Maybe you have heard of "rice circle culture", "danmei" or "feminine beauty"? Recently, the Chinese entertainment circle has been in turmoil, which has attracted global attention. On October 6, the China Development Association of the University of Sydney invited three guests to hold the first China Talk in the second half of 2021. Affected by the epidemic, this China Talk is still held online. Jennifer Hsu, a researcher from the Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program of the Lowy Institute, served as the moderator of the forum, and invited speakers: Graeme Smith, a researcher at the School of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, and Jiang Yun, an internal reference editor of "China Stories", worked on this topic A series of academic discussions were held, and the questions raised by the participants of the forum were answered.

 

The Chinese entertainment industry seems to have been in a state of confusion in recent years. In an era dominated by information and traffic, this state is gradually evolving into a confusion of confusion and numbness. For example, the "anti-criminal" in the "fan circle", the normalization of "doing data", the exit of "Danmei" novels and their TV series adaptations, changes in the aesthetic trend of artists' appearance and temperament, and frequent violations of the law and morality of artists. At the same time, the "Qinglang 'fan circle' chaos rectification" action launched by the regulatory authorities expressed the country's determination to intervene in various irregularities in the current entertainment industry. How should we understand these phenomena and the social connotations behind them? What new changes will the strong social reaction and the intervention of the regulatory authorities bring?

It is far from enough to rashly classify these new phenomena as "fandom in the fan circle", "deep water in the entertainment circle" or the more popular one at the moment - "the power of capital". A better way should be to deconstruct. The essential identity of people in the "circle" is social citizens, and information and public opinion are not limited by the scope of the "circle". If these phenomena are viewed in a complete social context, a more complete perspective may be obtained. Therefore, we can rethink the relationship between these new phenomena and Chinese society: Is the entertainment circle the epitome of Chinese society, or does it reflect the development trend of Chinese society to a certain extent? The two influence each other, will the result be more positive or negative? This China Talk will conduct in-depth discussions on these issues, hoping to think about the significance and impact of new phenomena in the entertainment industry from a new perspective.