Perception on TV Adaptations

Font: Arial
Font Size: 12
Line Spacing: Double Spaced
Alignment: Justified
Orientation: Portrait
Title: Bold
Ex: Chapter 1Introduction, Chapter 2 Review on Related
Literature, Conceptual Literature & Studies
(Those sub titles must not be in bold format)
Paragraph indention: 1 tab every new paragraph

Perception on TV Adaptations

Chapter 1

Introduction
A Greek philosopher named Heraclitus (500 B.C.) once quoted, the only
thing that is constant is change.
People nowadays tend to innovate and make things more interesting, modern and
easy. Like in terms of cooking, people make use of preservatives, for people to lose
weight they just undergo surgeries and choose watching movie or television than
reading books.
All these changes can totally be observed in todays younger generation
teenagers. They are now called the technology generation for teenagers now a
days are much more inclined in using technology most of the time. And when it is
thoroughly observed the main reason is because teenagers dont have to use their
own imagination for them to feel and understand what is written. According to an
article posted in naturalnews.com (2012), two of the world's biggest leisure activities
are watching television and movie hopping.

One basic proof is the increasing

number of movie houses and TV series offered in different television stations all
around the world.
What Dr. Tim J. Smith (2007) said that film and television are now considered as the
most vital part of our daily life can be considered true because according him
anything that is referred to as audiovisual and subjective processes that a person
obtains when watching scenes, events and narratives through a moving images is
considered as a film perception and all of this are proven by the estimates that out of

Perception on TV Adaptations

6.8 billion people on Earth, around 1.4 billion owns a television set, this equates to
one out of five or 20% of the worlds population.
This shows how many people have access to television and therefore the massive
audience view messages that are given out through the medium of television.
This ability of television to reach such a wide audience of all ages at once can be
used for entertainment purposes, for news to keep people informed on events that
are occurring around the globe as well as political statements that may affect
people's lives and (one of its main purposes) advertising (www.blurtit.com, 2013).
Since viewership has the highest percentage, producers, influential persons and
businessmen focus and invest money to produce a movie or even adapt one that
could catch the viewers attention. Thus, a large percentage of television and cable
TV Channel programming in the Philippines today are composed of TV Dramas. All
of this is manifested in the two giant and reigning network which is GMA channel 7
and ABS CBN Channel 2 wherein both networks daily programming showcases a
few Filipino telenovelas but airs programs from foreign Asian countries on their
primetime.(Cabato J.,2004)
Film/Television a process by which written materials are converted to a feature film
or television series. That being said the most common way in adapting such is by
basing them to popular written materials such as novels, comic book, script and etc.
One timely example of a success TV adaptation is Taiwanese drama Meteor
Garden (www.wiki.org, 2012)

Meteor Garden is a drama from Taiwan that was produced last 2001. It was adapted
from a manga/ comic series that was written by Yoko Kamio which was entitled Boys

Perception on TV Adaptations

over Flowers. which was produced by Comic Ritz International Production.The

series was first adapted and aired through Chinese Television System (CTS) from
12 April 2001 to 16 August 2001. Then it was followed by its sequel Meteor Garden
II and Japanese Hana Yori Dango, its sequel Hana Yori Dango Returns and South
Korean Boys over Flowers.

Such countries that remade the TV adaptation were able to show their personal
attributes in a way that viewers could determine the cultural image of a certain
country.
Culture was defined

as the growing accumulation of knowledge,

experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions

of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material
objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of
generations through individual and group striving. (Hofstede, G. 1997)

Hence, the conduct of the study was done to determine the perception of the
AB Communication students on the cultural image on each TV adaptation.
Statement of the Problem

Teachers, generally wants to know the view of the audience when it comes to
the TV adaptation which are Hana Yori Dango, Meteor Garden and Boys over
Flowers.
Purpose/Objective of the Study

In general, this study sought to answer the question: What is the perception of AB
Communication students of Lyceum of the Philippine University Cavite about the
cultural image of the three selected TV adaptations?

Perception on TV Adaptations

Specifically, the study sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:
1.1

Age; and

1.2

Gender?

