The Self-Regulation and the Institutional Incorporation of Chinese Pop-Culture Fandoms on Social Media

• In Event: Sociology of Culture Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 7. Contemporary Chinese Cultural Governance

Abstract

The governmental cultural regulation and propaganda have created a contradictory dynamic of alliance and antagonism between the mainland pop culture and dominant values, shaping a unique ambivalent circumstance faced by NèiYú (mainland entertainment) fandoms. These fandoms navigate the paradox of being both aligned with and stigmatized by mainstream values. This research examines how NèiYú fandoms negotiate, construct, and perform identities within the intersection of digital culture and institutional power. It explores the tensions underlying fans’ simultaneous collaboration with and resistance to mainstream values and governmental discourse.
To investigate the online activities of fandoms, the theoretical framework of this study was structured around the theories of impression management and dramaturgy in the online setting, which involve the ideas of front-stage, back-stage, teamwork, and asynchronous performances (Bullingham and Vasconcelos 2013; Hogan 2010). The research collected and analyzed the public posts from the fan communities on social media platforms as the front-stage data, and conducted supplemental interviews with fan-site managers for back-stage analysis.
The findings indicate that fandom communities are generally regulated and guided by the media platform, especially in relation to social and political events. As the fans and their idols have formed an alliance of reputation, leading fan sites function as risk-management actors to promote the image of the “good fan” to mitigate reputational risks for both the fandoms and the artists. Beyond compliance with top-down regulations, leading fan sites employ conservative management strategies to maintain the legitimacy and autonomy of the fandom community. In this case, governance circulates through platform rules and ideological signals that are internalized and reproduced within fandom communities. Distinct from affect-driven fandom nationalism, this process reflects an institutionalized and organizational incorporation of fandom into state governance structures.

Author

• Xiaoxin Lin