis, which takes the results is a major concern. Meanwhile, Chesebro, Kim, & Lees (2007) study suggest that the United States has primarily used competition in the short run, and confrontation in the long run, as its strategies in dealing with North Korea nuclear testing problem. Ding (2007) provides a good example of how short-term orientation affects Americans life: American audiences still enjoy weekly broadcast prime time episodes on major broadcasting networksWithout a doubt, these broadcasting networks would have changed their programming model immediately if most audiences were not satisfied with the current situation (p. 71). China scored 118, which definitely identified that China is a future orientated country in which perseverance and thrift are appreciated. The concept of long-term orientation was derived from Confucian Work Dynamism. The values of long-term orientation inherent to Confucians teaching consisted of four key principles (Hofstede, 2001):

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First, The stability of society is based on unequal relationships between people. Second, The family is the prototype of all social organizations. Third, Virtuous behavior toward others consists of not treating others as one would not like to be treated oneself. Fourth, Virtue with regard to ones tasks in life consists of trying to acquire skills and education, working hard, not spending more than necessary, being patient, and persevering. Indeed, the current Chinese society frequently employs a long-term orientation. The five-year plans of Peoples Republic of China are a series of economic development initiatives. The key characteristic is mapping strategies for economic development, setting growth targets, and launching reforms. For instance, on March 14, 2011, the Chinese government passed the twelfth five-year plan. According to Xinhua Newspaper, the official press agency of Chinese government, the twelfth five-year plan calls for a shift away from an economy based on exports and public works projects to one powered by consumer spending and focuses on rising inequality between poverty and wealth. Meanwhile, Chesebro, Kim, & Lee (2007) pointed out that China uses a consensus or compromise strategy, a different communication strategy from that which most other countries employed, in the short run and collaboration in the long term in dealing with North Korea nuclear testing problem. In all, the five cultural value dimensions provide preliminary evidence suggesting that American and Chinese cultures are polarized. America is a culture of low power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, and focusing attention on individualism, masculinity, and using short orientated strategies, while Chinese culture stands on the

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opposite side of American culture. The only common cultural value between America and China is that both cultures are masculine cultures. With such evidence, it may doubtlessly say that American and Chinese cultures are tremendously different. With the development of globalization, however, recent studies present the theory of cultural polarization may have limitations. Accordingly, part two provides studies suggesting that America and China are actually linked and interacted by some sets of universal values, which provide some new insights and allow to have a better understanding of each culture.

Global Values With the rapid development of technology, information is being shared without physical restrictions. Take social networking as an example; Facebook has had 800 million registered users of which 75% are outside of the United States (Facebook Statistics, 2011). Communication and interaction are becoming more frequent and easier between Facebook users from different nations. Hence, it is not hard to conclude that the world is associated and connected with global media programs and this globalization is affecting American and Chinese cultures and making them more relative and common. From an academic perspective, the values of individualism and collectivism no longer absolutely differentiate American and Chinese culture. Scholars (Moemeka, 1998; Lim, Kim and J-Kim, 2010) found that both individualism and collectivism scales could not produce assumptions that East Asian culture is more collective than Western culture, and that Westerners are more individualistic than East Asians.

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Moemeka (1998) argued that the authenticity of collectivism as the cultural basis for Africa as well as Asia, and claims both individualistic and communalistic cultures have their own types of collectivism, suggesting collectivism constitutes an outer layer of culture derivable both from individualism and communalism. Lim, Kim and J-Kim (2010) conducted an empirical study which was developed on Moemekas model of cultural dimensions and revealed that individualism and collectivism both exist in Korean culture and American culture. Oyserman,Coon, and Kemmelmeiere (2002) found that Americans, the prototypical individualists, appeared as collectivistic, similar to Japanese and Koreans societies. These latter groups were no less individualistic than North Americans. These findings preliminarily prove that individualism and collectivism are not fully dichotomous. These studies suggest both cultures have individualism and collectivism, but revealed in different ways. American and Chinese cultures may not be totally paradoxical and dichotomous; rather, there are foundational and common values which link two cultures and build a common ground for Americans and Chinese. Indeed, taking advantage of the internet and global media programs, the chance of knowing American and Chinese cultures is becoming even more normal and frequent. In result, the two polarizing cultures would be easily understood to Americans and Chinese by having some sharable and universal values in both cultures. Rokeach (1972) believes that there is a small set of human values that can and should be shared by most people because they are important to determine ones attitudes and behaviors. Schwartz (1992) identified 11 motivationally distinct value types that are likely to be recognized within and across cultures and used to form value priorities.

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Those 11 value types are: self-direction, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, power, security, conformity, tradition, benevolence, universalism, and spirituality. He further recognized that this set of value types is relatively comprehensive, encompassing virtually all the types of values to which individuals attribute at least moderate importance as criteria of evaluation. Among all the value types, Schwartz (1992) assembled evidence from 20 countries showing that power, achievement, and tradition types were universal, as they emerged in all countries. The hedonism, self-direction, universalism, and security types were found in 95% of countries, and the stimulation, benevolence, and conformity types were found in 90% of the countries (p. 38). Accordingly, the studies of Schwartz (1992) and other scholars have preliminarily proved that values can be shared across countries and cultures. The following eleven values, as Table 2.2 presented, is developed from Hofestede (2001) and Schwartz s (1992) studies, pointing out commonalities between American and Chinese cultures.

Table 2.2. Eleven American and Chinese cultural values Categories Power Distance Values Equality References Burrell, J. 2010. Evaluating Shared Access: Social equality and the circulation of mobile phones in rural Uganda. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 15 (2010) 230-250 A social pattern that consist Triandis, H. C. (1995). of loosely link individuals Individualism and who view themselves as Collectivism. Boulder, independent of collectives CO; Westview. Definitions A guarantee to each individual of precisely the same share of an essential resource, such as food.

Individualism and Collectivism

Individualism

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Collectivism

Masculinity and Femininity

Achievement Competition

Uncertainty Avoidance

Creativity

Transparency

Long-term and Short-term orientation

Pleasure/ Enjoyment

Spirituality

Fantasy

Morality/Ethnic

A social pattern consisting of Triandis, H. C. (1995). closely linked individuals Individualism and who view themselves as Collectivism. Boulder, parts of one or more CO; Westview. collectives (family, coworkers, tribe, nation Reach the summit, win the Vendler, Z. (1957). Verbs race and times, Philosophical Review , 66 : 143-160 The effort of two or more Merriam-Webster Online parties acting independently dictionary to secure the business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms Uniqueness and imagination Schwartz, S.H (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology Openness, letting people see Allen, D, S., (2008). The the process creation of those Trouble with products transparency: The challenge of doing journalism ethics in a surveillance society. Journalism Studies, Vol.9, No 3. A judgment for which the Parducci, A., (1995). underlying dimension Happiness, Pleasure, and represents degrees of Judgment: The Contextual preference. Theory and Its Applications. Psychology Press. Something imaginary, not Bormann, E.g. (1985). grounded in reality The force of fantasy: Restoring the American dream. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press To coexist with others, show Pasquali, A. (1997) The respect for them as part of Moral Dimension of

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Universality

Globalization

ones life, and give an anthropological dimension to one of the supreme categories of understandingrelation The widening, deepening and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness, in all aspects of contemporary social life, from the cultural to the criminal, the financial to the spiritual

Communicating, Communication Ethnics and Universal Values, Sage Publications Held, D., McGrew, A., Goldblatt, D., & Perraton, J. (1999). Global transformations: politics, economics, and culture. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

The value of equality is reflected in the concept of power distance. Hofstede (2011) stated that culture sets the level of power distance at which the tendency of the powerful to maintain or increase power distances and the tendency of the less powerful to reduce them will find their equilibrium (p.83-84). In a low power distance culture, people tend to view others as friends and equality is emphasized, whereas in high power distance culture, inequalities amongst people are acceptable and relationships may be considered one of the most important social matters. As Moemeka (1998) presented, individualistic and collectivistic values exist in different manners in most cultures. Accordingly, American and Chinese cultures are not extremely individualistic or collectivistic; instead, both cultures have realized the value of independence and collaboration. For instance, American education attaches importance to collaborative work. Teachers require students to work together in order to compete at various projects. The Chinese educational system, on the other hand, focused on independence. More often, students are required to complete homework assessments individually so that teachers can exam if they understand the knowledge.