2. What is the perception of the respondents on the cultural image of the countries
based on three selected TV adaptations such as:
2.1

Meteor Garden;

2.2

Hana Yori Dango; and

2.3

Boys over Flowers?

3. What is the perception of the respondents on the cultural image in terms of:
3.1

Liberatedness;

3.2

Violence; and

3.3Family Orientedness?
Significance of the Study

This study will be beneficial to the following:

AB Communication Students. Since the study is related to their course, they can
use this as a reading material or as a reference to have insights about the
cultural image of three selected TV adaptations.
Media Practitioners. Through this study, they can have ideas on TV adaptation and
know the cultural image of these three selected TV adaptation. Furthermore, the
proposed study can be a learning paradigm for practitioners of media in creating
useful and creative television dramas.
Researchers.The researchers will benefit from this study by gaining extensive
knowledge about research. Furthermore, the researchers are part of the

Perception on TV Adaptations

institution being studied; therefore the proposed study will be beneficial for them
as a student and may use the study as a reference.
Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite Administrators and Faculty. This
study might serve as a reference to the Universitys faculty members most
especially, teaching Communication students. This may aid and give them better
insight on the cultural image of the three selected TV adaptations.
Scope and Limitation

The study will focus on the perception of AB Communication students

from all year level enrolled for the year 2012 2013 at Lyceum of the Philippines
University Cavite as their respondents. Furthermore, it was limited to the three
selected TV adaptations which are: Meteor Garden, Hana Yori Dango and Boys
over Flowers.
Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that the perception will vary based on how the

students perceived the TV Adaptations such as Meteor Garden, Hana Yori
Dango and Boys over Flowers.
Conceptual Framework

The study made use of the IPO model patterned from the model used by
John G. Oetzel of University of New Mexico in his article Self-Construals,
Communication

Processes,

and

Group

Outcomes in

Homogeneous and

Heterogeneous Groups wherein the input would be the TV adaptations: Meteor

Garden, Hana Yori Dango and Boys over flowers. These three TV adaptations were
the focus of the study. The researchers prepared the questionnaires and prepared
the video clip of such TV adaptations. The process also included the presentation
of the video clips and distribution of questionnaires to their respective respondents.

Perception on TV Adaptations

Then, researchers proceeded to the collection and interpretation of data. These

gathered data determined the output of the study, which is the perception of AB
Communication students on the cultural image of the three selected TV adaptation.

Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

LITERATURE
Audience Profile
Age and gender are two of the factors that affect the perception according to the
study conducted by Linda M. Woolf, PhD (2003). The study states that older people
perceive these TV adaptations more negatively than younger people and females
are easily influenced more by media than males. According to Arnett (2009) 10-18
years old are under the stage of adolescence, on the other hand, 18-25 years old
are considered as an emerging adult. Adolescence is defined by Thomas, Adams
and Ramos (2005) as the period of life that start on puberty and end when an
individual has gained his rights as an adult.
Film or Television Adaptation
It was described by Boggs and Petrie (2008) that Adaptation is a process that is
usually used in the industry of film wherein people uses any form literature and
transforms it into a different composition so that it can be viewed through a different
channel.
Film or television adaptation is now making its way to the entertainment industry, in
fact, a significant percentage of Hollywood films are adaptations.
This also applies to some TV adaptations that became popular in Philippine

Perception on TV Adaptations

television which are "Marimar "Rosalinda," Ugly Betty the "Harry Potter" series,
"Slumdog Millionaire."
Adapting someone elses work is never easy, as Darrin Meyer (2013) points out,that
securing a film rights (this usually comes for free) is the most vital and important
thing to do when a person is planning to do a film adaptation..
Film and novel are two different discourses; both can be compared equally in
terms of quality, regardless of their different way of expression. Boggs and Petrie
(2008) remarked,
If we are to judge a film adaptation fairly, we should recognize that although a
novel, a play, or a film can tell the same story, each medium is a work of art in its
own right, with its own distinctive techniques and conventions. Just as an oil painting
has a different effect from a statue depicting the same subject, a film adaptation has
a different effect than its literary source.
Cultural Image Portrayed to its Audience
From the television sets of each household, the TV adaptation of Hana Yori
Dango also buzzed the fashion world of countries in Asia. As Juanjuan Wu (2009)
noted, Japan craze and Korea craze that began in the mid- to late 1990s were also
instances in which the people, rather than star-making corporations, played a critical
role in the initial selection of pop icons. In a sense, fashion diffusion also became
more democratic as diversified sources of inspiration. First, through the adaptation
done by the three countries, fashionable youth found their fashion inspirations in
Japanese and Korean pop culture through multiple media channels, including TV
dramas, films, animation, pop music, books, fashion magazines, the internet, and
consumer products. The rapidly increasing level of trade between China and Japan

