Original title: Aesthetics as an Invisible Power: A Chronological Examination Based on Youth’s Cultural Consumption of Celebrities
Abstract As one of the most prevalent symbols in media culture, celebrity has an equally important influence on the aesthetic culture of society at large. Based on this, this study conducted in-depth interviews with 27 individuals from different generations, aiming to reveal the changes in the consumption of celebrity symbols by Chinese youth, and to explore the role of aesthetic power in this field. It is found that the changes in individuals’ aesthetic experiences not only reflect the ideologies and social disciplines of different eras, but also the process of consumers adjusting their aesthetics for greater exchange value. This paper asserts that the process of celebrity consumption is an intertwining of aesthetic change and fantasy overflow in reality, reflecting the complex aesthetic mechanisms and cultural dynamics in consumer society.
Keywords Aesthetics; celebrity culture; youth consumption; identity; social media
Introduction #
In recent years, with the rapid development of the entertainment industry, fan economy and Internet technology, the pattern of stargazing culture has been changing rapidly. From the early “stargazers” to today’ s “rice circle boys” and “rice circle girls”, chasing stars has gradually become a unique landscape in youth subculture. In August 2023, China’ s idol group TFBOYS’ “Ten Years’ Promise” concert was held at the Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Xi’ an, China. Afterwards, according to several netizens, many fans gathered outside the stadium in advance to show their support, a move that not only affected public order, but also caused some irrational fans to break the law by seizing positions. This paper focuses on this phenomenon, which in the age of social media is not only a fervent pursuit of individual stars, but also a complex cultural phenomenon that reflects the emotional needs and social habits of contemporary youth.
The rapid popularization of the Internet and the widespread use of social media have brought a high sense of participation and low sense of boundaries to star-chasing behavior, making the interaction between stars and fans closer. At the same time, young people’ s physical and mental development has not yet matured, which has led to some “misbehavior” in stargazing behavior, and even triggered some negative consequences, such as over-consumption, cyber-violence and social behavioral disorders. In contemporary China, celebrity culture has permeated all levels of society, and has had a significant impact on the values, behaviors and aspirations of individuals, especially young people. Celebrities are not only the spokespersons of entertainment products, but also the symbols of young people’s lifestyles and values. By imitating and following celebrities, young people are not only influenced in their consumption behavior, but also find support in their self-identity and sense of social belonging. However, the phenomenon of stargazing is not unique to mainland China in the 21st century. In fact, since 1978, after the release of “Sister Jiang” by Shanghai Film Studio and “Sister Xianglin” by State-run China, China’s celebrity culture has been on the rise, and has continued to change and evolve in the decades that followed. Yet, the bygone era does not seem to be different from the contemporary era of star chasing in the age of social media.
At the heart of stargazing culture lies a subtle but powerful aesthetic force. This force shapes the way we perceive and interact with the world around us. Aesthetics is not just about outward beauty and fashion, it is a deep-seated cultural force that influences people’s aesthetic standards and value judgments. Through fashion, aesthetic standards, social media images, and entertainment media, celebrity images are manifested in a variety of forms that have a profound impact on the consumption patterns of contemporary youth. Celebrities’ dress, behavior and even life attitudes invisibly guide young people’s consumption choices and lifestyles. As an important symbol of media culture, celebrities are also a complex and struggling contradiction. They can provide the means and power for ideological control, as well as resources and strategies for popular resistance and struggle, and become a field for pluralistic discourse writing. Star culture is not only a manifestation of commercial interests, but also an important field of social, cultural and political struggles. Through an in-depth study of celebrity culture, we can better understand the cultural dynamics of contemporary society and the development trend of youth subculture.
Based on these considerations, this study aims to explore the often-neglected role of aesthetics as an invisible force in the realm of celebrity culture, with a special focus on its influence on the consumption patterns of contemporary youth. Through qualitative analysis and theoretical frameworks drawn from sociology, cultural studies, and media studies, this study seeks to reveal the intrinsic dynamics that drive youth’ s fascination with the image of celebrity and the aesthetic ideals it represents. By delving into how aesthetics are manifested in fashion, beauty standards, social media images, and entertainment media, this study will reveal the complexity and diversity of youth participation in celebrity culture.