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Masculinity and Femininity highlights two individual values: achievement and competition. In high masculine culture, society and ones social value will be decided by achievement and competition. Children are expected to be the best in school, and therefore, classrooms become sports arenas. In this category, America and China have scored closed numbers 62 and 66 representatively which illustrate America and China competition and achievements are attentive in both countries. The uncertainty avoidance category has contained two values: creativity and transparency. In American and Chinese societies, people are more willing to accept advice and try something new and different. Simultaneously, transparency promotes creativity. A high transparent environment must be provided so that more people can share ideas and eventually make innovative products. The long-term and short-term orientations, from some extent, determine ones pleasure and happiness. Materialism is one of the most importance values for American culture. McEdwards (1971) explained well-being means that more Americans can buy more bathtubs, refrigerators, and autos than ever before (p. 175), Nowadays, Americans are reassured of their good life only if they have the financial ability to buy tablets such as iPad or smart phones such as iPhone 4s for various purposes. The internet and advanced technology provide a comfortable environment, which entertains people and provides a better condition for living in American society. Similarly, although Chinese is a short-term orientated culture, Chinese people desire pleasure more than anything else. With the economic development, Chinese people are becoming richer. Their increasing financial ability allows them to buy nice cars and big houses.

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Fantasy and morality are two values that are derived from spirituality. Every culture has fantasy, which possibly can be shared by group of people. Bormann (1985) once said that when a group of people have a shared fantasy theme, they have charged their emotional and memory banks with meanings and emotions that can be set off by a commonly agreed upon cryptic symbolic cue (p.6). In American and Chinese society, having a supernatural power is becoming a common fantasy, as reflected in magical films and Kung Fu movies. Likewise, morality sets certain rules for restricting human behaviors in ways that society can accept. For instance, plagiarism is considered immoral in both American and Chinese cultures. Students face different penalizations depending on various situations and school regulations. The last value is globalization, which has been commonly realized by most people and countries. Several researchers noticed that (Appadurai, 1990; Featherstone, 1990; Marvin M. Kraidy, 1999; Marwan M. Kraidy, 2005; Tomlinson, 2000) the theory of cultural globalization assumes that the hybrid culture has the power to challenge and break the dominant culture of national states and that hybrid culture is richer, and more resistant, democratic, diverse, and heterogeneous than cultures of national states (as cited in Wang, 2005). Indeed, cultural globalization helps learn from others strong points to offset weakness. Some major fields such as economy and education found that interactions between America and China brought benefits. Accordingly, Americans and Chinese are having a better and deeper understanding of each culture through these positive interactivities.

Summary

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Throughout all the literature reviews, cultural differences between American and Chinese cultures are tremendous and conspicuous. The five major cultural value perspectives: power distance, individualism and collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and femininity, and finally, long-term and short-term orientation, explicitly explain that both countries have established their own unique histories, traditions, and value systems. Although some scholars have provided strong evidences of supporting cultural differences between America and China, others believe that nations could have similar values and establish commonalities. In this study, eleven values: equality, individualism, collectivism, achievement, competition, creativity, transparency, pleasure, fantasy, morality, globalization represent core values for both American and Chinese cultures and preliminarily presented the some limitations of cultural polarizations. To prove the shared values of American and Chinese cultures, chapter three outlines the methods that are used in this study.

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Chapter Three: Methods

Although the U.S and China are two remarkable countries preserving unique cultures and cultural values, global media programming and the internet have brought people and cultures closer than ever before. The new generations of American and Chinese are growing and relying on the Internet. They make new friends on social networks and learn cultures through computers and television programs. Global entertainment programming provides easy access for Chinese and Americans to exchange cultural values. In this process of creating global audience, the concepts of culture and cultural values have been dramatically changed and new cultural values are emerging in American and Chinese cultures. With internet and global media programming, Americans and Chinese find more and more common ground. The relationships between the two countries are becoming more interactive. From a geographical perspective, the areas of China and the U.S. are literally the same. The U.S. has 379 million square miles and China has 370 million square miles. From an economic perspective, both countries are relying and depending on each other. The New York Times reports the American trade deficit with China grew to $29 billion, its largest level ever (Brustein, 2011). Meanwhile, the US-China Business Council (2010) published that United States is the top export destination and top trade partner for China. From a historical perspective, America and China are both young.

Although China has a long history, the new Chinese government has been established for only 62 years. From a social perspective, both countries have developed social networking systems. More Americans and Chinese spend time on Facebook and Renren, sharing their life experiences with friends and everyone in the world. Even from a political perspective, China and U.S have reached some common ground on some issues, such as, protecting citizens. The political protest Occupy Wall Street and Jasmine Revolution are both suppressed by the forces of governments. With such similarities in mind, this study employs an eclectic approach to analyze and evaluate Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent. This analysis combines four methods: content analysis, media criticism, analogy criticism, and axiological analysis. Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent have attracted thousands of talents to audition every year and influence more young audience. As the table 1.1 illustrated in chapter one, both talent shows have received significant attention in America and China. Therefore, the two talent shows appear to reflect the essential values of American and Chinese cultures.

Criticism This study compares two similar talent shows to find cultural commonalities between American and Chinese cultures by this global entertainment media. Hence, criticism is well suited to this study. Criticism allows producers to describe and interpret experiences and eventually evaluate the meaning of the communicative acts. Chesebro and Bertelsen (1996) quoted Campbells interpretation of Criticism (p. 59):

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Campbell has argued that criticism is epideictic in the end and deliberative and forensic in means (p. 4-13). That is, the intent, objective, and purpose of criticism is to praise/dispraise, judge, or evaluate (Jasinski, 1992, p. 198). The concept of criticism not only extends the meaning of experience, but reflects symbolic and cognitive systems. Chesebro and Bertelsen (1996) further elaborated the concept of criticism: Criticism is a practice, but it also constitutes a body of guidelines, techniques, and applied illustrations that can be used to analyze communication technologies as symbolic and cognitive systems (p. 58). Although critics purposively describe, interpret, and evaluate their activities, Broke and Scott (1980) noticed that the function of the critic is to indicate, point out, and draw the attention of others to the phenomenon. With more or less awareness of the implications of his activity, the critic endows with meaning the phenomenon to which he attendsIn taking responsibility for his shapings, the critics purpose becomes interpretive. Finally, the critic judges(p.18) Chesebro and Bertelsen (1996) further examined examples of critical discourse and identified 11 key features of criticism (p. 61-67). 1. Criticism is a form of extensional discourse. 2. Criticism is epideictic. 3. Criticism is deliberative. 4. Criticism is reason giving. 5. Criticism is self-reflexive and ideological.

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6. Criticism is persuasion 7. Criticism assesses the effectiveness of the communicative act 8. Criticism involves an appreciation of form. 9. Criticism constitutes an exploration of the applied and theoretical. 10. Criticism is a form of self-exploration and self-expression. 11. Criticism is entertainment. Indeed, criticism describes, interprets, evaluates, and eventually extends the meaning of communicative acts. Critics describe the original communicative acts and interpret them based on previous experiences and knowledge. In the process of interpretation, criticism introduces and adds understandings of the experience which discovers the potential meaning that may not be found without critical analysis. Critics not only collect information, but judge and evaluate the value of communicative acts. In this sense, criticism is persuasive. It provides reasons and gives evidences to convince audience arguments. Towards to the end, criticism extends and applies the values of communicative acts to reflect cultural significances. Ding (2007) asserts that criticism assesses the meaning and value of the communicative act to society and to a culture not just data collection but a critical view provides a statement of meaning and value and importance to a culture (p. 39). Criticism is relied on critics. As Chesebro and Bertelsen (1996) argued that criticism is a self-exploration and self-expression, critics are crucial to judgments and evaluations. A critic must admit who he/she is. Cultural background and life experience are most important to this study. I was born and raised in China, speaking Chinese and watching Chinese television programs. I was taught in China and requested to be modest in behavior and respect authority.

