Title
Digitized parody : the politics of egao in contemporary China
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
China Information
Publication Date
3-2010
Volume
24
Issue
1
First Page
3
Last Page
26
Publisher
Sage Publications Ltd.
Abstract
This article investigates egao—technology-enabled online parody in contemporary China. Egao is a site where issues of power struggle, class reconsolidation, social stratification, (online) community formation, and cultural intervention, along with the transformative power of digital technologies, intersect. Through an analysis of Hu Ge’s “The Bloody Case of a Steamed Bun,” we argue that egao provides an alternative locus of power, permitting the transgression of existing social and cultural hierarchies. Satiric and ludicrous in nature, egao playfully subverts a range of authoritative discourses and provides a vehicle for both comic criticism and emotional catharsis. As an individualized form of expression of the new digital generation, it also offers insight into the collective attitudes of the new class of netizens.
DOI
10.1177/0920203X09350249
Print ISSN
0920203X
E-ISSN
1741590X
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2010 by SAGE Publications. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Gong, H. & Yang, X. (2010). Digitized parody: The politics of egao in contemporary China. China Information, 24(1), 3-26. doi: 10.1177/0920203X09350249