Perception on TV Adaptations

and China and Korea facilitated and stimulated cross-cultural communication

including the exchange of fashion ideas.
The Japan craze gave birth to the Chinese buzzword ha ri, which originated
from a regional dialect of Taiwan. The word ha was widely used by Taiwanese
youngsters to mean crazy about something; madly infatuated; and to worship or
imitate. In the 2000s, the Japan craze jumped from Taiwan to major cities in the
mainland, such as Beijing and Shanghai. In the Wenlmi Weekly, the symptoms of
ha ri were described as follows: they rode skateboards outdoors, wore hip-hop
clothes and gaudy headscarves, liked anime such as Chibi Maruko-Chan,
Doraemon, Sailor Moon, Slam Dunk and Boys Over Flowers.
TV dramas definitely shape a person and affect him/her as it shows to the
viewers the culture of a certain country. The second image portrayed is that an
individual identify their dreams and aspirations to the TV drama. According to Daya
Kishan Thussu (2007), Many teenage spectators in East Asia can understand and
relate to the portrayal of the Japanese Actors/Actresses of TV Dramas because it
gives life to once dreams and aspirations.
This usually happens because through the Japanese characters Asian viewers see
them as someone that is similar but different; different but the same. These maybe
because of the closeness of the culture that Asian people has which can never be
reach and portrayed by American Media Cultures.
It can be argued that the main reason why TV Dramas became very popular was
because of the stimuli that was created by different Japanese Series which is most
probably aimed for Teenage viewers can observe the adaptation nowadays is a
combination of local culture and mimicking from Japanese shows.

Perception on TV Adaptations

This can be proven through one of the interesting case in the Taiwanese drama
Meteor Garden. It was an adaptation from a Japanese manga entitled Hana Yori
Dango. If a person has watched the Meteor Garden Series as well as Hana Yori
Dango one can say that it is a blend of two cultures made into one.

Third, it depicts violence and love affairs. Shimbun (2002) as cited by Thussu
(2007), the series was subjected was prohibited in China because it depicts tryst
and brutality which might cause give a negative impact to the younger generation
but even so the Chinese still took time and found ways on getting their hands on the
films through the widespread circulation of pirated videos and because of the
successful mixture of Taiwanese and Japanese culture the political restrictions that
was unfolded by the government was evaded.
Culture
Many writers and thinkers have different views and definitions for culture. As cited by
Potipan and Worrawutteerakul (2010) who described culture in three broad
definitions. Firstly, culture is a general process by which people develop
intellectually, spiritually and aesthetically. Secondly, culture is a certain path that is
related to the development of the meaning of life. Thirdly, culture can be the works
and practices of intellect especially in artistic activity such as novels, operas and fine
art. In the third item, it can be called as lived culture or cultural practices, for
example, soap opera or pop music and so on. Culture, is set of beliefs, values, and
practices that are learned through processes of enculturation and socialization
(Campbell, Mackinnon and Stevens, 2010) and is something which is learned and

Perception on TV Adaptations

acquired in a daily basis of interaction which may be patterned and repetitive.

