The socialization of nationalist and socialist values: Construction of the model youth in a Chinese reality TV show
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-1-2024
Abstract
Commenting on the future development of China, President Xi Jinping said, `China's children today are not only undergoing and witnessing the realization of the country's first centenary goal, they are also a new force for achieving the second centenary goal and building China into a great modern socialist country.' This statement reflects a socially shared belief that Chinese children and youth are expected to shoulder the responsibility of nation-building. This study explores how the ideology of nationalism is disseminated through the popular Chinese reality TV show, X-Change, via the legitimation of the model Chinese youth. Using Rowan Mackay's multimodal legitimation framework to analyse six episodes from Season 18 of X-Change, this article explores how the model Chinese youth is semiotically constructed and legitimized. Findings from the analysis reveal how the model Chinese youth represents a specific normalized national identity. This is promoted through the embodiment of the urban-rural binary by the show's main characters and the representation of the exchange journey as the inner transformation of `problematic' citizens.
Keywords
legitimation, rural-urban divide, reality TV, multimodal discourse analysis, nationalism
Divisions
FLL,universiti
Publication Title
China Information
Volume
38
Issue
3
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Publisher Location
2455 TELLER RD, THOUSAND OAKS, CA 91320 USA