China Media Centre

China Media Centre 2013 Spring Seminar

ONLINE GAMING ADDICTS’ WAR

Understanding Online Youth Discourse in China

Speaker: Dr Yuntao Zhang

Chair: Professor Hugo de Burgh

Date: Tuesday 5^th March 2013

Time: 1:30pm-3pm

Venue: A7.3, Harrow Campus, University of Westminster

OPEN TO ALL

Abstract

In this seminar, I will explore the attitudes of young Chinese netizens towards the state through a case study of the online ‘e’gao’ film (machinema), ‘Online Gaming Addicts’ War’. The ‘Online Gaming Addicts’ War’ – was an ironic but none the less provocative response to the Chinese government’s online censorship policies and broader issues of political corruption.  It demonstrates the post-80s generation’s grass-roots spontaneity and defiance of authority, as expressed in the emergence of this ‘spoofing’ subculture. The talk aims to understand how spoofing culture discourses emerged and developed within the contradictory cultural context of the new market economy and the continuing authoritarian state. It concludes with some reflections on the implications of this case for the broader issue of political change in China.

Dr. Yuntao Zhang is lecturer in Cultural and Media Studies in the School of Arts and Humanities, Nottingham Trent University, UK. She is the author of The Origins of the Modern Chinese Press (2007: Routledge) and of several other articles on Chinese media and culture.  She is currently researching into the cultural dimensions of new media technologies and practices in contemporary China.

More about China Media Centre and seminars see http://chinamediacentre.org. If you have any queries about CMC events, please contact Hong Li at hong.li@my.westminster.ac.uk

Yang Qing–Communication University of China

Before I start this article, firstly I want to show my appreciation to both the University of Westminster and Communication University of China for giving me the chance to visit and study in London. Since the Olympic Game was held in London, it was really once in a blue moon chance to experience the event in the exotic border.

The 21-day visit to London had come to an end, but never would its impact on me. Sipping a cup of English tea, strolling along the Thames in the afternoon, I soon fell in love with London for its rich culture and profound history. My perception of London also grew as I explored more in the city.  

The cruise to the Greenwich began to sail on the Thames. There was no trace of the heavy smoke emitted from the chimney. Way ahead Tower Bridge shed huge shadow onto the river silhouetted against the sunset. To my surprise, many high-rise apartments or skyscrapers did not dominate the city as I used to expect. Instead, it retained more tranquil path flanked by European-style houses and quaint cafés. And I knew so well that British people must be proud of their royal culture, as the glory of the well-preserved Tower of London never faded away. Exquisite posters and advertisement of dramas, plays, exhibition could always find their way on the tube station wall, and one of them even led me to the fascinating The Phantom of the Opera. And that Taming of the Shrew played in the Shakespeare’s Globe survived hundreds of years seemed to tell me something. As I wandered around the corner at the Millennium Bridge, I saw a man strike up a tune at the street piano. All of a sudden, the picture above explained everything — that London, with its confidence, was willing to give up modernity but retain its classics and tradition.

“Cultural mosaic” was the phrase struck in my mind when I got along with the people here. People seemed to blend in quite well because London preserved the individuality of cultures. I heard songs played by Mexican street performer flow through the Metropolitan line. I threaded my way through the Trafalgar Square on the “Canadian Day”. I even got a bit confused when the waitress with a Polish accent explained to me which fish and chips tasted best. Racial diversity was not a problem here, for London was a tolerant city.

Yet, what impressed me most was London’s great courage to reposition itself in the international arena.

Great Britain was always a trendsetter in its past glory. Shakespeare made enormous influence on world literature; Glorious Revolution marked the advent of modern democracy; Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nation established the foundation of economics; Industrial Revolution accelerated social productivity. All these had tremendously changed the world we lived in. However, no longer was “the Sun Never Sets”. After Great Britain had reached a peak of colonization, it soon plummeted to the worst after the Second World War. Then it was steered back to revival in times of Margaret Thatcher, and flourished under the political manifesto of “New Labor, New life for Britain”, a slogan for repositioning Great Britain by Prime Minster Tony Blair. But today, London, as the capital of Great Britain, is eager to have a new image at the world stage more than ever.

Although Great Britain is undergoing a tough time now due to the Europe debt crisis, the Shard, the highest building in Europe, erected in the south bank of the Thames, was revealed to the world as a sign of British government’s determination to play a more significant role in global affairs. And I was so lucky to be right there on July 5, 2012 to witness the Shard’s inauguration. At this historical moment, under the splendid light show, I was standing by the Thames, among throngs of reporters, cameramen and the exciting crowd.

