Idol worship and fan culture in China, explained - SupChina

The fan economy drives a big part of China's entertainment sector. But several recent high-profile cases of toxic fandom have caught the eye ... Skiptothecontent Trending#pengshuai#rednewdeal#evergrande#climatechange#taiwan#covid-19 ExtendedNavigation Search Search Sections Columns FeaturedEventAllEvents AboutSupChina BusinessServices Closeexpandedmenu Trending#pengshuai#rednewdeal#evergrande#climatechange#taiwan#covid-19 IllustrationbyDerekZheng Sharethisarticle Sharethisarticle ShareonLinkedIn ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter ShareonReddit Copythislink Copied! Somethingwentwrong. https://supchina.com/2021/09/09/idol-worship-and-fan-culture-in-china-explained/ Copy Closepostdialogwindow TheCyberspaceAdministrationofChina(CAC),China’sinternetwatchdog,announcedonAugust27thatitwouldbanonlineliststhatrankcelebritiesbypopularityfromalldigitalplatforms.Thisannouncementwasjustpartofanongoingtwo-monthcrackdownononlinefancircles. Thecampaign,called“ClearandBright,”startedinJune,withtheCACsayinginastatementthatitwouldputanendtocyberbullyingandrumor-spreading.Someofthebehaviorsbeingtargetedincludeinducingminorstoraisefunds,voterigging,andagitatingfanstoflaunttheirwealthandextravagantlives. Thecelebrity-rankingbanfollowstheCAC’sremovalof150,000piecesof“harmfulonlinecontent”andpunishmentofmorethan4,000accountsrelatedtofanclubs,accordingtoarecentXinhuareport. Howdidwegethere? ThecampaignwasoriginallylaunchedafteranincidentinMaythatcametobeknownasthe“milkwaste”scandal.ThepopulartalentshowYouthWithYou3encouragedviewerstobuymilkandscantheQRcodeinsidethebottlecapstosupporttheirfavoritestarsontheshow.Videosofpeopleopeningbottlesofdairyproductsanddumpingthecontentsintodrainswentviral.Somecalculatedthat270,000bottlesofdairyproductswerepoureddirectlyintothesewage.IntenseonlinebacklashcausedtheshowtobesuspendedbytheBeijingMunicipalRadioandTelevisionBureau. WhileitmaybetemptingtoconsidertheClearandBrightcampaignasyetanotheroneofChina’scrackdownsonentertainmentandpopculture,therearesomedifferencesbetweenthiscampaignandpreviousonesaimedat,say,haircolor. Forone,thefaneconomyinChinaisdrivenmostlybyminors.Anaverageonlinefanclubhasmillionsofyoung(mostlyfemale)followersreadytosupporttheiridolsbycontributingmoneyoractivelybuyingtheidol’sadvertisedproducts.Often,theygobeyondspendingmoney.Forexample,fanscanraiseanidol’scommercialratingandhelphimorhergetevenmoreendorsementdealsiftheytookascreenshotofthepurchase,taggeditwithboththeirownusernameandthebrand’ssocialaccount,anduploadedittosocialmedia. TheChinaVibe.SubscribetoTheChinaVibe,oursocietyandculturenewsletter,togetafreeweeklyroundupofthemostinterestingstoriesfromChina. Enteryouremailaddress Subscribe CooperationwithChineseidolsisaprovenmethodforbrandstogrowtheirreputation.In2019,EsteeLauderannouncedXiāoZhàn肖战(SeanXiao),apopularChinesesingerandactor,asitsbrandambassadorjustbeforeSingles’Day,theworld’slargestonlineshoppingfestival,heldonNovember11everyyear.Asaresult,salesexceeded40millionyuan($6.2million)inonehour.U.S.cosmeticbrandOriginsreportedsimilarresults.Itscollection,madeincollaborationwithWángYībó王一博,surpassed30millionyuan($4.6million)inonehour.Lastyear,Chineseactor,singer,anddancerJacksonYee(易烊千玺YìYángqiānxǐ)becameaglobalmakeupandskincareambassadorforArmaniBeautyandanEmporioArmaniglobalambassador. Intheearly2000s,theriseofsocialnetworksfundamentallychangedthefaceoffandom,turningitfromapleasantcommunalactivityintosomethingcompetitive,chaotic,andevenabusive. Accordingtothe“Whitepaperonidolindustryandfaneconomyin2019,”China’sidolmarketwasexpectedtoreach100billionRMB($15billion)by2020,withayear-on-yeargrowthofaround60%.PresidentofProfessionalContentBusinessGroup(PCG)andChiefContentOfficerofiQIYIWangXiaohuionceestimatedthattheidolmarketinChinawillbevaluedatabout140billionyuan($21.6billion)in2022. Somestudiesshowthatoftheestimated500million“idolchasers”(definedasanyonereadytospendmoneyonanidol)inChina,36%arewillingtospend100to500RMB($15to$75)permonth.Whatdotheygetinreturn?Emotionalsatisfaction,anacademicanalysisofthefaneconomysays,likehavingagoodconversationwithafriend.Thisfeelingisthekeyelementoftheso-called“emotionalcapital”(情感资本qínggǎnzīběn)ofthestar.Themorepeoplefeelthatacelebritycanunderstandandsatisfytheiremotionalneeds,themoreemotionalcapitaltheyget. XiaoZhaninanEsteeLauderad Fandomcultureisnotnew.Longbeforetheinternet,fanclubswereorganizinggatherings,publishingmagazines,andwritingfanfiction.Butintheearly2000s,theriseofsocialnetworksfundamentallychangedthefaceoffandom,turningitfromapleasantcommunalactivityintosomethingcompetitive,chaotic,andevenabusive. InChina,themaindrivingforcebehindthisevolutionoffandomisSinaWeibo,thelargestsocialmediaplatforminthecountry.Inadditiontohelpingenthusiastsfindtheircommunities,Weiboalsobroughtcelebritiesandtheirsupportersclosertogetherbybreakingdownthewallbetweenthem.AccordingtoYinYiyi,anassociateprofessorofmediaandculturalstudiesatBeijingNormalUniversity,in2011Weiboinvitedcelebritiesorinstitutionsindifferentareastojointheplatformandinteractwiththeirfollowers.In2019,themostpopularidolsingerscouldhavemorethan20millionfollowersonWeibo.Nowwealsocallthesefollowersfěnsī粉丝. Atitscore,thewayWeibooperatesintheworldoffandomisnodifferentthanitsglobalcounterpartslikeTwitterandInstagram.ButifintheWesttherelationshipbetweenstarsandtheirfanscanbecalledone-sided—fansjustfollow,consumecontent,orcopythelavishlifestylesondisplay—inChinatherelationshipismoreco-dependent.Andthat’swheretheCACbelievesitneedstostepin. Pettyfightsbetweenfancommunitiescanleadtohugefinanciallossesforthebrandandhurttheartist’scareer. Ononehand,asartistshavecometorecognizetheirdirectinfluenceoverswathsoftheirdiehardfans,theyhavealsocometorelyontheirconstantconsumption.In2020,SeoulNationalUniversity’sConsumerTrendCenterprofessorKimRandointroducedthiskindoffans(orfensi)as“fansumers”inhisbookTrend2020.Theword“fansumer”isaportmanteauof“fan”and“consumer,”highlightingthefactthatfansnotonlyfollowtheirfavoritecelebritiesandpurchasetheproductstheyadvertise,butarealsoengagedinidols’marketingcampaignsandevenintheoverallproductionprocess. “Consumersnowhaveadesiretopersonallyparticipateandinvestinthemanufacturingprocessofdevelopingproducts,brands,andstars.Thisnewtypeofconsumerwhotakespartintheentirelifecycleofaproductandexercisingtheircontroloveritistermeda‘fansumer,’”Kimwritesinthebook.“Theyactivelysupportandpurchaseaproductwiththeprideofhavingraiseditpersonally.Thefansumer’sinfluenceiscontinuouslyexpanding,anditincludesparticipatingincrowd-funding,engaginginsupporteractivities,rootingfororcriticizingcelebritiesandinfluencers,andmanymore.” Ontheotherhand,sometimespettyfightsbetweenfancommunitiescanleadtohugefinanciallossesforthebrandandhurttheartist’scareer. Lastyear,anincidentinvolvingXiaoZhanandWangYiboisstillresonatingtoday.InJanuary2020,twobigfictionpublishingplatformspublishedastoryaboutthetwoidolsfallinginlovewitheachother.Xiao’sfans,whowereveryunhappyabouthavingtheirfavoriteidol’sidentityusedinhomoeroticliteratureandstartedtheaggressivecampaignagainsttheauthors,successfullylobbiedtogetthesetwopublishingplatformstakendown.ThiswasthenmetwithangryprotestsfromChina’sLGBTQcommunity.MillionsofactivistsbeganboycottingXiaoZhanandthebrandshecampaignedfor,includingEstéeLauder,Piaget,andQeelin.Moreover,theybeganpromotingthecompetitorsofthebrandsXiaohadbeenaffiliatedwithandcrashedXiao-sponsoredbrands’customerservicelines,pressuringthemtoendtheircollaborationswithXiao. “XiaoZhan’sfanshaveharassedotherssoviolentlyonlinethattheymanagedtokillasourceofcreativityandexpressionforamassivenumberofpeople,”aBeijing-basedPRprofessionaltoldJingDaily.