The celebrity as an aesthetic symbolism #
The celebrity image as a medium of symbolic interaction #
The idea of symbolic interactionism was first proposed by George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Cooley. Mead believed that human selves are social products, and that these selves are also purposeful and creative, and he believed that the true test of a theory is “usefulness in solving complex social problems.” Herbert George Blumer, a student and interpreter of Mead’s, first used the term “symbolic interaction”: the way people behave towards things is based on the meanings they already have, which derive from social interaction and are modified through interpretation (Blumer, 1986). He believed that “the most human and humanizing activity in which people engage is talking to each other.” According to Brummer, human groups are created by people, and only their actions among themselves define society. Brummer emphasizes that people act on things based on the meanings they make of those things, which are derived through social interaction. He argues that through interaction, individuals are able to “produce shared symbols by recognizing, arranging, and redefining them.” (Alver, & Caglar, 2015) That said, interaction is formed by the mutual exchange of interpretations, which is the basis of socialization. And celebrities, as public figures, become symbols that carry specific meanings that are negotiated and reinforced through media and fan interactions (Alperstein, 2019).
Goffman, on the other hand, analyzes social interaction as a theatrical performance, a theory that can be applied to celebrity images. Celebrities carefully manage their public image by playing roles that conform to social expectations and personal desires. Richard Dyer, for his part, in his groundbreaking 1979 book Stars, explored how stars are constructed through media texts (e.g., films, interviews, advertisements) and how their images embody and reflect social values and ideologies. Taken as a whole, stars serve as cultural symbols, symbolizing broader cultural narratives and values, reflecting and shaping social norms. They may represent beauty, success, rebellion or other cultural ideals. In terms of their impact on personal experience and social life, on the one hand, fans may identify with celebrities, finding personal meaning in their stories, struggles, and achievements, and this identification helps individuals make sense of their own lives through mediated experiences. On the other hand, celebrities may act as social connectors, bringing together communities of fans who share a common interest, often interacting symbolically to create a shared culture around their admiration.
Celebrity image and youth aesthetics and consumer mentality #
Currently, the research related to celebrities in the Western academic world presents two important dimensions in the path: one, the research in the economic perspective, and the other, the research in the cultural perspective. The former focuses on analyzing the role of stars as economic entities, including their commercial value, brand endorsement effect and their influence in the market (Agrawal & Kamakura, 1995). This type of research focuses on how stars drive consumption, influence product sales and market trends through their image and fame (Zamudio, 2016). The latter focuses on the analysis of the representation and interpretation of the significance of celebrities, encompassing the construction and dissemination of their public image and their function within society and culture (Andrews & Jackson, 2002) . This line of research examines the process by which celebrities evolve into cultural symbols, embodying and propagating social values, cultural concepts, and identities (Krieken, 2018).
The study of stars in the Western academic world began with the attention to the Hollywood star system, which was directly originated from the phenomenon that the Hollywood movie industry at that time had achieved the phenomenon of publicizing movies and gaining profits through the speculation of movie stars. After the publication of Richard Dyer’s book Stars in 1979, the academic study of stars was concentrated in the field of movies, focusing on the image of stars and the Hollywood star system (Dyer, 2019). Early studies also pointed out that the shaping of stars is not only about the media itself, but also points to the capital operation and business model attached behind the media. Dyer’s study argues that the textual focus and narrative structure of the media is skewed toward the star because of the significant economic value of the star, which is determined by a combination of capital, markets, etc. in the industry. Paul McDonald’s study of the Hollywood star system confirms the same conclusion, he pointed out in his book The Star System: Hollywood’s Production of Popular Identities that the star system is a means of realizing the commercial value of Hollywood, the star system exists on the basis of the image of the “marketability” , through the star in the media market of production, circulation and dissemination of the Hollywood film studios to complete commercialization. (McDonald, 2000)Through the production, circulation and dissemination of stars in the media market, Hollywood film studios complete the means of commercial operation and realize the economic value of stars. Since the 1990s, the academic discourse on stars in the West has become increasingly prosperous, and the enthusiasm of academics for the study of celebrities, stars, and the phenomenon of fame has become very obvious.