London still caught my eye and attracted world attention after I flew back to China. Without any doubt, the 2012 London Olympic was not only a party to inspire a generation but a fresh start as well. A great empire falls, but rises with confidence, tolerance and courage, a small but young nation.

The city of London was so awe-inspiring that I could not help captivating the best moments with my own camera. Thanks to the courses in Westminster University, we were able to compile them together. In general, the three-week studying was tough yet exciting, painstaking yet fulfilling.

I had never thought of producing a short video within four and a half days, from planning to shooting, then to editing, especially for me as a novice who had never undertaken one task. But in a group of four, we did it awesome.

Before we embarked on the task, our dear teacher Deborah gave plenty of advice on the details. London on the Move traced “London” by each letter. As a result, we searched every element in the city that greatly represented London. In order to be efficient, we chose the suitable sites and predicted numerous obstacles we would face before hand. In the end, we decided that “L” stood for the shape of the handle of the umbrella; “O” stood for the sign of the underground; “N” for newspaper; “D” for wildlife; another “O” for coffee and “N” for nationality. The video was finally presented in the form of a travelogue of a girl. When combined, L O N D O N constituted a whole picture of the city’s weather, transportation, journalism, ecological environment, leisure and racial diversity, which I thought, perfectly embodied the city’s features. During the workshop, it made me realize that what counted most was not the originality of the topic, but the novelty with which the ideas were presented. When the video was shown, a sense of success and satisfaction made it worth all the toil and trouble.

With the camera held in my hand, I lingered over the Thames until the last ray of sunlight disappeared from sight, trying to fully record the views. However, even the high-definition camera failed to do it, because the city of London required our hearts, rather than our eyes, to discover, to perceive and to savor its glamor.

21 days was far from enough to get the whole picture of London. But I really loved this program for the reason that it was a combination of in-class participation and out-class practice. The memory of this trip will never discolor with the charm of the city and its people.

In 2012, China Media Centre continued to further its cooperation with the Chinese government at various levels and media organizations as well as academic institutions. It provided a total of 12courses for the above organizations including China’s Ministry of Defence, Beijing Municipal Government, Zhejiang Provincial Government, Shanghai Media Group, Tianjin Media Group, State Information Office, China Communication University, Ministry of Public Security, Guangzhou Municipal Government, Shenzhen Municipal Government, General Administration of Press and Publication, Wuhan Municipal Government and three summer school courses for media undergraduates from China’s top universities. All these projects turned out to be a great success. Not only have them promoted University of Westminster in China, they also help enhance the mutual understanding between UK and China.

In 2013, China Media Centre will continue its efforts to serve as the bridge between the two countries. At the moment, we have received requests from quite a number of Chinese organisations who want to send more delegations to our courses. Among them, many of them are our old clients who want to come back again for our high-quality courses and also new clients such as Shandong Media Group, Shenzhen Newspaper Group, Jiangsu Media Group, etc.

China Media Centre 2012 Autumn Seminar

Making the Voice Heard: CCTV Expansion Abroad

Speaker: Dr Si Si

Chair: Professor Hugo de Burgh

Date: Monday 3^rd December 2012

Time: 1pm-3pm

Venue: A7.4, Harrow Campus

OPEN TO ALL

Abstract

This is an ongoing research project, in this presentation: Dr. Si Si will first lay out CCTV coverage rate and current issues out of China. She will then draw upon the main overseas strategies of CCTV. It is the official destination of CCTV overseas part to broadcast news and programmes and to build Soft Power of China. However, based on some interviews and reports from western world, she will present the debates regarding the destination of CCTV expansion abroad. Dr. Si Si will conclude with a few thoughts on both CCTV overseas expansion issues and the state-owned television broadcaster.

Dr. Si Si is currently a visiting academic fellow at Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford. She is an assistant professor in Media Management and Economics at China Conservatory, Arts Management Department. She is also a research fellow of Media Management & Transformation Center – East Asia Institute (MMTC-EA), Jonkoping University & Tsinghua University. She holds a PhD degree in media economics both from Communication University of China and Case Western Reserve University in the US.

She was a director of editorial department at China Business Update (2005-2008), a journal published by the Ministry of Commerce of China. From 2008-2009 she was a journalist of USA Sino News, covered all home court games of Cleveland Cavaliers 08-09 NBA season in the US.

Dr. Si Si is now leading one of a Key Projects of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education: ‘The Research on Media Industry Cluster in Beijing’. During her visiting at RISJ, she will research on CCTV expansion strategies in Europe. Her research interests are media economics, media cluster, media strategies and revenue in the context of television and new media.

More about China Media Centre and seminars see http://chinamediacentre.org. If you have any queries about CMC events, please contact Hong Li at hong.li@my.westminster.ac.uk