Pop Culture
Another dimension of culture that Potipan and Worrawutteerakul (2010) stated is
popular culture; it can be called in short pop culture. It is a set of two words made
into one, which are Popular and Culture. According to Raymond Williams also s the
meaning of popular, for instance, being well-liked by many people and carefully
looking for ways to gain interest from another person. Storey, (2006) simply defined
pop culture as something as a highly accepted culture. On the other hand, it can be
called mass culture for it is a quantitative dimension which serves as an indicator
of the popularity through purchase of books, CDs, concerts and etc.
Media Drives Culture
Grima (2011) mentioned in her article that according to Matthew Arnold a
professor of Oxford and a poet, people who came from countryside and decided to
go to the cities tends to be more refined because they have come in contact with a
high culture media.
Media indicates that its existence is constant because through media a person can
be educated, informed but not entertained. Culture change occurs because of
media, like what the sociologist and philosopher Theodor Adorno argued, mass
produced cultural goods of low quality such as old songs, old movies and traditional
dresses and attitudes can be replaced by high culture which are pop music, new
movies, and fashionable dresses (Davenport, LaRose and Strabhaar, 2013).
Plotline of Hana Yori Dango Comic
Engelstand (2007) stated the three reasons why people tend to take risk in adapting
ones work, his major reason why films are usually based on books is because the

Perception on TV Adaptations

story is often to be found between the covers of a novel. A good story makes the
audience cling and relate to the film or TV drama. The success of Japanese shojo
Hana Yori Dango is one example of a TV drama that greatly create impact to its
target audience, with its modern variant of the classic Cinderella folk tale. Hitomi
Yoshida (2010) stated the storyline from the original source manga.
In the storyline, the protagonist, Tsukushi - named after a tough wild weed- is
a girl from an average family. She is nonetheless full of fighting spirit and optimistic
cheerfulness. Tsukushi attends a prestigious college (eitokugakuen) ruled by the F4
(Flower Four), a group of four male students each from a powerful and wealthy
family. Although Tsukushis family hopes she meest a rich boy at college and marry
into wealth, Tsukushi hates everything about college including her snobbish
classmates. She especially hates herself for being unable to confront the corruption
and elitist authority within the school hierarchy. She just quietly gets on with
attending to her studies, hoping that time in the college will pass without any incident
or problems. One day, however, when she stands up for a friend being tormented by
Tsukasa Dmyji - the leader of F4 - Tsukushi is red-flagged as a rebel. As a result
she is bullied by other students at the order of the members of F4. In spite of the fact
that he is one of the boys demanding her mistreatment, F4 member, Rui Hanazawa,
helps Tsukushi when she is attacked by a group of male students. Following this
attack Tsukushi decides that she will not tolerate any more ill treatment from F4. She
then physically strikes Tsukasa by a declaration of war on the F4 group. Ironically,
Tsukasa, who has never before been challenged by another student, begins to
develop feelings for her, and tries to woo, Tsukushi, who gradually begins to spend
more time with F4. As the story progresses, Tsukasa falls in love with Tsukushi and

Perception on TV Adaptations

she in turn learns how to open herself to his affection. As love continues to blossom,
Tsukasas imperious businesswoman mother discovers the couples relationship and
deems it unsuitable. She therefore does everything in her power to keep the two
apart, even arranging a marriage for Tsukasa. Other complications arise as Rui falls
in love with Tsukushi and, in a twist of fate; Tsukasa loses his memory after an
accident. However, in the end, Tsukasa and Tsukushi learned that love (putatively)
conquers all. For Tsukushi, it is a journey of regaining her self-identity, whereas for
Tsukasa, it is a journey to discover his self-identity.
Meteor Garden Taiwanese Version
MG kept the original Japanese name character read with Chinese
pronunciation: exotic names that obviously indicate Japanese roots. One exception
was Shan Cai (Japanese phonetic sound sugina), the characters for which indicate
the mature Horsetail (Equisetum), a tough, green, poisonous plant.