And from the Chinese context, Chinese star research mainly refers to the research since the 1980s, which closely follows the remarkable problems arising in reality and reflects distinctive Chinese characteristics. Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China’s cultural life has been revitalized and stars have re-entered the public’s view. From the beginning of the reform and opening-up period, Chinese star research has closely focused on the actual situation of the domestic star phenomenon, focusing on the analysis of the local cultural and social background rather than systematically borrowing from Western star research (Jeffreys, 2012). From the introduction of theories in the mid-to-late 1990s to the diversified development in recent years, Chinese star studies have been continuously enriched and improved, drawing on Western theoretical achievements and combining with local realities, providing valuable academic resources and theoretical support for understanding and analyzing the Chinese star phenomenon. These studies not only help to reveal the social and cultural roots of the phenomenon of stardom, but also provide an important theoretical basis for the development of popular culture and social management.
Research Methodology #
This paper generally adopts a qualitative research paradigm in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of mainland Chinese youth’ s consumption of celebrity culture and its relationship with aesthetics. Given the historical perspective of this paper, 27 stargazers from the 1960s to the early 21st century generation in mainland China were invited to conduct in-depth interviews. These interviewees come from different social backgrounds and regions and are able to provide diverse perspectives and experiences. The interviews will explore their perceptions, attitudes and behaviors towards celebrity culture and aesthetics when they were in their youth. The main questions of the interviews include, but are not limited to: (1) Star-chasing experience: when did you first come into contact with celebrity culture? Through what media? How did the image of celebrities at that time influence your lifestyle and values? (2) Changes in aesthetic standards: What do you think were the popular aesthetic standards of celebrities during your youth? How did these standards influence your personal aesthetic and fashion choices? (3) Star-chasing behavior and social background: What specific behaviors did you engage in during the star-chasing process (e.g., buying albums, attending concerts, collecting posters, etc.)? Did the social background at that time (e.g., economic conditions, political environment) influence your stargazing behavior? (4) Generational comparison: How do you view the stargazing behavior and aesthetic standards of contemporary young people? What do you think are the main changes in the present stargazing culture compared to the past? The interviews lasted from April-July 2024, totaling 24 hours.
For the analysis of the empirical material, this study will take a Thematic Analysis informed by Grounded Theory approach with the help of MAXQDA software, which is commonly used in qualitative research in various disciplines, but the first time that the approach as a concept has been discussed in detail and systematically was in 2024 in the Qualitative Research in Psychology. Thematic analysis is a qualitative research method that can be applied to a wide range of epistemological and research questions (O’ Callaghan, Dwyer & Schofield, 2024). It is a method for identifying, analyzing, organizing, describing, and reporting themes found in a data set (Braun & Clarke, 2015). While thematic analysis is flexible compared to other methods, this flexibility can also lead to a lack of coherence in the themes extracted (Holloway, & Todres, 2003) . With this in mind, in the specific process of thematic analysis, this study will incorporate a grounded-theory approach that includes an ongoing comparative, inductive-based, and iterative analytical methodology guided by the research questions, as well as an effort to be open to subtle meanings in the data and to honor them in the analysis in order to compensate for the shortcomings of thematic analysis. In this paper, we will refer to both Lincoln & Guba’ s plausibility criterion and Nowell, Norris, White & Moules’ test steps, which begin with a thematic analysis of a separate dataset using three levels of thematic coding, followed by a comparative analysis of the thematic results (and their categories, codes, and data) to derive higher-order categories, and then a comparative analysis of higher-order categories to derive higher-order themes (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Nowell, Norris & White, 2017).