“Thisisanexampleofmodern-daytoxicfandominChina.” PerhapsevenworseexampleofdisturbingfanbehaviorhappenedafterChinese-CanadianpopidolKrisWu(吴亦凡WúYìfán)wasarrestedbyBeijingpoliceforsuspectedrape.Onemonthbeforethearrest,severalwomencameforwardtoallegetheyweredruggedandrapedbythestar.Afterthepopidolwasdetained,morethan24women,someofthemunderage,openedupwithsimilarstories.ButWu’sfansdefendedhimonline,evenblamingthevictims.Somefansevensuggestedgoingtojailtorescuetheirbelovedidol.ThesesortsofcommentsresultedintheclosureofhundredsofWu’sonlinefancommunities. KrisWu TheCAC’scrackdownreflectsthepowerofsocialmediaplatforms.Withthehelpoffancircles,theyeasilyinfluenceonlinepublicopinion.ThepotentialofidolstoswaypublicopinionandmobilizegroupscreatesalevelofdangerthattheChinesegovernmentcannolongerabide. Acting“inthepublicinterest,”especiallywhenitcomestosuchasensitiveissueassexualharassmentandassault,thegovernment’srecentactionhasgarneredlotsofpositiveresponses.TherevoltingactionofWu’sfanshasonlyaddedtothefuel,andallowedsometoviewtheCAC’sClearandBrightcampaignasanoblefight,ratherthancensorship. LidaStanchenkoisajournalistandco-founderofanomadicmagazine,Roamographer.SheworkedasachiefeditoratSPUTNIKInternationalNewsAgency,BeijingChapter.Previously,sheworkedforChinesestatemediaforseveralyearsbothinMoscowandBeijing.LidaholdsaMaster’sdegreeinOrientalstudiesandlinguistics.Readmore Suggestedforyou Society&Culture 2021:TheyearincensoredtermsontheChineseinternet JWMu Business&Technology Doubanpunishedforweakcensorship,pulledfromappstores MatthewSilberman Asmanyas127journalistsarebehindbarsinChinaandHongKong LucasNiewenhuis WTAsuspendsmatchesinChina,callsfortransparentinvestigationintoPengShuaiallegations JeremyGoldkorn Censorsgonuclearastennisplayer’sMeTooallegationsagainsttopofficialgoviral JeremyGoldkorn YahooshutsdownremainingChinaservices LucasNiewenhuis MostReadinSociety&Culture Ispent2021tryingtovisiteverymuseuminBeijing SimonCockerell NotableChinabooksof2021 MikeCormack Xi’anresidentsfaceshortagesoffoodandcriticalsuppliesaslockdowncontinues JiayunFeng 2021:TheyearincensoredtermsontheChineseinternet JWMu SearchforanyChina-basedcompany SearchforanyChina-basedcompany HuataiInsuranceGroup TSMC Huaqin XuanjiTech ChinaLifeInsurance Bilibili Volitation Huimingjie Huawei AgriculturalBankofChina AEE EHang ChinaThreeGorgesCorporation(CTG) AviationIndustryCorporationofChina CATL Yuanfudao ChinaAcademyofAerospaceAerodynamics TsinghuaUnigroup GreatWallMotors FantasiaHoldings Xiaomi 58.com BrillianceAutoGroup Lenovo AirDwing AutelRobotics Waterdrop Honeycomb Soarability ShenhuaEnergy FAWGroup Baidu JinkoSolar HighGreat ByteDance Sinochem ChinaRailwayConstructionCorporation XAG Kanzhun GeelyAuto ZTE DAMODA MannerCoffee XPengMotors MissFresh iQiyi Midea JDTechnology GenkiForest T3Travel ChinaDevelopmentBank Kuaishou SMD Chang’anAutomobile ChinaRailwayGroup(CREC) ChinaConstructionBank PAXTechnology SJAI ChinaStateConstructionEngineering GACGroup Chicecream TAL DJI Roborock NIO IceKredit Grepow Suning.com ChinaNationalPetroleumCorporation Pinduoduo GDU GaotuTechedu FOiADrone BrillianceChina XNW CITICGroup ChinaPost INNNO LiAuto ChinaResources GanfengLithium PingAnInsurance AutoFlight JDHealth StateGrid(SGCC) EvergrandeGroup ChinaUnicom neo Meituan LensTechnology Huobi ManbangGroup BankofChina AntGroup Zuoyebang Zhangmen SinopharmGroup YuanmuHolding Geneinno Sinopec ShengheResourcesHolding Binance YatsenHoldingLimited SuningFinance ChinaOceanwide Haier ChinaNorthernRareEarthGroup Dongfeng BaotouSteel ModernLand Bitalltech Codemao Qihoo360TechnologyInc. 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