CHINA’S SUPER GIRL SHOW: DEMOCRACY AND FEMALE EMPOWERMENT AMONG CHINESE YOUTH

In China, the reality talent television show Super Girl not only was an unprecedented hit in television history of the country and an economic miracle in the entertainment industry but also raised ebullient debates on democracy and female empowerment. The purpose of this research was to contribute to studies on reality talent television shows by giving an appraisal of the impact Super Girl had on youth’s attitudes. Two central questions were raised: To what extend did Super Girl enhance or erode democracy experienced by Chinese youth audiences, especially girls? And to what extend did the tomboyish phenomenon in Super Girl empower female participants and viewers? This research mainly adopted qualitative methods, particularly case study and focus group. The primary data came from intensive interviews and participant observations in several online forums. The results showed that although Super Girl planted democratic seeds in youths’ minds, it also generated an illusion of democracy that lured its audiences into a fantasy scope. The tomboy vogue brought about by the show did give young women more choices of expression, but the consequence was gender discrimination rather than equality. Nevertheless, in a male-dominated society with an authoritarian polity, a participatory show like this was definitely a pleasurable experience

Articulating the L Word Online: A Study of Chinese Slash Fandom of Super Girl

This thesis presents a case study of one of the most popular online Chinese fandoms, Fei Se Chao Nv. This online Chinese fan forum is dedicated to slash writings and queer readings of androgynous female celebrities of a sensational Chinese reality TV show, Super Girl. The purpose of this study is to explicate the intricate negotiations between queer and normative cultures within this online, non-mainstream, fannish space. Through a discourse analysis of how the slash fans imagine lesbian relationships, narrate lesbian stories, and queerly gossip about the Super Girl androgynous celebrities in the forum, the study concludes that the fans\u27 slash practices are frequently complicated by, and struggle with, the normative positioning of lesbian desires, identities, and relationships as deviant in heterocentric Chinese society

A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING EMERGENT BUSINESS MODEL IN CHINA

In the recent decades, the digital convergence brings together the telecommunications operators and entertainment media to provide new business opportunities. However, research on the emerging business models is limited. Especially, we lack knowledge about the environmental and technological mechanisms for the adoption of new business models. This paper proposes a framework for analyzing business model, which takes the dimensions of information technology and business environment into account. To justify this new framework, we further employ it to investigate two cases in the entertainment industry - MyShow and Super Girl - appeared in 2004 in China

A New Framework for Analyzing Internet Business Model: Cases of China

In the recent decades, we have witnessed the growth of information technology (IT) diffusion which has led to digital convergence. This new trend of technology development brings together the telecommunications operators and entertainment media to provide new kinds of business opportunities. However, the research of emerging business models is limited. Knowledge about environmental and technological mechanisms in the adoption of new business models is especially lacking. This paper investigates two cases in the entertainment industry in China - MyShow and Super Girl - initiated in 2004. A new framework for analyzing business model has been proposed based on current research

Popular Culture and Masculinity Ideals in East Asia, with Special Reference to China

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Celebrity-inspired, Fan-driven: Doing Philanthropy through Social Media in Mainland China

© 2017 Asian Studies Association of Australia. This paper provides the first detailed study of the links between celebrity-fan communication networks and philanthropy in the People’s Republic of China. It explains how the evolution of the Chinese Internet, and especially the rise of social media, has created new spaces in which fans of entertainment celebrities may be induced to engage with philanthropic causes. It then outlines the history of Chinese fan-driven philanthropic initiatives centred on people who became famous through reality-television popular music competitions. Finally, it offers a case study of the initiatives connected to popstar Li Yuchun, and examines the rationales provided by fans in online forums and interviews for their philanthropic engagement. Critics of celebrity-inspired philanthropy highlight its supposedly inauthentic and passive nature. Yet we find that fans actively exploit the forms of sociality that are provided by celebrity-fan communication networks, both to establish virtual participatory communities and to generate social action in the form of non-government-organised volunteering

Schooling During the Pandemic: Children’s Perspectives and Lived Experiences

This issue of the Occasional Paper Series is enriched by a collection of images, artwork, and photographed experiences from five child contributors who help us understand what it was like to be schooled during the pandemic