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A Comparative Analysis of the Reception of Domestic and US Fiction 87

In this sense and in contrast with many other reception-inspired studies on the
problematic, we argue that a more integrated vision of the functioning and the
different, divergent forms of impact of US fiction should be adopted. While
involvement with American drama may (generally) not be so high as with
domestic drama, US fiction employs powerful instruments to create a spectacular
world with specific cultural value-systems, strengthening the possibility of impact
on the viewer. So, different elements in this reception analytical case study seem
to point to a revision of theories on the unproblematically limited impact of US
fiction on a micro-level. Whether this, to quote Richard Collins (1986), is ‘equally
bad for audiences’ is a totally different question.

Note

1. The series De Kollega’s is a production of the Belgische Radio en Televisie (BRT, Brussels), the
Dutch-speaking public broadcasting company. She’s the Sheriff is a Lorimar Telepictures
Company production, shown on Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij (VTM), the Flemish
commercial television station.

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