This articles examines the representation of the blurred boundary between bromance and romance in the Chinese drama, S.C.I. Mystery (2018) and how it can be interpreted in Chinese gender discourse because it is the unique boys’ love fanfiction being adapted for an online drama in mainland China. We use the term bromance-as-masquerade to denote a representational strategy of depicting male–male romance under the guise of homosocial bromance. Bromance-as-masquerade facilitates the promotion of male intimacy cultivated by the leading actors themselves and the production team in the marketing process. Their actions demonstrate a proactive engagement in the counterpublic discourse; however, this article argues that the self-censored modification of the plot-setting represents a refusal and exclusion of boys’ love subculture, which places the notion of the counterpublic in question.
This article interrogates the possibility that the digital game arena plays a role as a ‘counterpublic sphere’ where alternative voices that violate the hegemonic narratives in the mainstream media culture can be expressed. Exemplified by The Invisible Guardian, a Chinese interactive role-playing game, we present the first study to bring political perspective into the Chinese digital game studies, combining narrative analysis and players’ experience to provide a comprehensive understanding of political engagement in China’s digital game arena. We argue that the digital game uses various strategies to portray figures from different political parties in a way that subverts mainstream main-melody dramas and sheds light on sensitive historical movements. This implies the potential of Chinese digital games to become a counterpublic sphere, delivering alternative voices that challenge the mainstream media discourse and stimulate gamers’ political introspection.
This article examines the representation of girlfriendship (Winch A (2013) Girlfriends and Postfeminist Sisterhood. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan) in the Chinese TV series Ode to Joy (2016–2017), and in particular, its representation of the interactions between urban women’s competence, experience of romance, postfeminist identity and class status in the Chinese gender context. Drawing on Winch’s concepts of ‘strategic sisterhood’ and the ‘girlfriend gaze’, we first explore how female friendship relies on networks of exchange in terms of economy, career and/or emotion, and then investigate the ways in which young women mutually monitor each other’s personal relationships to ensure their heterosexuality in society as a group.
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