Constructing the Chinese Self Through the African Other: Media Representations of Africans in Guangzhou

• In Event: Africa and African Ethnicity and Race Concerns

Abstract

While existing literature on the topic of Africans in China reveals considerable complexity of the dynamics between the Africans and Chinese, an integrated framework is lacking to evaluate China’s perceptions and receptions of African immigrants. To fill the gap, I conduct an examination of the discursive representations of the African other on different Chinese media platforms, which leads to the finding of the “significant, threatening other” on social media, the “theatrical, supportive other” on official media, and the “us-like, suffering other” on commercial media. I conclude the paper with a discussion of the media negotiation over the interpretation of African immigrants and Chinese identity as well as some suggestions for future research.

Author

• Yue Yang, U of Southern California - Annenberg School for Communication