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Meanwhile, I grew up in Shanghai- a city where Western and Eastern cultures are mixed. Additionally, as one of the Millennials, I grew up with the internet and various digital technologies which extend my capability of knowing and understanding other cultures. Since the idea of social networks started disseminating, I have benefited from seven platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Renren, Kaixin, and Weibo (micoblog). I made friends from numerous countries and learned their cultures through online communication. Knowing cultures through the internet might be selective, inaccurate, and prejudiced. Accordingly, I decided to come to and live in the U.S. Face-to-face communication is a complement to online interaction. Meeting with new American friends, joining American cultural traditions, and immersing in American college education helped me observe a real American culture. Combining my experience gained from the Internet and real life in the United States, I have obtained a better understanding of American culture. From the experiences of both cultures, I have generated a strong sense of feeling that both American and Chinese cultures are becoming similar. In all, criticism provides better understanding of American and Chinese culture. Four methods: content analysis, media criticism, analog criticism, and axiological analysis are employed in this study. Each of the five methods is explained in detail and described the function of their use throughout the rest of this chapter.

Content analysis Content analysis is important to this study. It obtains knowledge and finds new understanding of the two talent shows in two cultures. Krippendorff (2004) defined

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content analysis as a research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from text (or other meaningful matter) to the content of their useAs a research technique, content analysis provides new insights, increases a researchs understanding of particular phenomena, or informs practical actions (p. 18). The text in Krippendorffs definition refers to other meaningful matter to indicate that in content analysis works of art, images, maps sounds, signs, symbols, and even numerical records as data. In this study, content analysis is used to analyze and compare the formats of Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent. The two talent shows were chosen because they represent the front-runners in the entertainment industry. Hansen, Cottle, Negrine, and Newbold (1998) further stated: The purpose of content analysis is to identify and count occurrences of specified characteristics of dimensions of tests, and through this, to be able to say something about the messages, images, and representations of such tests and their wide social significance (p.95). According to Ding (2007), in cultural study, content analysis is an important method to be used to examine how the two talent television shows were laid out in front of the audience in the different culture backgrounds. Ding (2007) continued arguing that content analysis is employed to compare the details of two talent shows, a procedure which reveals new insight of two cultures. Therefore, discovering and interpreting the content acquired from Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent provides a better understanding of two cultures and an easier approach to find common values. With obtaining knowledge from content, media criticism provides another new insight from a technological perspective.

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Media Criticism Digital technology improves human life. Today, people rely on different media to exchange information. The Pew Internet & American Life Project (2011) found that one third of American adults-35%-own smartphones, frequently using them to check emails or log on social networks. Likewise, computers become daily necessary for the Chinese. People do various activities on the internet. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the premier global provider of information technology, China has passed the U.S. in PC shipments in the second quarter of 2011. Therefore, technology is becoming the center for both Americans and Chinese. Hence, as a method, media criticism is powerful and important to this study. The subjects of this study are two television production shows. Employing media criticism greatly evaluates similarities and differences in terms of interpreting communicative messages. Scodari and Thorpe (1992) predetermined what media criticism should and should not be: Simply stated, legitimate media criticism involves the intellectual, subjective analysis and/or evaluation of media artifacts, policies, technologies, and/or institutions by disinterested persons who do not stand to personally profit as a consequence of their specific criticism (p.3). Chesebro and Bertelsen (1996) argued that media criticism is the product of consistent application of critical principles to media technologies as communication systems. They further proclaimed the goal of media criticism: The goal of the analysis of communication technologies is the explication of cognitive, behavioral, and motivational dimensions and the consequences of

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communication media in an effort to enhance the quality of human symbol using (p. 70). Indeed, viewing the same program through different media platforms alters individuals cognition, behavior, and motivation. Most audiences watch Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent on traditional television sets. With the development of digital technologies, however, media programming is no longer limited by a single device. People have multiple access such as computers and mobile devices to watch the two shows. In this study, media criticism interprets messages and acts which provide new insights of how media affects ones attitude, behavior, and values. Meanwhile, Chesebro and Bertelsen (1996) suggested that media criticism functions in six ways (p. 71-74): First, media criticism can reveal the subtle and unnoticed complex stimuli embedded in media experiences. Second, media criticism can reveal how media systems affect human cognition. Third, media criticism can reveal the effects of media systems, particularly their effect on individuals and society. Fourth, media criticism can alter the communication process by introducing quality-control components into the media communication system. Fifth, media criticism can create counterarguments to the messages generated by media technologies. Sixth, media criticism can generate individual, rather than social class, reactions to media experiences, energizing the media user in an attempt to shift him or her from an inactive to an active role.

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Through the six functions, media criticism exposes new insights of media experiences and the influence of value systems. The knowledge gained from media criticism helps to lead a better understanding of how media systems powerfully alter individual attitude, cognition, perception, and eventually values. Gathering all knowledge and insights, analog criticism analyzes and compares the similarities and differences acquired from content analysis and media criticism.

Analog criticism Analog criticism, as a method, is used to allow this research to compare the two talent shows and find similarities and differences of each television show. Rosenfield (1968) used analog criticism to compare two remarkably similar speeches addressed by Presidents Richard Nixon and Harry Truman. Rosenfield (1968) stated: The generic resemblance of the two speeches (both may be classified as massmedia apologia) invites what may be called analog criticism-comparing the speeches in such ways that each address serves as a reference standard for the other (p. 435). In this study, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are classified as talent shows, belonging to a reality television programming. Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent serves as a reference standard for each other. Rosenfield (1968) further addressed the advantages of using analog criticism: The objective of such a method of comparison and contrast is two-fold: to specify the fundamental anatomical features which relate the two speeches and to assess the relative artistic merit of each speech, compared to the other (p. 435).

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In this research, analog criticism allows to recognize both similarities and differences of each television show. As Rosenfield (1968) suggested: comparison of these particular speeches is fruitful on several countsSecond, the identification of similar qualities in the two messages suggests the critic certain constants operating in an otherwise undefined form (p. 435). Thus, employing analog criticism greatly helps to generate a better understanding of similarities and differences of American and Chinese cultural values.

Axiological analysis Last but not least, this study is so grounded on American and Chinese cultural values. The essential question of this study is if American and Chinese cultures have had commonalties, regarding to cultural values. As Chesebro (1973) explained: Each cultural system can be viewed as a distinct rhetorical genre; an axiological analysis of each genre would now allow us to identify the competing sets of value judgments. (p. 15). Chesebro (1973) further argued that in order to distinguish the value orientation of each culture, rhetorical critics traditionally examine discourse from an axiological perspective, which allows the rhetorician to identify, as Redding and Steele put it, those values which function as premises for persuasion. Hence, an axiological analysis would help to find out cultural values of each country. Meanwhile, Angeles (1981, p. 4) argues that the study of aesthetics might include the "analysis of the values" in terms of "our experience of and judgments about things made by humans or found in nature which we call beautiful." Indeed, an aesthetic

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analysis of the values should be well considered in a study of culture. A low level of aesthetic value was one of the major reasons that Super Girl was terminated. According to Liu Zhongde, a standing committee member of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, claimed that contestants dressed "in vulgar fashion" that was socially "harmful", especially to young people's "aesthetic values". He further found "a vulgar trend" among candidates in the recent years "Many young people tried to appeal to the audience by making fools of themselves. Their behavior not only sullied themselves, but also degraded art". Chinas Got Talent, on the other hand, provides a cultural instruction by presenting noble values through the show. In this analysis, however, a strict view of axiology is employed here as defined by Angeles (1981) as "The analysis of values to determine their meaning, characteristics, origins, types, criteria, and epistemological status (p. 22). This research treats Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent as two cultural icons, representatively reflected American and Chinese cultural values. Both countries produce the shows by carrying out cultural values. Thus, employing axiological analysis is particularly important, as it takes a more critical perspective to explaining and identifying two cultures by values.

