An Ethnographic Analysis of Everyday Encounters with the Film Industry in Contemporary China
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Getting Close to the Media World An ethnographic analysis of everyday encounters with the film industry in contemporary China Design by Min Xu Copyright © Min Xu 2020 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the author. Getting Close to the Media World An ethnographic analysis of everyday encounters with the film industry in contemporary China Dicht bij de mediawereld: een etnografische analyse van mediarituelen in hedendaags China Thesis to obtain the degree of Doctor from the Erasmus University Rotterdam by command of the rector magnificus Prof.dr. R.C.M.E. Engels and in accordance with the decision of the Doctorate Board. The public defense shall be held on Thursday 9 April 2020 at 15:30 hrs by Min Xu born in Shanghai, China Doctoral Committee: Promotor Prof. dr. S.L. Reijnders Other members Prof. dr. M.S.S.E. Janssen Assoc. Prof. dr. D. Trottier Assoc. Prof. dr. M. de Valck Copromotor Assoc. Prof. dr. S. Kim Acknowledgements My PhD journey has been a truly special experience. It would not have been possible without the help, guidance, and encouragement I have received from many people. I would like to first express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Reijnders. Whenever I have faced any difficulties, he has been there for me. Whenever I worried that the papers constantly needed his comments and revision, he always gave me a reassuring smile, and encouraged me. His kindness, continued patience, and endless guidance have warmed and motivated me. More importantly, he has taught me that being an academic is a calling. I was very lucky to have Assoc. Prof. Kim as my co-supervisor, and would like to say a big thank you to him. He has given me invaluable comments and suggestions throughout the years. Moreover, he has inspired and guided me to expand my research interests. I keep in mind what it means to be an Asian researcher because of his enthusiasm, meaningful advice, and conversations. I am thankful to Prof. Janssen, Assoc. Prof. De Valck, Assoc. Prof. Trottier, Prof. Bisschop Boele, Prof. Arora, and Dr. Lin for being my dissertation committee members, and for kindly reviewing this dissertation at a busy time of the year. Being part of our happy and brilliant research group is the most memorable experience of my PhD. Thank you to Abby, Leonieke, Henry, Rosa, Apoorva, Débora, Emily, Emiel, Amanda, and Victoria, for the interesting discussions, helpful feedback, and all the fun together. A special thanks to Siri, for being a dear companion at all stages of PhD life. To Nicky, thank you for giving me the opportunity of the best job I’ve ever had. To Balázs, thank you for sharing insights into our niche field within the big research team. And thank you to Eveline, for editing the Dutch version of the dissertation summary. I also take this opportunity to thank everyone at the Department of Arts and Culture and great colleagues at the university: to Qiong, Jing, Shangwei, Qian, and Pieter, for being classmates and sharing a lot; to Janna, Jaco, Dorus, and Simeng, for being wonderful roommates during the early years of my PhD; to Yijing, Niels, Laurie, Mirjam, Naomi, Julian, Frank, Annemarie, Prof. Van Eijck, Shirley, Mariangela, Roel, Yosha, Lei, Linda, Mariëlle, Laura, Thomas, Blaz, and Carolina, for many enjoyable conversations; and to Theresa, Evelien, Annette, and Marieke, for helping me with many things in the last few years. Studying abroad is not easy, but it has been a heartwarming journey for me. Thank you to Elvire, Eerang, Dineke, Chantal, Tian, Jan-Jaap, Henrik, Bieke, Kun, Jun, Wim, Tiancheng, Hans, Ming, Joy, and Gertjan, for giving me fond memories, and to Prof. Jansz, Tonny, Whitney, Simon, Adrian, Prof. Barker, Assoc. Prof. Athique, Loes, and Rico, for giving me feedback and suggestions on various occasions. I would also like to thank my relatives and close friends back in my hometown for their continuous support. My thanks are extended to all the respondents in this research for their willingness to share the experiences and ideas that they had. I am also thankful to the China Scholarship Council for their financial support. Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents for everything. 感谢我的父母!我的感恩和爱,不必仪式,都在相伴里。 Shanghai, February 2020 Contents 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Research topic ......................................................................................................................... 11 1.1.1 Studying encounters with the media .................................................................................. 13 1.2 Research gaps and positioning ............................................................................................ 16 1.3 Research questions ................................................................................................................. 17 1.4 Overview of the dissertation ................................................................................................ 19 2 Theoretical framework ................................................................................................... 22 2.1 Studying audiences and producers in an era of social media ....................................... 22 2.2 Encounters as media rituals ................................................................................................. 25 2.2.1 Analysing Couldry’s theory of media rituals................................................................... 25 2.2.2 Categorising media rituals ................................................................................................... 26 2.2.3 Anticipating encounters: everyday audience engagement ............................................ 28 2.2.4 Face-to-face encounters in specialised events ................................................................. 29 2.2.5 Face-to-face encounters in general film-themed settings ............................................. 30 2.2.6 Participatory encounters in media productions ............................................................... 31 2.3 Media culture and media rituals in contemporary China .............................................. 32 2.3.1 Transformation and features of China’s film industry .................................................. 32 2.3.2 Media rituals in China .......................................................................................................... 34 3 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 38 3.1 Paradigm: interpretative research ....................................................................................... 38 3.2 Approach: phenomenology .................................................................................................. 39 3.3 Research strategy: case study design ................................................................................. 41 3.4 Research methods: interviewing and observation .......................................................... 43 3.4.1 Interview planning ................................................................................................................. 45 3.4.2 Sampling .................................................................................................................................. 46 3.4.3 Conducting interviews .......................................................................................................... 48 3.4.4 Observations ........................................................................................................................... 52 3.4.5 Data analysis ........................................................................................................................... 54 7 4 Everyday engagements with celebrity culture and expectations of encounters with the famous .............................................................................................................................. 57 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 57 4.2 Celebrity culture and audience engagement with celebrity .................................... 59 4.2.1 Contemporary celebrity culture in China ......................................................................... 61 4.3 Research methods ................................................................................................... 63 4.4.1 Discussing celebrities in everyday life ................................................................... 64 4.4.2 Reasons for appreciation ........................................................................................ 68 4.4.3 Underlying values and critiques ............................................................................. 72 4.4.4 Meeting famous people .......................................................................................... 77 4.5 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 80 5 Inside the movie roadshow: producing encounters at popular media events ............ 83 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................