The Rise of Satellite TVs and the Use of Social Media response

Please respond to "Who needs democracy if we can pick our favorite girl" and "'Democratic Entertainment'," two pieces on the Super Girl phenomenon on the Hunan Satellite TV and through the promotion of social media. How can these analyses of the Super Girl phenomenon serve as an entry point for your understanding of more recent media events such as "Voice of China", "I am a Singer," and "Sing My Song"? Use quotes with page numbers to support your analyses. Due Wednesday April 23 by 10 pm, comments to two other responses due by 11:59 pm. I look forward to reading your final response for this semester!

Popular Cultural Icons response

Linsanity movie poster, caamedia.org

After being criticized during the May Fourth Movement and throughout the Maoist era, there is a revival of interest in Confucius in the past decades in China, with Yu Dan, a professor of communication from Beijing Normal University, as the contemporary spokeswoman for Confucius in the modern times. Read selection of Yu Dan's bestselling Confucius From the Heart with the article "Capitalizing the Big Man" in mind. What made Yu Dan and her  Confucius "pop icons," side by side with Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin (riding the tide of the Chinese craze over the NBA), in contemporary China? Please respond to the two readings with quotations from both (add page numbers) to illustrate your argument. Response due April 15 by 10 pm, comments to two other responses due by 11:59 pm.

"New Year Films" response

Please respond to Yomi Braester's article on "filmmaker as cultural broker" in relation to Shujen Wang's article on Big Shot's Funeral, as both focus on the popular cultural phenomenon of "New Year Films" and its best representative, director Feng Xiaogang. What does these articles inform us about commercial filmmaking in contemporary China? What interests you most in these articles? What makes least sense? Feel free to continue discussing some of the key issues raised in previous class sessions and previous readings. Use quotes with page numbers to document your sources and to support your arguments. Due Wednesday April 9 by 10 pm, comments to two other responses due by 11:59 pm. I look forward to reading your wonderful analyses!