Summary This study employs an eclectic approach to answering the five questions posed in the chapter one: Is the concept of value changing? Is this change international? Are digital technologies and systems, such as the internet, fostering these transformations throughout the world? Does global popular culture generate some sets of universal values

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at least in television industry? Can Americans and Chinese share similar cultural values? This type of approach allows for the use of a combination of four distinct methods: content analysis, media criticism, analog criticism, and axiological analysis. Content analysis is used to scientifically find new insights in two talent shows and examine cultural values through it. Media criticism allows discovering the change of American and Chinese cultural values from a technological perspective. Analog criticism helps to recognize the similarities and differences of the two shows. Finally, axiological analysis reveals the American and Chinese cultural values, reflected in Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent. Chapter four presents findings of Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent.

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Chapter Four: Findings

This chapter presents findings to answer the five research questions presented in chapter two. Based on an eclectic approach that links four research methods, this chapter presents the idea of emerging global popular culture and common cultural values grounded in American and Chinese societies. This research begins by examining the findings from an axiological content analysis of Americas Got talent and Chinas Got talent. Throughout the axiological content analysis, it is initially noticed that the two talent shows are literately the same, as they both belong to same series of reality competition television shows and have the same production formats. Moreover, it explores American and Chinese cultural values reflected in two talent shows. Then it further employs media criticism to find similarities in American and Chinese entertainments and generate commonalities from a technological perspective. Accordingly, comparing the knowledge derived from content analysis and media criticism, analog criticism presents the similarities and differences of American and Chinese cultures. These findings are helpful to adequately address the research questions and suggest that the eleven values are widely accepted by the majority of American and Chinese audiences through global media programming.

Axiological Content analysis

This study employs axiological content analysis to discover details of Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent. Using axiological content analysis method, the new insights in Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent would be explored in details which explicitly explain why these two talent shows are popular in two cultures from a value perspective. By analyzing these new insights, some evidence emerges and would be helpful to illustrate and suggest that both talent shows were established and developed from the eleven values.

Equality. America is a low power distance culture and the concept of equality is rooted in American society and considered as one of the most essential values for developing country and society. In an American family, senior family members tend to see juniors as friends and equally treat and respect each other. Children are encouraged to express their own ideas and even dispute with parents. Similarly, although China is a high power distance culture, equality appears in a different manner. China has carried out several political measures to improve equal rights among Chinese. The situation of women regarding job affairs has changed significantly over the past century, particularly since the government established a gender equality policy in 1949. In the television industry, Super Girl, one of the most influential television reality shows, was created for young women to present their independence and a chance to become the next super star in China. With the development of society, the concept of equality has spread quickly by global media, and therefore, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent completely

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carries out the value of equality. Both talent shows have claimed that the shows are featuring singers, dancers, and other performers of all ages and social classes. In other words, ethnicities, genders, and ages are not important; all people deserve a chance to audition. Therefore, the winners of Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are completely different and unique with various social and gender backgrounds. Bianca Ryan was 11-year-old singer, Kevin Skinner was a chicken catcher, and Landau Eugene Murphy Jr was a car washer, and the first winner of Chinas Got Talent, Liu Wei, is a disabled pianist.

Individualism. Individualism and collectivism describe the relationship between the individual and the collectivity that prevails in a given society (Hofstede, 2001 p. 209). Gudykunst and Kim (1992) provided the importance of individualism and collectivism, working as a cultural pattern in most West and East cultures. Individualism is a cultural pattern found in most northern and western regions of Europe and in North AmericaThe cultural pattern of collectivism is common in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America, and the Pacific Islands. One third of the world population is represented by cultures with high individualistic value tendencies, whereas the remaining two thirds of the people lie in cultures with high group-oriented value tendencies (p. 30-31). According to Hofstedes (2001) rating of individualism values for 50 countries and three regions, Individualism is truly appreciated and promoted in the United States. Indeed, American parents teach their children that it is good to be an individual that you

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should be self-reliant (Storti, 1994). American parents send children to colleges and hope the college education can teach them a sense of independence and responsibility. Hence, Americas Got Talent promotes the value of individuality and independence, as each individual would have a chance to become the next super star of America. All season winners of Americas Got Talent: Bianca Ryan, Terry Factor, Kevin Skinner, Michael Grimm, and Landau Eugene Murphy Jr present the fact that American audience may attempt to appreciate individual achievement and success. On the other hand, while Hofstede (2001) ranked China as one of the countries where individualism is not promoted, there is evidence that the individualistic value is spreading amongst young Chinese people. Zhang and Shavitts (2003) study found that the younger group in China sees both individualism and collectivism as equally appealing. After imposing nearly 30 years of the Open Door Policy, China has become more international and global. In traditional Chinese society, individuality is associated with selfishness and lacking of responsibility. However, the concepts such as selfishness and lacking responsibility are redefined as self-reliance and independence. In modern Chinese society, there is no need to sacrifice individual properties to achieve group demands. Ma Wei, one of guest in If You Are the One, said I would rather cry in a BMV than in a bicycle which bravely expresses her standards of selecting a boyfriend and possibly future husband. Cao (2009) explained such change: because people now have more choices in products from all over the world, China has become more individualistic. Accordingly, Chinas Got Talent does not conflict with traditional collectivistic values since the modern society has changed. More Chinese are coming to Chinas Got Talent and express individual ideas and dreams. Meanwhile, individualism appeals as a

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representation of collectivism in China. Huo Chunyu, an amazing singer who captivated all the audiences in his first audition, is a miner who sings with other miners in his spare time. His miner uniform not only tells his story but also always represents life of hundreds miners.

Collectivism Although many studies support that the American culture possesses a far more individualistic orientation, collectivist values do exist in American society. Brewer and Chen (2007) claim that North American collectivism is group-oriented which suggests North Americans tend to be more sensitive to in-group versus out-group distinction and care more about the categorical group membership, with showing higher group collectivism. The word brainstorming is used to describe a group of creative people trying to find a solution for a specific problem by collecting wisdom from individual members. It is easier to get very frustrated when working out a problem alone. Brainstorming activities can help people generate more creative ideas and effective solutions in a limited time. In Americas Got Talent, group performances such as silhouette dance and black light performance explained that individuals could have similar dreams and could achieve through group hard work. The Silhouettes is a dance group that consists of 42 members, ranging in age from 4-18 years old. Their incredibly creative silhouette dancing was a combination of knowledge and acts gathering from all the members of the group. Likewise, Chinese culture approaches more collectivistic orientation. With five thousand years of Chinese history, collectivism is appeared as the most essential feature

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of Chinese culture. There is an old Chinese saying: Many heads are better than one ( ). Accordingly, Chinese people believe instead of acting individually, group activity creates more positive effects. Ting-Toomey and Oetzel (2001) argued: collectivism refers to the road value tendencies of people in a culture to emphasize the group identity over the individual identity and ingroup-oriented concerns over individual wants and desires (p. 30-31). In Chinas Got Talent, collectivism is understood as a way of gathering talents which deliveries a better form of performance. A dance group, the 80s, emphasized the importance of collectivism: The reason why I work with other people is that I am not good enough when I am alone. I am better when I exist as a member of team. I think I belong to a group and I need this group for my dance. Collectivism make our group united.

Achievement. Hofstede (2001) stated that both America and China are masculine cultures, which indicate the value of achievement is highly promoted in American and Chinese societies. Americans may talk freely about their achievements and success. In television/film industry, achievement recognition such as Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards highlight and recognize excellence in film and television industries. Super stars like Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber have more followers on twitter, which may suggest that people with great achievements catch more attention from ordinary people. Similarly, in modern Chinese society, achievement becomes a reference for dating relationships. The Film Love on Credit it (2011) explicitly presents a social phenomenon that the value of a man is measured by his limit of credit card. More women express 58

desires of good life and a new phrase worship of money () is spreading among modern women. Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent provide accesses for ordinary people to achieve tremendous success so winners would be highly recognized and focused by the public and society. For instance, Bianca Ryan, who won the debut season of Americas Got Talent at age 11, has gained the respect of some of the biggest icons in the music industry and released her first album two months after she won the talent show. Jackie Evancho, for example, was the runner-up of Americas Got Talent 2011. Syco Entertainment, a global joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment focused on the production and exploitation of music, decided to sign Evancho and released her first major record O Holy Night on November 16, 2010 and has reached 1,000,000 sales. Similarly, Liu Wei, a disabled pianist was voted the winner on Chinas Got Talent 2010. His spirit of persistence impressed and encouraged Chinese audiences and he has become a model for parents teaching their children. After Liu Wei won the talent show, he received global attentions. Liu Wei was invited to hold his personal concert on the worlds largest and most revolutionary cruise ship: Allure of the Seas. In the beginning of 2011, he played one of the most famous Chinese dramas The Butterfly Loves () in the Golden Saal Wiener Musikvereins.

