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Full-Text Articles in Critical and Cultural Studies

Global Production, Circulation, And Consumption Of Gangnam Style, Sookeung Jung, Hongmei Li Jan 2014

Global Production, Circulation, And Consumption Of Gangnam Style, Sookeung Jung, Hongmei Li

Hongmei Li

This essay examines the cultural production, circulation, and consumption of the Korean music video Gangnam Style in the broader context of globalization. We conduct a chronological analysis of its distribution, production, and reproduction on YouTube, focusing on the interactions between traditional and new players in reinforcing and creating new meanings. We argue that the phenomenal success of Gangnam Style is due to the dynamic interplay of traditional and new media outlets, the active participation of global audiences, the video’s spreadable hooks, a laissez-faire copyright policy, and the musician PSY’s marketing strategies.


The Gendered Performance At The Beijing Olympics: The Construction Of Olympic Misses And Cheerleaders, Hongmei Li Jan 2011

The Gendered Performance At The Beijing Olympics: The Construction Of Olympic Misses And Cheerleaders, Hongmei Li

Hongmei Li

This article analyzes the gendered performance at the Beijing Olympics by looking at the elite cheerleaders and Olympic misses, including medal and country presenters at the Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies. Drawing upon participant observation, unstructured interviews, media reports, and blogs, this article argues that the paradoxical construction of Chinese women stands for the broader context of Chinese modernity. The seeming paradoxes of tradition and modernity, and Oriental femininity and Occidental sexuality perpetuate old and produce new gender politics in China. The internally contradictory hybrid representation of gender in contemporary China contributes to feminist communication theory by illustrating …


Marketing Japanese Products In The Context Of Chinese Nationalism, Hongmei Li Dec 2009

Marketing Japanese Products In The Context Of Chinese Nationalism, Hongmei Li

Hongmei Li

This paper examines the rise of consumer nationalism in China through an in-depth analysis of two recent controversial Japanese ad campaigns. I situate the analysis in the sociopolitical and cultural contexts of contemporary China. I argue that Japanese producers shoulder a particular burden of history as expressed in consumer nationalism, which is a combination of the production and reproduction of Japanese imperial history, the construction of Chinese identity, the expression of dissatisfaction toward the Chinese government and consumerist ethos in the context of globalization. The Internet has become a crucial space that organizes Chinese consumer nationalism and enables consumers to …