In MG, the

scene in the elevator with Dao Ming Si lying with his head cradled in the lap of the
sitting Shan Cai. Shan Cai represents a mother figure or the side of femininity for
which Dao Ming Si (whose own mothers are distant and unknowable) really yearn.
That is, their relationship with Shan Cai is based on their (unsatisfied) need to know
their mother. MG (to a lesser extent compared to BOF) the melodrama is further
enhanced through the stylized technique of incorporating flashback scenes into the
narrative, whereby sentimentality is reinforced through replaying previous scenes.
This technique of recapitulation serves several purposes. Firstly it is a cost-effective
production technique that lengthens the series; secondly it reinforces previously
viewed scenes; and, thirdly, it assists viewers to recollect the past and to recover,
artifacts that effectively compress forms of historical experience. Flashbacks to a

Perception on TV Adaptations

previous scene or to a past period in a characters life sustain a sense of nostalgia

that can also evoke a sense of pity in an audience. Meteor Garden and Hana Yori
Dango are in some way faithful to the original narrative. Thus, according to Zhua
and Berry (2009), MG is half rather faithful adaptation, and half invention. Its sequel
Meteor Garden II was no longer based on comic.
Hana Yori Dango Japanese Version
The name, Tsukushi, invests Japanese audiences with a feeling of affinity
with her character, which, associated with the image of this rural plant, further
emphasizes her commonality. Similar to Shan Cai of Meteor Garden, Tsukushi
represents a mother figure or the side of femininity for which Tsukasa (whose own
mothers are distant and unknowable) really yearn. There is a scene from HYD which
depicts Tsukushi and Tsukasa trapped in an elevator overnight and which shows the
signified bond between the couple. The physical placement of the pair is
representative of the one hand of twins in the womb, but also can be read as
Tsukushi letting herself be a substitute mother for Tsukasa. The closeness and
intimacy of HYD might be interpreted as a superior cultural intimacy (more modern,
more Western, more colonial, more Other) with closeness as a signifier for
(post)modernity. The scene occurs after Tsukushi has repeatedly rejected Tsukasas
overtures. Hana YoriDango retained the original plots, scenes and even the names
of the characters from the original narrative.
Boys over Flowers Korean Version
Korean version has no trace of Japanese flavour - any association with the origins of
BOF has been removed. Furthermore, a comparison of the various versions of Hana
Yori Dango needs to address the use of character names and whether or not

Perception on TV Adaptations

naming reflects any postcolonial bond between either Korea or Taiwan and Japan.
Jan Di (grass), the name of the BOF protagonist, is not uncommon for girls in Korea.
Grass Jan Di seems to be weaker than rural weed Shan Cai and Tsukushi. These
observations reflect the suggestion put forward by Okyopyo Moon and cited by
Harvey that Korean women have internalized the Confucian values that subordinate
women to men to a greater degree than have Japanese women who, on the whole,
exist in a more liberal society. Furthermore, all other original character names in
BOF have also been replaced with common Korean names. A representative of the
Korean publisher announced in a press conference that the company would not use
the original Japanese names from HYD in spite of the fact that this was a condition
of the production rights contract. The announcement nonetheless indicated that the
Korean names would reflect the original characters implied personality. However,
apart from the obvious weed/grass analogy, it is hard to connect the Korean names
with the Japanese original names, which could be interpreted as an intentional
removal of any past associations with Japan as colonizer. Ascribing new names for
each character can be additionally seen as a Korean effort to create a legacy and
style different from the Japanese origin. The womb image, however, is absent from
BOF in which the pair are left at the top of a cable-car station and spend a cold night
together sitting upright on a seat. The depiction of the cable-car scene in BOF
represents a different interpretation of the protagonist, Jan Di, who carries less
sense of a mother figure. For Jun Pyo, Jan Di symbolizes the battle he must go
through in order to release himself from the hegemony inscribed by his corporate
family. Rather than Jan Di herself, it is Jan Dis family that plays an important part in
comforting and educating Jun Pyo in matters of interpersonal relations.

