Visual exclusion: representation of the youth on Chinese social media

Rongle Tan*, Yiqiong Zhang, Huiting Dai

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

The representation of young people has recently become a focal point for discussion on Chinese social media, following the spread of a contentious viral video titled “Houlang”. This video has sparked widespread debate, drawing criticism for its portrayal of youth, which many argue does not accurately reflect their true lives and experiences. This research aims to unpack the controversy by examining the multimodal representation of Chinese youth identities within the video. Drawing on the approach of multimodal critical discourse analysis (Machin & Mayr, 2012), we scrutinised the verbal and visual representation of youth, with analytical tools from Van Leeuwen’s framework on social actors/actions (1995, 1996) and Unsworth’s framework on intersemiotic meanings (2010). Our focus centred on the intersemiotic meanings conveyed through the visual and verbal resources in the video. Findings suggest that while the verbal texts leave room for a broad interpretation of what constitutes “youth,” the visual elements often narrow this interpretation down to a specific, exclusive group involved in upscale leisure pursuits. The controversy, therefore, stems from a discrepancy between the general portrayal of youth in verbal texts and the depiction of a particular group of affluent young people in the imagery. This study underscores the importance of intersemiotic analysis in understanding the discursive construction of identities and advocates for a more consistent and inclusive portrayal of youth identities.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSocial identity and discourses in Chinese digital communication
EditorsHongqiang Zhu, Debing Feng, Xinren Chen
Place of PublicationLondon ; New York
PublisherRoutledge, Taylor and Francis Group
Chapter4
Pages91-114
Number of pages24
ISBN (Electronic)9781003449379
ISBN (Print)9781032582726, 9781032582740
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2025

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