从老友记看中美文化差异

本科生毕业论文

An Analysis of Sino-American Cultural Differences in Friends

从《老友记》解读中美文化差异

姓名刘博

学号200701020127

专业外国语言文学系

指导教师李育教授

2011年5月30日

An Analysis of Sino-American Cultural Differences in Friends

A Thesis Submitted to

Foreign Languages Department of

Henan University of Economics and Law in

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Bachelor of Arts

By

Liu Bo

Supervisor: Li Yu

May 30, 2011

Abstract

Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. It consists of 236 episodes of 10 seasons. It was watched by 52.5 million American viewers and played in decades countries later. It won plenty of major theater awards for the six leading actors and the whole play staff.

The series revolves around a group of friends in the borough of Manhattan, New York City. It describes fully of their life, friendship, trouble, laugh, contradiction, love and work. They treasure friendship and kinship, they trust, tolerant and support each other. Their positive and optimistic life attitude encourages millions of people. The reason that this sitcom appeals to us so much is not only the sincere feelings among them, but also the fresh sight which is different from China. Western civilization has always led the world cultural development since the Industrial Revolution. The special notice can help us to understand this sitcom better and deeper as well as improve our self- cultivation demeanor.

This thesis firstly introduces Friends. Secondly, it lists and analyzes the cultural differences in Friends. Thirdly, it analyzes the factors causing cultural differences. Fourthly, it makes suggestions for students learning western culture.

Key words: Friends; culture; difference; factors

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摘要

《老友记》是一部由大卫·马克兰和玛尔塔·考夫曼创作的美国情景喜剧，从自1994年9月22日至2004年5月6日在美国NBC电视台播出，全剧共10季236集，本土观众数量达到五千万，后来在数十个国家播出。这部喜剧为六个主角和整个剧组赢得了大量戏剧奖项。

《老友记》主要描写六个居住在纽约市曼哈顿区的六个年轻人的故事——他们的生活、友谊、烦恼、欢乐、矛盾、爱情和事业。他们对友情和亲情的珍惜，他们对彼此的互相信任、宽容和支持，他们积极向上的生活态度激励了上百万的观众。这部喜剧之所以这么吸引我们不仅是因为他们彼此间真挚的感情，而且是因为那些与中国传统不同的新鲜视角。自工业革命开始，西方文明就引领着世界文明的发展。对西方文明的特殊关注可以帮助我们更好更深的理解这部喜剧。

这篇论文分四个部分来对《老友记》进行分析：首先，对《老友记》进行了简介。其次，列出了《老友记》中体现的中美文化差异。再次，分析引起这些差异的文化原因。最后，提出了学习西方文化的建议。

关键词：老友记；文化；差异；原因

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Acknowledgements

This thesis is the product of the a uthor and the supervisor’s three months of efforts. It has been repeatedly revised under the guidance of Professor Li Yu. It was the joint efforts of both the author and teachers in Foreign Languages Department. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Professor Li Yu and teachers who have helped the author in the process of the thesis writing. I will also give my thanks to my classmates and friends who have helped me revise the thesis. Last but not least, I will give my heartfelt thanks to my parents who have been always supporting and encouraging me.

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