Deconstructing Ally: Explaining viewers' interpretations of popular television

Two hundred fifty one Israeli students, viewers of the series Ally McBeal, were asked to choose among preformulated interpretations of the program. Discriminant analysis was used to explore why some viewers endorsed an interpretation of the program as favorable to women, others as sexist, and others preferred a humorous interpretation. Results show that relationship status, feminist attitudes, identification with the lead character and perceptions of her, as well as liking of the program, were important determinants of the interpretation of the program adopted by viewers. The results are discussed in terms of contributions to reception theory and media psychology in general.