Competition. Competition is another value commonly reflected in a masculine culture. In America, competitive sports play an important role, well suited to the masculine culture. According to Lasch (1980), U.S. sports coach George Allen attributed, Winning is not 59

the most important thing- it is the only thing (as cited in Hofstede, 2001, p.117). Hofstede (2001) explains that in more masculine countries like the United States, the best student is the norm. Parents in masculine countries expect their children to try to match the best (p. 303). Similarly, the Chinese college entrance examination has been taken seriously by parents and students, because it largely determines the future career for individuals. The competition is fierce, as nearly 10 million students will be battling for an estimated 6.6 million university places (Liang, Lu-Hai, 2010). Accordingly, in order to get into a well-known institution, Chinese students always tell themselves to be well prepared and willing to sacrifice luxurious time, only for this examination. The Pew Research Center points out that about 68% of Chinese population says that parents in their country, with its surging economy, put too much pressure on their children to succeed academically. Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent create dreams of winning money and being the next global super star. These approachable dreams intrigue all talented people participating to the competitive shows. Among millions of people, only one can be the winner. Hence, contestants must present talents to get through the selection processes and win the acclaim from the audience. Meanwhile, while selection is fierce among contestants, competition happens between judges due to different opinions, interpretations and appreciations to certain performances. For example, Piers Morgan who has been the judge of Americas Got Talent since the first season has been reported that his criticism in terms of talent performances is claimed as smarmy and arrogant which often cause disagreements from two other judges Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel.

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Creativity. Creativity may be commonly considered as something that is both original and useful, something that has never been seen before. A creative product would distinguish itself from existing products in a novel way. In American culture, creativity is being highly emphasized and possibly rooted in every Americans mind. The successful development of Facebook explains the magic power of creativity and how it changes the method of communication. Facebook is a revolutionary technology that gathers people all over the world. Creativity helps the founders of Facebook developing and building Facebook to serve not only just for students in Stanford but for supporting 750 million active user in the world. Similarly, Chinese people have always believed that creativity is necessary for developing a nation. In traditional Chinese society, the Four Great Inventions: compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing all served to advance Chinas technological and scientific prowess. In recent society, China is capable of building a faster super computer that has 1.4 times horsepower than the current top computer. In this sense, the definition of talent on Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent is to find an act that has never been performed before. Indeed, the television industry is an industry that supports and develops by creativity. The future stars of two countries need innovative performances to attract thousands of domestic and international audiences. Performances such as silhouette dancing and glow-light dancing catch public attention and achieve great support not only because they are exciting but involve with original and ideas.

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Transparency. Transparency is considered as one of the most important essences in television industry. In Journalism, live reports are popular because audience and media producers can avoid the editing so that they can have a reliable source of information. In social media, social networks such as Facebook and Renren may suggest and encourage users to send personal information so that they can create a transparent online society where users can find lost connections and other valuable information. Moreover, Google, the one of the largest search information company in the world, takes transparency as a core value for developing company by providing a continuous flow of information. On the Google transparency report it says: As a company we feel it is our responsibility to ensure that we maximize transparency around the flow of information related to our tools and services. We believe that more information means more choice, more freedom and ultimately more power for the individual. The word transparency in Chinese has positive connotations. Tou ming() is made up of two characters which mean penetrate, or thoroughly and clear or understand. The Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, is promoting transparency among internet users and has become a new territory of news reporting. Since China has 300 million registered microblog users and millions of messages are being posted every second, every microblogger becomes a citizen journalist reporting social events with mobile technologies.

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Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are running with openness and transparency. The idea of airing two talent shows is to find a star from ordinary people and chosen by the public. In order to satisfy public needs, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are auditioning in public places such as in a mall or a plaza where people can witness the whole selection process and insure the fair and accurate results. The final competitions for both talent shows are live shows. Results are announced after collecting votes from audiences.

Pleasure. It may be appropriate to say that pleasure is an essential value for all human beings, as it satisfies biological needs. In America, sitcoms have been one of the most common, successful, and influential television programs that entertain audiences by various approaches. According to the Chicago Tribune (2004), the final episode of American sitcom Friends was watched by 51.1 millions of American viewers, making it the fourth most watched series finale in television history and the most watched episode of the decade. Similarly, the value of pleasure has been emphasized since Mencius. He once said sharing pleasure is much better than enjoying your happiness by yourself ( ). He further argued that if citizens enjoyed pleasure, the country would be well secured. Nowadays, Chinese viewers enjoy watching have entertainment and gratification for themselves. Zhou libo, a Chinese stand-up comedian, created his own comedy called Shanghai Style Small Talk. His original-creative comedy: A Laughable Talk on the Past 30 Years and A Laughable Talk in Big Shanghai created a strongpositive influence in Shanghai. 63

Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent essentially are two entertaining programs and the best talent must amuse audiences. The winners of Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent would be offered a chance to perform at Las Vegas Strip where the city is renowned major resort for gambling, shopping, and entertaining. Therefore, providing amusement and excitements is a way to win votes from judges and audiences. Hence, comedy and talk shows commonly receive supports and good reputations. One of the winner of Americas Got Talent Terry Fator is a ventriloquist and comedian who is capable of doing over 100 ventriloquial impersonations and uses 16 different puppets in his act pleasing audiences when he comes up to the stage. Similarly, Zhang Fengxi was the runner-up of Chinas Got Talent 2010, her unique delivery and humor in her acts amuse the judge Zhou Libo and Shanghai local audiences. She was once eliminated the game, but due to her humor and pleasure audiences brought her back to the game.

Fantasy. Fantasy is a value that satisfies peoples physical and spiritual needs. The motivational goal of such value would be meaning and inner harmony through the transcendence of every day life (Schwartz, 1992, p. 10). The term fantasy is a technical term in the symbolic convergence theory and does not mean what it often does in ordinary usage, that is, something imaginary, not grounded in reality (Bormann, 1985, p.5). Bormann (1985) further pointed out fantasy theme analysis is a powerful and useful research method because it views the entire process of communication, practice, criticism, and special theory as the object of analysis (p. 4). Through examining the

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value of fantasy, it allows a critic to identify cultural values as reflected in Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent. Two attributions would be helpful for defining the value of fantasy in American and Chinese culture: fantasy theme and fantasy type. Fantasy themes in the content consists of characters, real or fictitious, playing out dramatic situations in a setting removed in a time and space from the here-and-now transaction of the group (Bormann, 1972, p. 397). The fantasy theme of Americas Got Talent is that ordinary people can be successful through the talent shows and become the next super star in America. This fantasy theme is a reflection or extension of the American dream. Americas Got Talent provides an access for Americans to achieve their dreams by hard work. Similarly, the fantasy themes of Chinas Got Talent are any Chinese citizens would be able to achieve dreams and Chinas Got Talent would make miracles happen. In Chinas Got Talent, when Liu Wei won the talent show, he created a fantasy that ordinary people (even for disables) can achieve their dreams by hard work. Chinas Got Talent encourages Chinese to realize dreams and to believe the possibility that dreams would come true. While the fantasy theme decided the fantasy model, fantasy type creates a more remarkable scene of fantasy. Bormann (1985) defined fantasy type is a stock scenario repeated again and again by the same characters or by similar characters (p.7). The fantasy type consists of three elements: scenes, characters, and scenarios. As Bormann (1985) stated: When a particular number of similar scenarios or outlines of the plot of the fantasies, including particulars of the scenes, characters, and situations have been shared by members of a group or larger community, they form a fantasy type (p.7)

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Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent have similar fantasy types. Both talent shows have formed remarkable fantasy types via various media by repeating the images of the successful contestants. In the beginning of each episode, both Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent play interviews of each contestant, emphasizing their personal backgrounds. As a result, audiences keep witnessing those contestants making better performances through the talent competition and eventually achieving great success. Most importantly, audiences realize that contestants who participate on Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are ordinary people. With such connections, it is easy to allow people to share the fantasy theme with contestants, they have charged their emotional and memory banks with meanings and emotions that can be set off by a commonly agreed upon cryptic symbolic cue(Bormann, 1972, p. 6).

