This paper analyzes the ways in which members of different ethnic groups decode the worldwide hit television program Dallas, and suggests answers to the question of how such a quintessentially American cultural product crosses cultural and linguistics frontiers so easily. The program was studied with the intent of observing the mechanisms through…

The Dynasty Project conducted an empirical analysis of the cross-cultural reception of the program for which it was named. Data were collected via two series of videotaped interviews which were carried out following a viewing of Dynasty episode 105 by a group of subjects together with the researchers. The subjects were 25 American viewers in Los…