Abstract
The collective identity and stereotypical image of the Chinese migrant rural worker produced by mainstream media discourse has not only reinforced the national agenda of modernization and economic development, but also deprived these workers’ agencies and voices. The powerful urban life and culture have interpellated these rural migrant workers into acceptance of dominant beliefs and consumer ideology so as to transform them into national, but passive subjects and docile laborers. In such a context, this current project focuses on how digital media has exposed these workers to new platforms, which they use for self-representation and dissemination of their own work across social media. This study specifically examines the use of a social media application Kuaishou, a video-sharing app, by migrant workers to assert and construct their individual identities. However, while they refuse to be silent victims of the powerful mainstream culture, these workers’ self-representations may still fall into the state’s agenda of cultural development. Thus, they must also negotiate between their own migrant identity and their dream of becoming urban people. More broadly, they must negotiate between the collective consciousness of subaltern class and the China Dream. They must confront the strong political/cultural interpellation that only covers the profound social conflicts.
Presenters
Jie LuProfessor of Chinese Studies & Film Studies, Department of Mondern Language & Literature, University of the Pacific, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Social Media, App, Social Media Application, Migrant Identity, Mainstream Media
Digital Media
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