Morality. Christians and Traber (1997) argued that morality is our neighbor; it means to coexist with others and show respect for them as part of ones life. Morality is, therefore, the term used to give an anthropological dimension to one of the supreme categories of understanding relation (p. 31). They further claimed that morals provide axiologicalpractical criteria for every type of action among groups of people united by shared principles and beliefs. In America, although freedom of speech was one of the important establishments in the Bill of Rights, a sense of morality provides moral criteria for the type of actions among groups of Americans to share. Several regulations were established and developed to protect children away from indecent content. For example, the Childrens Internet Protection Act was employed to protect children from child

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pornography and other harmful material, delivered by the internet. At the same time, Confucius has proposed moral disciplines based on what he saw as the lessons of Chinese history. One of key principles of Confucian teaching, according to King & Bond (1985), is virtuous behavior toward others consists of not treating others as one would not like to be treated oneself (as cited in Hofstede, 2001). This principle also regulates gender rules and refers to social functions: what men and women should or should not do. The Central Committee of China (the highest authority within the Communist Party of China) terminated the Super Girl, as it was vulgar, manipulative and poison for Chinese youth. As Dings (2007) analysis addressed, Super Girl was inconsistent with Chinese traditional culture. Moreover, it is contradictory with the moral value of Chinese culture. It is true that Americas Got Talent is a talent show that features every kind of performance. However, dangerous acts, which contain immoral contents, are not appreciated in the competition. In Chinas Got Talent, morality is even considered as the most important norm for judging acts and frequently the criterion of morality is often associated with humanity. It is normally to see judges press the X to stop acting. However, when they know the stories and motivation of contestants, judges may change the No to Yes. For instance, Jiang Renrui presented machinery show that was about a male peacock flaring out its feather. The performance did not have any highlights but carry significant meanings. The reason for him to invent this peacock gadget and come to the audition is to make her paralytic wife happy by showing her his amateurish dance movements in front of Chinese publics. As Jiang Renrui said in the audition:

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My dearest majestic wife, I will love you and take care of you no matter what is going to happen in the future. I felt that the happiest moment in my life is to be with my wife and two daughters. This is what a man should do, and I can do it. This touched judges and audiences and they gave him another meaningful chance to show his peacock feather again in front of all Chinese audiences to express the love as an ordinary person. At this moment, the whole environment was changed and his amateurish moves were somehow promoted and helped him get the pass to the next stage of competition.

Globalization. Globalization is the inevitable result of the development of productive forces and advances of science and technology, especially after the revolution of information technology since the 1980s and 1990s. No country can develop and prosper in isolation. Through opening to and integrating with the outside world, the process of globalization brings opportunities to America and China absorbing advantages. Therefore, economic

interdependence and interaction between America and China are becoming stronger. America seizes the opportunity of producing goods in China to decrease the productive cost. Apple well explained the value of globalization. According to Apples Fourth Quarter Results (2011), the overseas labor brought Apple huge financial benefits in 2011, including a revenue of $ 108.25 billion and net profit of $25.92 billion. On the other hand, taking the benefits of globalization, China increasingly exports cheap goods and shipping out labor. In result, China passed Japan and became the world as No.2 economic country, only behind America.

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In terms of two talent shows, first of all, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent provide global access for ordinary people to be able to participate and join the show. The open-call audition of Americas Got Talent has been held in several wellknown cities such as Chicago and New York City in the United States. Moreover, the YouTube selection has been added since Americas Got Talent 2010 which provided online access for internet users and potentially elevated the show to a global stage. In a similar vein, Chinas Got Talent holds open-call auditions in many world recognizable cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Moreover, in the third season of Chinas Got Talent, a new international audition is opened in London, Manchester, Oxford, and Cambridge in Britain. This international audition not only provides chances for international contestants joining the competition and promotes Chinas Got Talent to a worldwide level, but also significantly brings the original Chinese culture to Western societies. Second, not only the production of talent shows get globalized, but the winners of Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are offered chances to perform in front of global audiences: the winner of Americas Got would get a chance to perform in Las Vegas Strips where millions of international tourists come in and out everyday, the winner of Chinas Got Talent is allowed to perform at Las Vegas for three months and be invited on Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsais world tour concert as a guest performer. Last but not least, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent started interacting and featuring performances in other global entertaining programs such as American Idol and Britains Got Talent. Susan Boyle, one of the most successful finalists from Britains Got Talent, was invited to preform in both talent shows. Moreover, Boyle

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sang the famous opera song Neesun Dorma with Cai Hongping who hailed as the Chinese Susan Boyle and became the runner-up of Chinas Got Talent 2011.

Media Criticism In this study, media criticism is used to find the similarities in Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent and understand major values from a media perspective. Media criticism may well explain the emerging commonalities of American and Chinese cultures promoted by the internet and global media programs. Commonalities between Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent have achieved tremendous success in terms of national television ratings. As the tables 1.1 presented in chapter one, the five seasons of Americas Got Talent have captured more than 11 million annual viewers. The final live performance even attracted 16.41 million viewers. Likewise, table 1.2 presented Chinas Got Talent as the Number one reality TV show in China. Both seasons have won positive reactions from national viewers and the growth of the audiences has proved that Chinas Got Talent is influencing and attracting more viewers. Second, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent involve two types of editing: Non-linear editing and live editing. The non-linear editing is often used in preliminary auditions, whereas the live editing is used from the semifinals until the final live show. The preliminary auditions were held in different cities. The talent shows took video footage not only on the stage, but also included the city where the audition was held. Through non-linear editing, all the recorded footage would be edited purposely by using specialized software. The non-linear editing provides many advantages. First of all,

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it allows more content involved in the talent show. For instance, in the beginning of preliminary audition, Americas Got Talent records many city landscapes footage, which gives background information to the audience in front of a television. Second, non-liner editing allows video effects to be added in two talent shows. Undercranking, commonly known as fast motion, is one of the most frequently used effects in Americas Got Talent. It is a creative way to indicate the passage of time and it is great for showing the progression of a project. This advanced effect helps audiences to skip some unnecessary scenes such as building special stages. Meanwhile, undercranking helps Americas Got Talent to present the concept transparency to audiences. There is no doubt that Americas Got Talent belongs to the category of reality television. The winners of Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are determined by audiences votes. Showing the transparency and the progression of the audition are significant and important for audiences to make right decisions. Third, non-linear editing presents the best part of ones act by using fantasy effects to performers. The original fantasy type of Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent is to make ordinary people become super stars in the world. Non-linear editing helps contestants to avoid mistakes and flaws. Comparing the advantages of non-liner editing, live editing uses multiple cameras and edited in real time which provides more transparency to audiences. Starting from Las Vegas Week (top 48), Americas Got Talent switches non-liner editing to live editing. Live editing presents a clear vision and a better understanding of a contestants acts. Audiences would be able to see every detail of his acts as well as mistakes. Third, during the preliminary auditions, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent provide one-minute short interviews before the real audition starts. These

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interviews highlight the importance of the contest and the show itself. The interview contains a short introduction of a contestant, which includes personal information such as name, age, and occupation. This information could be a great advertisement for this contestant to get support from his/her hometown audiences and judges. Meanwhile, the interview includes a preview of his/her talent which may intrigue audiences to stay on NBC and watch the full episode. It is a great advertisement for contestants to win more support from audiences. Last but not least, as mentioned above, in Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent, audiences decide the winners by sending their votes through various digital devices. Providing reactions and responses from field audiences reflect the purpose of the talent shows. The field audience is a small reflection of the national audience. From time to time, they show positive reactions such as applause and clapping as well as negative responses such as yells and boos to certain acts and contestants. These responses not only present the importance of a contestant in Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent, but also emphasize the concept of transparency in terms of final results.