Research Findings #
Celebrities carry popular desires and needs #
Since the 1920s, the foundations of a consumer culture have gradually taken shape as new media, such as movies, tabloids, popular magazines, and radio, promoted leisure lifestyles and propagated new norms and standards of behavior. Advertising became the guardian of a new morality that drew people to participate in the consumption of goods and experiences once confined to the upper classes - albeit in scaled-down versions, but rich in images that soon transcended the actual attributes of consumer goods. Images of youth, beauty, luxury, and affluence loosely associated with commodities awakened long-suppressed desires and reminded people that there was room for self-improvement in all aspects of life (Featherstone, 1982). In postmodern society, the image of a star is not only a personal image, but also a symbolic symbol that has been carefully packaged and commercialized. This symbolic symbol is constantly amplified and idealized through media communication, creating a phantom freshness. Each celebrity image is planned, marketed and promoted by a team, and is endowed with charms and qualities that transcend reality. For example, through social media, fashion magazines and advertisements, the lives of celebrities are presented as glamorous and glamorous, and this idealized image brings a phantasmagorical freshness to people.
In the aesthetic concept of postmodernism, the boundary between reality and fantasy becomes blurred, and surreal beauty becomes an important pursuit. The image of stars is a typical representative of this surreal beauty. Through make-up, costumes, special effects and digital technology, the star image is made into a flawless, almost superhuman existence. This surreal beauty not only satisfies young consumers’ pursuit of perfection and ideals, but also inspires their fervent pursuit of celebrities. By following the stars, young people are able to find a touch of fantasy and escapism in their ordinary lives. When asked, “When did you start chasing stars?” and “Under what circumstances do you chase stars more frequently?”, as interviewee 5 mentioned, “SNH’s talk is about the stage, but their stage doesn’ t have a special attraction. A special attraction, that is, although they said that they saw the stage at the very beginning, but it is that their level of singing and dancing is honestly quite substandard, it is probably just a pretty woman singing and dancing up there, but her level of singing and dancing is far below that line that should normally be reached by an artist, she can only be said to be quite okay within the idol.”
In postmodern society, celebrity images are commercialized and become an important part of consumer culture. Enterprises and brands bundle star images with commodities through cooperation with stars, utilizing the influence of stars to promote commodity sales. For example, cosmetics, clothing or electronic products endorsed by a star tend to be popular among fans because of the star’ s image. For example, a fan born in 1998 said that if a commodity he needed happened to be endorsed by his favorite star, then he would choose the brand endorsed by his favorite star; if it happened that that star would be live broadcasting for that commodity, then he would choose to buy it directly, rather than through offline channels or online official channels. It can be seen that this commercial operation not only promotes the sales of goods, but also further strengthens the symbolic value of the star image. Young people’ s celebrity consumption is closely related to postmodernist aesthetics. In postmodernist aesthetics, symbols and images replace traditional authenticity and depth as the main aesthetic objects. Young people participate in this process of symbolic consumption by consuming images of stars and related products. In the eyes of some fans, they are not only buying a commodity, but also a lifestyle and an aesthetic ideal. As a symbol of surreal beauty, the image of a star satisfies their needs for individuality, fashion and identity, forming a strong cultural resonance.
Stargazing also carries people’ s desire for spiritual support and emotional dependence, and the desire for “emptiness” sometimes refers to a spiritual home or alternative. Many studies have shown that the phenomenon of stargazing reflects the inner emptiness and confusion of some people. They fill the gap in their hearts by chasing stars, looking for spiritual support and emotional dependence. This behavior is not only a simple love for the stars, but also a kind of psychological and emotional needs of the externalization of the performance. However, attempting to shift the emptiness through star chasing often does not work and even has the opposite effect. For example, interviewee 14 mentions, “It’s like when that sea water rises, you don’ t feel anything when you speak about it, and then when it ebbs you realize that nothing is left, and I just feel like it’ s fighting one kind of emptiness against another kind of emptiness, and then in the end he’ s bound to end up with nothing left, and that’ s one of my personal experiences.” This experience reveals a deep sense of emptiness in the process of stargazing and the void left behind after the climax. In modern society, with the weakening of traditional beliefs and social bonds, many people lose their clear spiritual home and turn to seek new emotional support and identity. As public figures, celebrities, through their unique image and influence, have become the object of many people’ s spiritual support. This kind of support not only provides temporary psychological comfort, but also to a certain extent satisfies their need for self-identification and sense of belonging.