Perception on TV Adaptations

In an audience study of Korean drama, Lin and Tong emphasize the

importance of the reflexivity of the audience in the portrayal of different kinds of
family and traditional values often interpreted as Confucianist. At the heart of these
Korean dramas is what Lin and Tongs informants describe as the Asian worldview.
The K-drama invests the family with a more central role. An example, unique to BOF,
follows the salt throwing scene in Jan Dis house. Jan Dis mother then visits the
mother of Jun Pyo (Tsukasas character) to respectfully ask forgiveness and, also, to
borrow the money that she initially refused to accept. Salt is again used in the BOF
story to express self-effacement when Jan Dis desperate mother swallows her pride
and begs for help from Madam Kang (the BOF matriarch). Despite Jan Dis mothers
prostration, Madam Kang does not give ground easily. Instead, reflecting the
hierarchical Confucian society, she coolly observes that everything has its
systematic order: Wrongs must be apologized for, debts repaid, then help given. I
am a businesswoman, so I cannot abide calculations and procedures that are not
conducted properly (BOF, eps.12). Jan Dis mother then takes out a parcel a bowl
of salt - which she pours over her own head in front of Madam Kang to plead for
forgiveness. In this way, Jan Dis mother humbles herself in order to save the family
financially so that the family will be freed from losing their business and therefore
able to stay together. In other words, even if it leads to a loss of face, the collective
unity of family is seen as more important than the individual needs of family
members. As Thussu (2007) puts it, one of the main reasons for the success of
Korean television dramas is because it depicts the importance of family, thus it also
portrays the problems and bonds of parents and children, grandparents and other
relatives.

Perception on TV Adaptations

The lack of realism in BOF is in some respects biased, since the melodrama in this
version evokes both the realism of a vicious colonial past and compressed
modernization under the surveillance of a repressive political system in Korea.
Melodrama provides a style that is able to express the emotional truths of this
historical reality. Furthermore, when hinged to the instability of colonial oppression,
the genre can provide a framework that attests to the excess of violence depicted in
BOF. Although the visual style of all versions is sustained through fantasy and
romantic comedy, the safety of that fantasy is unexpectedly ruptured by the stark
and brutal school violence depicted. This violence is emphasized to the greatest
degree in BOF when compared to the other two versions.
Idol dramas Ou Xiang Ju
The rise of boy band F4 from the trend-setting television show Meteor Garden
(2001) has drastically changed the landscape of TV programming in Taiwan and
across Asia. Accelerated a frenzied consumption of idol dramas (ou xiang ju), the
show has enthralled a target audience 10 to 35. As Zhua and Berry (2009) argued,
Meteor Garden owes its broad appeal to three main factors. First, it is an exciting
intertextual experiment. An adaptation of the popular Japanese manga Hana Yori
Dango (Boys over Flowers), Meteor Garden is a modern Cinderella story, a makebelieve romance bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. The winning
combination of comic book, TV drama and fairy tale makes Meteor Garden an
important case study of narrative in popular culture, for it merges the romantic
appeal of comics transgressive fantasy world with the realist poetries of TV dramas
everyday urban experience. Second, the images of Meteor Garden are seductive
because they not only gratify a young audiences desires to portray sex and violence

Perception on TV Adaptations

but also do boldly visualize a new exhibitionism of male sexuality, one that fashions
and fetishizes a masculine body over and against plot and character. Angie Chai
suggests that an idol drama acting skills are subordinate to star-like charisma and
presence. Her emphasis on the supremacy of image makes the actors the bearers
of new physical standards in East Asia. More controversial, perhaps, is the way this
visuality is put to use in a narrative that seduces viewers through aesthetic violence.
Finally, the transregional success of a locally produced Taiwanese TV drama
compels us to revisit current theories of cultural proximity (Iwabuchi, 2001). Koichi
Iwabuchi argues that it is insufficient to assume that the existence of some essential
cultural similarities automatically urges the audience to be attracted to media texts of
culturally proximate regions. Instead, he suggests, one needs to recognize the
active agency of the local audience in identifying the cultural proximity pleasure
produced by popular TV programs by abolishing the paradigm of primary and
secondary cultures a yardstick of differentiation for theories of cultural proximity.
And unlike many Japanese and Korean cultural products, which are produced and
received as nationalist representations, Meteor Garden does not significally
communicate any concept or image of the nation-state.
Meteor Gardens success can be partly explained on aesthetic grounds, for the TV
drama integrates and magnifies two very popular forms of storytelling: Japanese
comic books and Japanese idol dramas, both of which dominated Asian markets for
years (Iwabuchi, 2002). In fact, Taiwanese idol dramas like Meteor Garden combine
two interrelated genres in Japanese TV programming trendy dramas and posttrendy dramas. The former focus on the depictions of stylish urban lifestyles and
trendy nightspots abundant with extravagant designer clothes and accessories, sets

