Research Article

DOI :10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379 IUP :10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379 Full Text (PDF)

How past-present-future interconnect in China: CDramas as a tool of cultural governance and the possibility of a ‘Chinese wave’ in the case of GenZ

This article aims to identify the discursive practices of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) cultural governance through the GenZ series (2023) and examine how transnational audiences perceive the series. In this context, two different research analysis techniques are used in a coordinated manner. Thematic discourse analysis is employed to reveal the series’ discourse themes, and the netnographic research technique is applied to discuss the compatibility of audience reviews with the series’ discourse. The research questions are as follows: How do the series’ themes reproduce the Chinese government’s cultural governance? How do audiences on global streaming platforms interpret the discourses of the ‘Chinese Dream’1 and ‘rejuvenation’ subtly embedded in GenZ, and do transnational audiences develop an interest and curiosity towards China? Can these two reactions be understood as the potential of Chinese television dramas (CDramas) to create a ‘China Wave?’ This study finds that the series’s discursive themes align with President Xi Jinping’s two ideological discourses and the CCP’s cultural governance goals. As can be seen, the series’ contribution to China’s cultural governance policy is evident. However, its role as a soft power tool is limited because while transnational audiences are interested in Chinese dramas, their focus differs from that of Chinese audiences, which in this series are more interested in traditional Chinese medicine as a cultural heritage. Artistic quality and idol culture are not enough for CDramas to create a ‘Chinese Wave’ among transnational audiences, the nature of the government’s cultural governance policy needs to change first.

Keywords: Xi Jinping, Chinese wave, cultural governance, GenZ, CDramas, traditional Chinese medicine

DOI :10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379 IUP :10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379 Full Text (PDF)

Çin’de geçmiş-şimdi-gelecek nasıl kenetlenir? Kültürel yönetişim aracı olarak Çin dizileri ve GenZ dizisi örneğinden ‘Çin dalgası’nın olabilirliği

Sevda Ünal, Mutlu Binark

Bu makale, GenZ (2023) dizisi aracılığıyla Çin Komünist Partisi’nin (ÇKP) kültürel yönetişiminin söylemsel uygulamalarını tespit etmeyi ve ulusötesi izleyicilerin diziyi nasıl alımladığını incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu bağlamda, iki araştırma tekniği eşgüdümlü bir şekilde kullanılmıştır. GenZ dizisindeki söylem temalarını ortaya çıkarmak için tematik söylem analizi, izleyici değerlendirmelerinin dizinin söylemiyle uyumluluğunu tartışmak için ise netnografik araştırma tekniği kullanılmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında belirlenen araştırma soruları şöyledir: Dizinin temaları Çin hükümetinin kültürel yönetişimi ne şekilde üretmektedir? Küresel yayın platformlarındaki izleyiciler GenZ’ye incelikle yerleştirilen ‘Çin Rüyası’ ve ‘canlandırma’ söylemlerini nasıl yorumluyor ve ulusötesi izleyiciler Çin’e yönelik ilgi ve merak geliştiriyor mu? Bu ilgi ve merak, Çin dizileri bir ‘Çin Dalgası’ yaratma potansiyeli olarak anlaşılabilir mi? Çalışmanın bulguları, dizinin söylemsel temalarının Xi Jinping’in ‘Çin rüyası’ ve ‘canlandırma’ ideolojisi ve ÇKP’nin kültürel yönetişim hedefleriyle uyumlu olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Görüleceği üzere, dizinin Çin’in kültürel yönetişim politikasına katkısı aşikardır. Ancak, Çin hükümeti için bir yumuşak güç aracı olarak rolü sınırlıdır. Çin dizilerinin ulus ötesi izleyiciler arasında bir ‘Çin Dalgası’ yaratması için yalnızca sanatsal kalitesi ve idol kültür yeterli değildir. Öncelikle Çin hükümetinin kültürel yönetişim politikasının mahiyetinin değişmesi gereklidir.

Keywords: Xi Jinping, Çin dalgası, kültürel yönetişim, GenZ, Çin dizileri, geleneksel Çin tıbbı

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APA

Ünal, S., & Binark, M. (2024). How past-present-future interconnect in China: CDramas as a tool of cultural governance and the possibility of a ‘Chinese wave’ in the case of GenZ. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, 0(0), -. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379

AMA

Ünal S, Binark M. How past-present-future interconnect in China: CDramas as a tool of cultural governance and the possibility of a ‘Chinese wave’ in the case of GenZ. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. 2024;0(0):-. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379

ABNT

Ünal, S.; Binark, M. How past-present-future interconnect in China: CDramas as a tool of cultural governance and the possibility of a ‘Chinese wave’ in the case of GenZ. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, [Publisher Location], v. 0, n. 0, p. -, 2024.

Chicago: Author-Date Style

Ünal, Sevda, and Mutlu Binark. 2024. “How past-present-future interconnect in China: CDramas as a tool of cultural governance and the possibility of a ‘Chinese wave’ in the case of GenZ.” Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences 0, no. 0: -. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379

Chicago: Humanities Style

Ünal, Sevda, and Mutlu Binark. “How past-present-future interconnect in China: CDramas as a tool of cultural governance and the possibility of a ‘Chinese wave’ in the case of GenZ.” Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences 0, no. 0 (Dec. 2024): -. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379

Harvard: Australian Style

Ünal, S & Binark, M 2024, 'How past-present-future interconnect in China: CDramas as a tool of cultural governance and the possibility of a ‘Chinese wave’ in the case of GenZ', Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, vol. 0, no. 0, pp. -, viewed 22 Dec. 2024, https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379

Harvard: Author-Date Style

Ünal, S. and Binark, M. (2024) ‘How past-present-future interconnect in China: CDramas as a tool of cultural governance and the possibility of a ‘Chinese wave’ in the case of GenZ’, Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, 0(0), pp. -. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379 (22 Dec. 2024).

MLA

Ünal, Sevda, and Mutlu Binark. “How past-present-future interconnect in China: CDramas as a tool of cultural governance and the possibility of a ‘Chinese wave’ in the case of GenZ.” Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, vol. 0, no. 0, 2024, pp. -. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379

Vancouver

Ünal S, Binark M. How past-present-future interconnect in China: CDramas as a tool of cultural governance and the possibility of a ‘Chinese wave’ in the case of GenZ. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences [Internet]. 22 Dec. 2024 [cited 22 Dec. 2024];0(0):-. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379 doi: 10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379

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Ünal, Sevda - Binark, Mutlu. “How past-present-future interconnect in China: CDramas as a tool of cultural governance and the possibility of a ‘Chinese wave’ in the case of GenZ”. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences 0/0 (Dec. 2024): -. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2024-1519379

TIMELINE

Submitted	20.07.2024
Accepted	25.11.2024
Published Online	19.12.2024

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