Complicity between the star image and the media #
First of all, stars are manufactured. The creation of the phenomenon of stardom is closely related to media manufacturing and media systems. By publicizing, reporting and promoting the image of stars, the media not only shape the social status of stars, but also reflect the public’ s desire needs and consumer psychology.
During the golden age of star-making, the media propaganda tool became an auxiliary industry surrounding the movie. In the early days of New China, the film industry was subject to centralized management and state-run operation as an important tool of national ideology and cultural education. Media propaganda played a crucial role in this period, not only promoting movie works, but also shaping the image of stars and reinforcing its function in political propaganda and education. Stars were seen as representatives of literary and artistic endeavors, and their public images and works were used to spread socialist values and positive social messages. Among our interviewees, fewer of them mentioned this stage of stargazing. It is more inclined to the stage of marketization, with the advancement of marketization, China’ s celebrity industry has experienced significant changes, and while marketization and independence have increased, the loose management of the market of stargazing in this period reflects the frequent occurrence of Internet security governance problems, and the gap between the public’ s expectations and the reality is widened. For example, interviewee 5 mentions, “When I once expressed my disagreement with another fan, he even “boxed” me immediately (referring to the use of illegal channels to obtain other people’s information). And the other person is just a 15-year-old kid, there is no law that can be sanctioned.” In the age of social media, the Internet and ChatGPT have become the main media resources, and the “rise” and “fall” of celebrities are also very much influenced by platform capitalism. In the process of changing media production subjects, celebrities gradually become the carrier of social ideology, and their images and behaviors become the object of imitation and worship by the public.
The media’ s promotional strategies have made celebrity symbols ubiquitous, pervading the public’ s daily consumption and spreading popular fashion messages. The audience plays a key role in the shaping of celebrity images. Their aesthetic choices, interesting hobbies and value orientations in entertainment consumption are inseparable from the star image created by the media. The audience’ s intoxication and obsession become the psychological premise of star worship, and also the real soil of star creation. Media through the audience’ s wide acceptance and obsession, created entertainment stars, the image of these stars and works have become the public aesthetic “totem”. The media’ s packaging and promotion of celebrity images is also a commercial strategy. Through careful planning and design, stars are molded into important image symbols of works or programs, thus attracting more audiences, especially consolidating relatively fixed audience groups. This process of “star-making” is not only to meet the needs of content production, but also to gain more audience attention and increase ratings or viewership. In this process, the bodies and sexuality of celebrities are commodified and consumed, becoming part of media culture. And the transition from production to the consumption of celebrities link, the creation and persistence of the celebrity phenomenon also reflects the contemporary society’ s demand for entertainment and consumption. Celebrities have become a way for the public to obtain satisfaction, and their images and stories fulfill the public’ s illusory expectations of a world of surreal beauty. By portraying celebrities, the media guides and shapes the aesthetics of youth, making celebrity symbols part of their daily lives. This influence is not only reflected in the cultural level, but also deeply penetrates into all aspects of the economy and society, forming a consumer culture with strong colors of the times.
Celebrity image is not only a manifestation of the “personal charm” of celebrities, but also a result of the communication carefully constructed by the media and the cultural industry. Through a variety of channels such as movies, TV dramas, music, advertisements and social media, celebrity images are widely disseminated and deeply rooted in the public’ s daily life. These images usually include unique physical features, fashion styles, lifestyles, and personal values and attitudes. In following celebrity images, young consumers often express their individuality and pursue fashion by imitating and borrowing from celebrities’ styles. As a kind of cultural capital, celebrity image has an important influence on the consumption behavior of young consumers. By consuming products and brands associated with celebrities, young people not only satisfy their pursuit of fashion and individuality, but also acquire a symbolic cultural capital. Brands and products endorsed by celebrities often attract large numbers of young consumers. For example, the sales of cosmetics, clothing or electronic products endorsed by a certain celebrity often increase dramatically due to the star’ s influence. When young people buy these products, in addition to the practical value and the admiration for their fans, they do so in order to gain aesthetic taste and social recognition similar to that of the star, as well as to accumulate cultural capital in the virtual space. For example, Interviewee 18 said, “When I buy TFBOYS (Chinese youth idol boy group) peripherals and participate in online support activities, they are able to make me feel deeply connected to them (referring to the idols), and it seems like I share the same preferences as they do.” This cultural capital is not only reflected in their consumer product status, but also in their social circle and social influence. For example, one interviewee, born in 1992, said that by sharing her celebrity-related experiences and products in Weibo super topics, she could gain more attention and likes from her fellow fans, thus enhancing her social status and influence.
