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Abstract
Drawing on cultural studies, especially Halls theory of encoding and decoding of texts (1973), this study examines how a sample of the audience of Dawsons 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 shows characters. Limitations of the study include the diversity of the sample used. Future research suggestions include an examination of how the shows messages are encoded by the shows creative team. In addition, future research should include a more in-depth examination into how Dawsons Creek has changed the nature of teenage television.