Analog Criticism This study employs analog criticism to examine similarities and differences in Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent. Using analog criticism, the similarities and differences between two shows can be explored in detail. Analog criticism suggests American and Chinese cultures have similar values by comparing similarities in two talent shows. Meanwhile, analog criticism helps to find uniqueness of each culture by listing differences.

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Similarities. The axiological content analysis has preliminarily provided evidence that Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are both established on the same 11 common values. For instance, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent present a value of fantasy: an ordinary person could be a super star, which has created a fantasy that has attracted thousands of young people to attend both contests every year. For the major contestants of both shows, the diverse and unique backgrounds and performances, both good and bad, enrich the value that any ordinary person can be the next super star of America and China. There are other similarities that were reflected in Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent. From the perspective of media programming, both talent shows are television competitions that feature all types of performances and open to ordinary people without setting restrictions. Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent provide unlimited access for global audiences watching the shows. With the rapid development of the internet and technologies, more people can afford high-speed wired Internet and advanced computers. Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent have not only aired on TV channels, but provided content through websites such as Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube allowing internet users to stream on-demand videos. Moreover, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent seized the growth of social networks. Both talent shows have created social networking pages and distributed part of episodes online to intrigue more potential audiences.

Differences.

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Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent were developed based on the eleven cultural values; yet, the two talent shows were produced in two different cultures. Some scholars (Hofstede, 2001; Ting-Tommy,1998) suggest American and Chinese cultures are polarized. In this view, America is individualistic and China is collectivistic. Hence, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent may appear similar, but they are different in various manners. First of all, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent produce different results of choosing winners. Although both talent shows are extremely similar in any manner, the choices of the winners are unlikely the same for people are from two cultures. In Americas Got Talent 2010, Michael Grimm, a handsome and charming man with great talent in singing and playing music instruments, beat the child singer Jackie Evancho and claimed the winner of the fifth season of Americas Got Talent. Grimm attracted millions of viewers by his soulful voice and personal charm. During the talent show, Grimms obvious talent and genuine emotion about his familys situation resonated with viewers and helped him get support from audiences. Unlike Michael Grimm, Liu Wei, an armless pianist, unbelievably claimed the winner of Chinas Got Talent 2010. There is one old Chinese saying As heavens movement is ever vigorous, so must a gentleman ceaselessly strive along (). Liu Wei may not be as charming as other contestants, but his never-give-up spirit impressed and encouraged Chinese audiences and he has become a good model for parents teaching their children. Second, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent translate concepts and values via different approaches. In Americas Got Talent, the definition of talent is to describe some acts that have never been seen before and would make social and economic impacts. Talent performance would make audiences say amazing or wow.

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Piers Morgan once commented the singing performance of Kevin Skinner, the winner of Americas Got Talent 2009 as the most emotional and powerful performance he has not seen for a long time. On the other hand, Chinese translate talent differently than Americans. The old Chinese saying: Be a good man first and do other afterwards ( ) has enlightened many generations of Chinese. People are better if they understand four major principles of Confucians teaching: Ren () humanness, Li() etiquette, Zhong () loyalty, Xiao () filial piety. In Chinas Got Talent, talent acts and the four principles would be both evaluated by judges and audiences. Third, Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent absorb other cultural values by the transformation of global media and the internet. Americas Got Talent has always integrated British cultures. One of the celebrity judges Piers Morgan is a British Journalist and television presenter. Morgan has been the judge of Americas Got Talent since the first season and his criticism makes Americas Got Talent more dynamic. Likewise, Chinese culture has always been interacted with Korean culture, which is different from American culture. In Hofstede (2001)s study, South Korea achieved similar scores compared with China, except on the categories of masculinity and femininity and uncertainty avoidance. South Korea scored 39 on the masculinity and femininity of cultural value dimension, which suggests Korean society is more feminine than masculine. The Korean wave in China has been popular over ten years. Many Chinese young people watch Korean dramas and the Korean values of femininity therefore have been transmitted to Chinese culture. The winner of Super Girl 2005 Li Yuchun was popular because of her boyish charm and unconventional personality. Her

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attitude, originality and a proud androgyny are challenging the countrys traditional customs (chinaview.cn).

Summary The four analysis methods are used to have a deeper understanding of American and Chinese cultural values. Combining axiological analysis and content analysis, this chapter explored Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent in detail from eleven cultural values. Throughout the axiological content analysis, it greatly suggests that the eleven values are accepted and shared by American and Chinese cultures. Media criticism allows for understanding the similarities of two talent shows in the field of television industry. Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are two popular television shows. Media criticism found more impact of global media programs on American and Chinese cultural values. By examining analog criticism, more carefully and thoroughly insights of cultural similarities and differences are provided. Both cultures are interactive with each other, but they also integrate global cultural values. All these findings illustrate and suggest that the global culture is affecting American and Chinese cultures by transcending some cultural distinctions and allowing them to find commonalities. The next chapter gives conclusions and limitations of this study and provides recommendations for future study.

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Chapter Five: Major Conclusions, Limitations, and Recommendations for Future Study

This thesis began with the recognition and realization that global communication is often dominated, if not controlled, by diverse cultural systems. Because these cultural

systems can be reinforced by nation-state geographic boundaries, these diverse cultural systems can often gain more power and significance during communicative exchanges than anticipated. Moreover, these cultural systems can also function persuasively because they are also reinforced by the unique norms, rules, traditions, symbols, and heroes of each culture. Accordingly, in terms of global communication, interactions between diverse cultural systems have often been characterized solely by the differences among these cultural systems. Indeed, somesuch as Ting-Tommy (1999, pp. 63 to 64)

employed polar or opposition pairs to characterize entire nation-state cultures. In this view, the United States is individualistic while China is collectivistic. Such dichotomies can be useful. However, in this thesis, an alternative perspective has also been suggested. Specifically, that some of the new digital technologies transcend some of the traditional cross-cultural distinctions and are creating a more viable set of truly global values. In this context, for example, Mediative, CA (2012) has recently concluded that the internet is a global entity (p.2). Such a claim may overstate the emergence of a global culture.

However, this study has sought to examine what might be considered a new and cutting edge thesis that the ever-expanding digital systems are becoming global and they may foster a more unified global cultural system. As this chapter demonstrates, such a claim must be approached with great caution, for there are a host of limitations in the study undertaken here. But, this study has also suggested some nation-states are employing similar digital forms or communication systems and these common forms are also employing some values that appear to be shared by cultural systemssuch as the United States and Chinathat are normally thought to be at pointed odds with each other, especially in terms of the values they employ to build social unity within each of these nation-states. Moreover, it should be noted that the emergence of a global culture may be different in kind that the traditional cultural systems. Digital communication systems, for example, seldom possess the specific time-space definitions or geographic boundaries that have so strongly defined traditional cultural systems. Likewise, thus far, it is unclear that the norms, rules, traditions, symbols, and heroes of traditional cultural systems can and will function at the global cultural level. Accordingly, this study has not presumed that any global culture associated with a digital technology will necessarily duplicate the kinds of cultural systems that have defined and determined a traditional cultural system. It would seem appropriate to even anticipate that global cultures fostered by digital technologies may actually constitute systems only unifying shared value orientations rather than the geographic markers, norms, rules, traditions, symbols, and heroes of more traditional cultural systems. With these preliminary statements in mind, it is appropriate to consider some of the major

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conclusions, limitations of this study, and recommendations for future analysis that this thesis has generated.

Major Conclusions This thesis acknowledges Hofstedes (2001) study of cultural values, which argued that national culture could be distinguished by five dimensions: power distance, individualism and collectivism, masculinity and femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term and short-term orientation. With the fast growth of global media programing and the internet, however, it seems inevitable that countries are mutually benefit each other by involving positive exchanges and cooperation. The interactivity between countries occurs more frequently than it ever before and individuals are given unlimited access for socializing with people from other nations. People gradually generate a sense of acceptance and a better understanding of each other by sharing common values. Accordingly, the new global popular culture appears to emerge and may help to find and establish commonalities among people from different nations. With such impact and influence, America and China, two nations that are normally thought to be at pointed odds with each other, have had some sets of common values, especially in the television industry. Americans and Chinese might have realized that although two countries have tremendously cultural differences, some global media programs are creating some global values that would be accepted and shared by American and Chinese audiences. Such commonalities are advocated in two talent shows: Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent.