The inter-embedding of star image and youth aesthetics #
Since the 1980s (for those born in the 1960s, who mainly chased stars in their youth), the aesthetic orientation of mainland China’ s group of stargazers has gradually shifted from mainstream culture, to elite aesthetics and then to popular culture, which corresponds to the 1970s-80s, the 1990s, and the early 21st century, respectively. In the first stage, it is mainly reflected in the rise of movie stars, which reflects the influence of party media ideology. In this stage, aesthetics as an invisible power spread the ideology of the party media through the images and works of movie stars, shaping the values and aesthetics of the youth. In the second stage, with the manipulation of commercialized and market-oriented mass media propaganda and industry, the aesthetic concepts of youth began to be influenced by marketization. Aesthetics as an invisible power comes into play in this stage, as the media shapes the image of celebrities through propaganda and manipulation, influencing the youth’ s logic of consumption of celebrities and closely linking the image of celebrities with commodification. In the third stage, under the framework of neoliberal discourse, youth’ s fan culture presents a new propaganda discourse. Aesthetics as a kind of invisible power further plays a role in this stage, and youth fans form a new propaganda mode by displaying and spreading their love for stars through social media. At the same time, the neoliberal discourse emphasizes individual freedom and the right to choose, influencing the consumer behavior and aesthetic trends of youth.
Through interviews, this paper finds that the phenomenon of celebrity is a public demand. Raymond Dugnet once said, “The star is such a reflection from which the public speculates in order to adjust its own image.” Star status is constructed not only in the movie itself, but in the larger field of popular culture. “As an actor’ s image reflected in the mirror of popular culture, star status further renders the actor’ s image on which he/she is based and rewrites that persona in some recognizable way.” In other words, stardom caters to the public’ s need for a particular image at a particular time. In other words, “Stars act as if they were barometers of various social cultures, expressing the peculiar fears, desires, anxieties, and dreams that haunt popular consciousness, and giving symbolic answers.” China’ s star system provided audiences of all ages, social classes, and personalities at the time with ideal screen models for real people to live an ideal life of their own. For example, the 20th interviewee, who was born in 1968, said that in the 1980s, stars such as Leslie Cheung and Brigitte Lin became not only icons on the screen, but also role models and spiritual supports in the hearts of young people of that era. Over time, the phenomenon of celebrity has evolved to create a specific sense of belonging to a group. The phenomenon of celebrity also inevitably creates a sense of group belonging. In particular, the stars of anti-mainstream culture since the 1960s and 1970s have been of extraordinary significance to the subcultural groups that resisted the mainstream culture. By confronting the mainstream culture, these stars offer the possibility of assimilating and sharing with it a range of symbols, values, personal perceptions and even behaviors. For example, the rise of rocker Cui Jian in the 1990s was not only a musical success, but also a symbol of the subcultural group’ s confrontation with mainstream culture. By identifying with and imitating these stars, subcultural groups found their own identity and sense of belonging, and increased their confidence and power to fight against mainstream culture. Assimilating with stars and sharing a series of symbols, values, personal concepts and even behaviors with them undoubtedly provides a possibility for this group to resist mainstream culture.
