Eat. Sleep. Watch Dawson's creek : teenagers' perceptions of teenage life on Dawson's creek

by 1976- Hall, Amanda Stewart

Drawing on cultural studies, especially Hall’s theory of encoding and decoding of texts (1973), this study examines how a sample of the audience of Dawson’s Creek, a Warner Brothers’ Television show, interpret and relate to the show and whether they incorporate these meanings in their lives. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with females aged 15- to 21-years-old to discern the reality of representations on the show of teenage life and how these participants engage with the show. Findings suggest the show enables its viewers to identify with the portrayal of the teenage experience, especially when examining the show’s characters. Limitations of the study include the diversity of the sample used. Future research suggestions include an examination of how the show’s messages are encoded by the show’s creative team. In addition, future research should include a more in-depth examination into how Dawson’s Creek has changed the nature of teenage television.