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Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are two very similar reality television shows. Both shows have set similar style, mood, and tone in terms of production elements and processes. Knowing the popularity and success of two shows raise the questions such as: Does global popular culture generate some sets of global values? Can Americans and Chinese share similar cultural values at least in television industry? By employing four research methods: content analysis, media criticism, analog criticism, and axiological analysis, this study analyzed two global television programs Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent, produced in America and China. In results, it seems American and Chinese cultures no longer appear fully distinctive, overwhelming, and unaccepting for audiences of each country. In this sense, it would expect to find commonalities from Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent. Findings in chapter four illustrate and suggest that both shows appear to employ eleven foundational and common values that are normally shared by a large amount of American and Chinese audiences. Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent belong to the same television genre- talent shows- featuring all kinds of talents. Contestants present acts individually or work as a team. To make sure that each individual gets equal opportunity for audition, both shows provide global audition access either through online platforms or international auditions. In result, competition becomes fierce because only one contestant can be the winner and eventually achieve a great success. Audiences witness the whole audition and selection process through live broadcasting, which may reinforce the fantasy of two shows that any ordinary people would be able to be the next super star through hard work. Consequently, American and Chinese audiences are attracted to the two shows. The final episode of the two shows

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have been ranked the No. 1 prime time television programs, which suggests Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are overwhelmingly popular in two countries. Although global media programming appears to reduce cultural differences or may even help Americans and Chinese have a better understanding of each culture, traditional cultural differences in terms of artifacts, histories, and social habits can certainly continue to distinguish these two cultures as their respective populations view the programs. In this sense, Americans and Chinese have a different interpretation in terms of cultural values and social norms. Americans may believe that Americas Got Talent provides a chance to be the super star in the forefront of American entertaining industry. Americans are looking for some creative and amazing acts and therefore the word talent is highly emphasized in Americas Got Talent. On the other hand, Chinese appears to believe that modest attitude and behavior are more important than talent. Hence, Chinas Got Talent is required to produce a positive social impact. Such differences may explain why Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent produce different results in terms of selecting the winners of competitions. American audiences select the winner of Americas Got Talent because of the extraordinary talent, whereas Chinese prefer to see the winner who is likely to be a good model for parents teaching children. In addition, cultures may have a basis in terms of accepting and rejecting other cultural values. America and China not only interact with each other, but link with the whole world. America may easily accept British culture because of the impact of history, while China may integrate Japanese and Korean cultures much easier than accepting European cultures.

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This study explores culture from its core concept, value, to analyze the American and Chinese cultures in the content of television-based program. However, American and Chinese cultures are two of the broadest cultures in the world. With such cultural diversity, it requires a researcher to have rich knowledge and experience of both cultures. Accordingly, it is obvious that this study has unavoidable limitations, which is presented in the following section.

Limitations The first limitation is this study discusses culture from a specific perspective, focusing on two particular examples: Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent. Culture is one of the most complicated concepts in communication field. Therefore, examining two television programs may only explore a particular section of American and Chinese cultures. Indeed, American and Chinese cultures are significantly diverse with rich connotations. Two talent shows are not enough to define the entire American and Chinese cultures. Meanwhile, this study only exams one type of television shows from each culture. As we all know, America has one of the most advanced television industries in the world. Similarly, the television industry in China is developing rapidly in the past two decades. Thousands of television programs are produced in each country. Apparently, two similar television programs seem insufficient to describe the entire cultures of American and Chinese television industry. However, as Hall (1980) explained: you touch a culture in one place and everything else is affected (p. 16). The two television programs are very successful and popular, watched and accepted by millions of people in two nations. Therefore, treating two shows as reflective cultural

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icons provide significant insights to this study, which suggests the American and Chinese common values are emerging in two nations. Second, this study examines American and Chinese cultures by looking at cultural values reflected in two talent shows. Although Hofstede (2001) suggested that value is the core concept of culture, culture is a complicated system that includes dynamic elements such as social norms, rules, traditions, symbols, heroes, and values. Culture defines a value in a society; however, value may only explore culture through a special angle. Third, this study is conducted and analyzed based on a Western approach to the disciplines of communication. In this thesis, Western standards and bias are involved which may lead to confusions and misunderstandings to Eastern researchers. Recently, however, more people from Eastern culture have come to the West for various purposes. A great amount of Chinese parents send children to America to receive Western education and culture. Accordingly, communications between Westerns and Easterners are becoming easier and more efficient due to some commonalities have been established. In this sense, large numbers of Americans and Chinese would be able to understand the Western disciplines and have a good interpretation of this study. Fourth, this thesis argues a new global popular culture, which is a different concept than the traditional culture. Global popular culture is established from the internet, which is virtually existing, and spreading by the global media programming. The internet has become indispensable for the majority people in the world. Through the online communication and interactivity, this global popular culture unconsciously and continuously affects individual value system. However, the emerging global popular

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culture is virtual and elusive. It may not possess the specific time-space definitions or geographic boundaries that have so strongly defined in traditional cultural systems. In other words, it may not have physical forms such as social rules, traditions, artifacts that are discoverable and traceable in traditional cultures.

Recommendations for Future Study The first suggestion for future study is to exam more television programs in America and China. Although Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent are two iconic examples of two cultures, other major television programs will provide a more comprehensive understanding of American and Chinese cultures. Meanwhile, America and China are two big countries with cultural diversities. Therefore, future study may explore American and Chinese cultures and cultural values from other television genres rather than just focus on television programs. Second, future study may explore culture from other important concepts. The complexity of culture suggests culture is a broad concept with dynamic social elements involved. Future study may exam other cultural symbols such as heroes and traditions to have an exhaustive understanding of American and Chinese cultures. Third, future study may pay more attention to the development of Eastern disciplines of communication. While Easterners have come to the West for studying Western cultures, Western countries should have noticed the rapid developments in Eastern countries. In this view, Yoshitaka (2010) presented Eastern disciplines may help to avoid the views of totalization and trivialization by advocating the legitimacy of Asiacentricity in Asian communication studies. Yoshitaka further explained that the idea

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of Asiacentricity would help scholars and students to view Asian cultures as central resources for Asiacentric insight and inspiration, not as peripheral targets for nonAsiacentric analysis and critique (p. 5). With the help of Eastern discipline of communication, future study may also suggest to employ a global approach of communication, a way that transcends Eastern and Western and reduces the apparent opposition. This study has found values that do transcend from two opposite or polar cultures. A global approach would help to explore culture and cultural values from a global perspective.

Summary National communication systems are often dominated by diverse cultures. This thesis acknowledges such a cultural system significantly affects individuals by its unique norms, rules, traditions, symbols, heroes and other nation geographic boundaries. With the rapid development of internet, however, this thesis also suggests some digital technologies and media programs could transcend some cultures and form as a global popular culture which may create global values that are acceptable and shareable by large numbers of international audiences. By examining two global-ranged television shows Americas Got Talent and Chinas Got Talent, this study has found that there are some common values that transcend some values in American and Chinese cultures. Indeed, with more online activities involved in daily communication, cross-culture experience becomes more acceptable and understandable for Americans and Chinese. However, this study finds differences between two talent shows, which may suggest that traditional

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cultural differences can certainly continue to distinguish American and Chinese cultures as their respective populations view the programs. This thesis involves several limitations due to the complexity of culture and the other dynamic social and cultural elements. Future study may exam more television shows from both countries to get a comprehensive understanding of American and Chinese cultures. Analyzing more examples from different industries and companies may help to gain more details of the two cultures and explore other cultural icons in two countries. Furthermore, combining Western and Eastern disciplines and possibly employing a global approach of communication which may help to conduct a more coherent and appreciated study in terms of exploring American and Chinese cultures.

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