It can be seen that the construction and dissemination of celebrity images is a complex process involving the joint action of multiple forces. Through careful planning and packaging, the media and the cultural industry shape celebrity images into symbols that meet the public’ s aesthetics and needs. These symbols are not only visually attractive, but also resonate with young consumers in terms of emotions and values. The media plays an important role in guiding and shaping youth aesthetics in the process of publicizing, reporting and promoting celebrity images. Through entertainment news, interviews, reality TV programs and other forms, the media display celebrities’ lifestyles, fashion tastes and personal charms, which makes celebrities’ aesthetic standards gradually accepted and imitated by young people. With the rise of social media, the dissemination of celebrity images has become more widespread and instantaneous. Through social media platforms, young people pay attention to celebrity news, share celebrity content, and participate in discussions and interactions in real time. This high-frequency, highly interactive communication makes star symbols ubiquitous and deeply embedded in young people’ s daily lives, further guiding and shaping their aesthetic views.
Conclusion #
Since the 1980s, the aesthetic orientation of stargazing groups in mainland China has experienced a shift from mainstream culture and elite aesthetics to popular culture. This change reflects the evolution of society and culture and the changing needs of youth groups. Through media publicity, reporting and promotion, the star phenomenon, as a public demand, not only guides and shapes young people’ s aesthetics, but also floods their daily life space with star symbols, forming a specific sense of group belonging. The development of the celebrity phenomenon in China not only provides ideal screen models for various groups, but also offers subcultural groups the possibility to fight against mainstream culture. Understanding this phenomenon helps us to explore the complexity of cultural and aesthetic trends in contemporary China. Chinese youth’s consumption of celebrity culture has undergone a transformation from political ideology to marketization to individualization, in which aesthetics, as an invisible power, plays an important role. This process reflects the development and change of Chinese society and economy, and also shows the diversified needs and individualized pursuit of cultural consumption by youth groups. Chinese youth’ s consumption of celebrity culture has gone through three stages, while aesthetics as a kind of invisible power plays an important role in it: in the first stage, it is mainly embodied in the rise of movie stars, which refracts the influence of party media ideology. In this stage, aesthetics as a kind of invisible power spreads the ideology of the party media through the images and works of movie stars, shaping the values and aesthetics of the youth. In the second stage, with the manipulation of commercialized and market-oriented mass media propaganda and industry, the aesthetic concepts of youth began to be influenced by marketization. Aesthetics as an invisible power comes into play in this stage, as the media shapes the image of celebrities through propaganda and manipulation, influencing the youth’ s logic of consumption of celebrities and closely linking the image of celebrities with commodification. In the third stage, under the framework of neoliberal discourse, youth’ s fan culture presents a new propaganda discourse. Aesthetics as a kind of invisible power further plays a role in this stage, and youth fans form a new propaganda mode by displaying and spreading their love for stars through social media. At the same time, the neoliberal discourse emphasizes individual freedom and the right to choose, influencing the consumer behavior and aesthetic trends of youth.
Discussion #
Based on the above discussion, this paper derives the following idea: aesthetics not only exists in the entertainment industry, but also plays an important role in other platforms and mechanisms. The formation of the entertainment industry and fan culture under this technological architecture exploits values and cultivates aesthetics, forming a complex intertwined relationship between technology and culture. The formation of aesthetics is influenced by the culture of the audience, the logic of compounding, and the entertainment industry. The aesthetics of youth is not just a taste, but reflects the synthesis of the social environment and cultural context in which they live. In contemporary society, youth aesthetics also has an attribute of power. In a platformized society, the mud-like aesthetics will counteract the entertainment industry, gradually counteracting upwards from the bottom. The aesthetic logic and power of youth and fan groups shape the direction and shape of the entertainment industry to some extent.
The mass production and consumption of stars in the current Chinese context is an inevitable product of the market-oriented media, the era of the entertainment economy, and global consumerism. As the process of marketization continues to deepen, and the status of entertainment in the media industry continues to increase, it is conceivable that the future production of stars in the media and the consumption of stars by the public will only intensify. By analyzing the collusion and struggle between the production of stars in the mass media, the text of stars, and the consumption of stars by the public, and by gaining insight into the hidden practices of power and pluralistic influences, we can at least have a clearer understanding of the present and future of China’ s media culture, even though we cannot change the rolling torrent of history.
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#-filmLast modified on 2023-03-12