Perception on TV Adaptations

with chic interior designs, and the latest pop music, all of which clearly reflected the
then prevailing highly materialistic consumerism Japanese young people enjoyed
under the so-called bubble-economy (Iwabuchi ,2004). The post-trendy dramas on
the other hand, give more weight to plot development, sympathetically depicting
young peoples yearning for love, friendship, works and dreams even through
trendy consumerism is still vital to the sub-genres success (Iwabuchi, 2004).
Taiwan, as many critics have noted, is especially receptive to Japanese culture as a
result of its colonial history (from 1895 to 1945), cultural proximity to Japan, active
social networks, and regional geopolitics. Moreover, the islands media deregulation
in the late 1980s facilitated the importation and circulation of Japanese TV dramas;
these were first broadcast in Taiwan on the Star TV Chinese Channel in May 1992
and immediately became very popular with the young generation. From Tokyo Love
Story (1991) and Fuji TVs Love (2000) to the latest record-breaking South Korean
TV drama Daejanggeum (Jewel in the Palace, 2003), these shows created the ha-ri
(Japanese fever) and han-liu (Korean wave) that today dominate young Taiwanese
consumers taste in fashion, architecture, food, and entertainment. Despite the
political subtext that Taiwan has faced, the main attractions of idol dramas are on the
surface. These story constitutes a relationship genre devoid of post Western
cynicism, and many of them validate young viewers desire for love and romance
and present to them an alternative vision of East Asian modernity, one that seems to
reconcile traditional values (i.e., filial piety, respect for authority, and civic duty) with
ideals of progress (sexual freedom, gender and racial equality, democracy, roman,
and civil liberty). More significantly, perhaps, are idol dramas trend-setting
representations of how young East Asian urbanities skillfully consume, fashion, and

Perception on TV Adaptations

capitalize on the materiality of their new glocal culture.

STUDIES
In the study of Baez, (2011) which is From Tale to Television: A Descriptive
Study and a Textual Analysis of the GMA-7 Television Adaptation of Mga Kuwento ni
Lola Basyang, he concluded that television adaptations portrays different cultural
image depending on the country and on how it is portrayed. Also, not all the
variables which are present on the literature can be viewed on television, in other
words there are revisions that is done when it is on television. And sometimes these
TV adaptations let the viewers absorb the flavor present in the adaptation.
The study conducted by Julie Cabato (2004) that is A Partial Ethnography of
Asian Soap Opera viewers of Meteor Garden, Lavender and Endless Love is
concerned with a group of Zamboangueno viewers constructions of reality as
influenced by their viewing of Asian soap operas, particularly Chinese and Korean
drama series. The study situates the viewers constructions within socio-cultural
contexts, in partial ethnography. A study on the process of reception is not possible
without taking into account the larger cultural contexts where this reception is not
possible without taking into account the larger cultural contexts where this is
positioned. Hence, this communication inquiry is a study of human culture, because
culture is imbedded in the stories told by listeners and viewers, in this case, stories
as told by the viewers of the three selected Asian soap opera stories: Meteor
Garden, Lavender, and Endless Love.
Cabato (2004) stated that a study of communication is ultimately a study of
culture. Communication produces culture. This production of culture however, is not
dependent on the established meaning out there. The interactions, which take place

Perception on TV Adaptations

between people and within people, the construction and negotiation of meanings
within a social framework, consequently lead to the establishment of culture. The
study conducted by Pavinee Potipan and Nantaphorn Worrawutteerakul (2010)
entitled A study of the Korean wave in order to be a lesson to Thailand for
establishing a Thai wave, investigates the factors why Korean wave became popular
and also compares it to the potential of adapting this factors such as watching
Korean dramas, listening to Korean pop music or even doing plastic surgery to look
like Korean actors as well as imitating their fashion style. This factor may affect and
create the so called Thai wave. The study proves that when the factors of a certain
culture are exposed to another country there is a big possibility that the culture may
be adapted by another country. Also it concludes that the reason why a certain
culture grows drastically is because of the government which plays a very significant
role in the success of the Korean wave.