Gendering national sacrifices: the making of new heroines in China's counter-COVID-19 TV series. (Special Issue: Centering women on post-2010 Chinese TV.)
Communication, Culture & Critique
; 15(3):372-392, 2022.
Article
in English
| CAB Abstracts | ID: covidwho-2051324
ABSTRACT
From February 2020 to the end of 2021, China's state-controlled media focused on creating its "victorious" narrative of combating the COVID-19 pandemic. This article focuses on two high-profile and COVID-19-themed TV series that aim to rewrite the collective memories of the Wuhan lockdown as part of state's affective governance strategies. Using a feminist textual analysis, the article examines the gendered nature of state narratives by dissecting the representation of national heroines of the pandemic. It demonstrates the centrality of heterosexual families and gender performances in romanticizing individual sacrifices and mass suffering. Unlike the socialist-era role models, the personal weakness and emotional flaws of China's new heroines are tactically displayed to enhance emotional authenticity and resonate with contemporary audiences. Yet these state narratives reflect only stereotypical depictions of femininity within a hierarchical gender order in post-reform China, where moralized womanhood is imbued with a sacrificial attitude that serves to discipline China's female citizens.
Social Psychology and Social Anthropology [UU485]; Women [UU500]; Policy and Planning [EE120]; Arts, Entertainment and Cultural Heritage [UU630]; Leisure, Recreation and Tourism Economics [EE119]; gender relations; coronavirus disease 2019; television; shows; mass media; entertainment; governance; China; APEC countries; East Asia; Asia; high Human Development Index countries; upper-middle income countries; People's Republic of China; news media; amusements
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
CAB Abstracts
Language:
English
Journal:
Communication, Culture & Critique
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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