When popular literature meets the Internet
Behind the phenomenon of "Internet IP fever"
【Global Vision】
In recent years, under the influence of the rapid development of network technology, the existence and representation of literature have begun to undergo profound changes on a global scale.
Compared with the trend of convergence of traditional literature, online literature is gradually becoming one of the important manifestations of contemporary literature.
Online literature IP is now extremely popular in the international entertainment market and has a strong development momentum.
Some cultural products such as film and television dramas, animations, games, etc. adapted from the IP of web texts have frequently appeared in the public's field of vision, and derivatives around the IP of web texts have also emerged in an endless stream, which has truly achieved a double harvest of popularity and income.
Works such as "The Tram Man" (Japan), "That Boy is Handsome" (South Korea), and "Sword Art Online" (Japan) not only won unanimous praise from audiences from all over the world, but also created huge commercial profits and truly realized the "1+1". >2" effect.
The Internet has a profound impact on the mass media. How to understand this phenomenon from the perspective of communication is related to the future of Internet reading.
1. Internet communication: so close and so far
With the in-depth involvement of the Internet, the way of literature creation has undergone fundamental changes, and the way of its dissemination has become more convenient and humanized.
The Internet seems to have demolished all physical barriers to communication overnight, interpreting the human spiritual world with a new digital face.
One is the wide coverage of online literature dissemination.
At present, the Internet has become an indispensable part of people's lives, and online meetings, online shopping, online live broadcasts, and online education have all deeply penetrated into all aspects of economy, society, and interpersonal communication.
The Internet literature born from touching the Internet makes full use of the wide coverage of Internet communication, so that the number of readers and the amount of reading have reached an order of magnitude that traditional literature cannot match.
Second, the spread of online literature is close to each other.
In a general sense, "near" is opposite to "far" and refers to the spatial distance between things.
In the Internet age, "closeness" is a psychological concept. Friends in social networks may be far away, but they are close and "close", and the neighbors next door may be within reach but are alienated and "far away."
The readers of online literature are no longer the objects of the author's imagination when writing, they have become close friends who can express their hearts and minds through online literature works at any time, and have interactive dialogues through forums.
With the participation and creation of countless individuals, the aesthetic standards of online literary works are also enriched day by day, and the subject matter, carrier and form are gradually diversified, providing a broader space for literary communication for both authors and readers.
The third is the instant arrival of online literature dissemination.
The speed of network dissemination is very fast, usually calculated in "minutes and seconds", and the instantaneous direct access of information can closely connect readers with online literary works anytime, anywhere, and bring people an "immersive experience".
At the same time, in online literature works, people can not only disseminate words, but also disseminate various information forms such as sound, pictures, images, etc. These information forms can present the text of network literature more abundantly, vividly and vividly.
Online literature is no longer a kind of "delayed enjoyment", but a kind of "instant consumption". From then on, literary works can instantly reach people's hearts and become moral.
In short, the Internet provides a new experience scene and technical support for the dissemination of literature. Although technology cannot play a decisive role in creating a glorious literary period, it has broadened the path and innovated the way for the dissemination of literary works.
It is in this good development ecology that literature has returned to the people and has increasingly become an important part of people's spiritual and cultural life.
Generally speaking, "Internet literature" refers to literary works, quasi-literary texts, or Internet artworks containing some literary elements, which are deduced and presented by means of hypertext links and multimedia.
"IP" is the abbreviation of English (Intellectual Property), which is literally translated as intellectual property rights, which generally refers to the rights of possession, use, and benefits that the right holder enjoys over the intellectual achievements he creates.
The "Internet literature IP" refers to the copyright of products developed in the upstream and downstream of the cultural industry based on the online literature texts, using the fan stickiness of the Internet literature.
"Internet literature IP craze" has become a brand-new mass culture phenomenon, and when we start talking about this phenomenon, John Fiske (1939-2021) must be a figure that cannot be avoided.
He is one of the most influential popular culture theorists in contemporary British and American academic circles. He is a professor of communication at the University of Wisconsin in the United States and is known as the founder of popular culture research.
John Fisk's theory was deeply influenced by the British Birmingham School, such as Stuart Hall and David Morley, which not only changed the thinking path of popular culture research, but also further enriched and developed the theory of popular culture.
His representative works include "Understanding Popular Culture", "Interpreting Popular Culture", "Introduction to Communication Studies", and "Key Concepts: A Dictionary of Communication and Cultural Studies". "This phenomenon.
2. The Era of Internet Literature: From Enthusiasts to Creators
John Fisk pointed out in "Key Concepts: A Dictionary of Communication and Cultural Studies" that text is a message with a certain material form composed of various expressive symbols, and its connotation and meaning are often determined by the sender or receiver of the message. decided.
Fiske believes that, from the perspective of the structure of the text, the text should be loose and there should be some large gaps to create new texts; from the perspective of the function of the text, the text should be the evoker of meaning and pleasure, while the It should not be a container that carries meaning and happiness; from the perspective of the value of the text, the reader should be able to interpret the value and meaning of different levels in the text's symbol system.
Based on the above understanding, Fiske believes that the texts of popular culture should not be "monolithic", but "producer texts".
That is to say, the text itself must have the characteristics of ambiguity and openness, and can become a new space for the public to create and reproduce meaning. Both the author and the reader can produce in the text according to their own background, experience, intention and other factors. Create meaning and value that meet your own needs.
One of the reasons for the "Internet Literature IP Fever" lies in the way of "co-creation" of its texts, which is consistent with Fiske's theoretical core of "producer-style texts".
In the era of paper books, watching martial arts in the "quilt" is a common memory of many people, but at the moment, reading is no longer silent, and readers are more willing to express, discuss, participate, and create.
Some readers are not only keen on "tracking and urging updates on the website", but also "participating in the discussion of storylines in the comment area", and many readers have also changed from literature lovers to literary creators.
Some well-known online writers such as Nakano Duren (Japan), Kawaitao (South Korea), etc. are also converted by readers.
It can be seen that "social reading" and "fans co-creation" have become a prominent feature of IP text creation on the Internet.
In this process, there is no clear division between authors and readers. Readers can directly participate in the creation of web IP texts through websites or social media platforms, and some vertical user communities such as virtual book friend circles, role circles, and interest circles. It is also continuing to incubate on major platforms.
This co-creation approach can not only bring more creative inspiration to the author, but also fully meet the needs of readers to participate in the creation.
On the one hand, readers can have in-depth discussions with the author on details such as characters, text structure, writing style, and language forms in the novel. On the other hand, they can also discuss the beginning, development, climax, and ending of the story. The form of design and development and co-creation has become one of the indispensable links in the process of creating IP for web articles.
In other words, in the creation of Internet IP, readers are no longer "passive" recipients of stories, but "active" creators of stories, gradually shifting from "producing audiences" to "producing authors", while in In this process, the initiative of creation has also tilted, from the original tendency to "author" to "reader", and the reader also gradually occupies the advantage of text creation and has a kind of "nomadic subjectivity". feature.
As Fisk said, the text of popular culture is not only a field of multiple contradictions and multiple viewpoints, but also a combination and unity of the two texts of "reader's text" and "author's text".
3. Reader Economy: Fan Group and Symbol Consumption
There are two distinct views on the study of fan groups in the West.
One view, exemplified by Joli Jensen, a professor of communications at the University of Tulsa, sees fan groups as fanatical, latent elements whose behavior is often perverse and deviant.
Another point of view is represented by John Fisk, who believe that the fan base is discriminating, creative, and active and proactive.
In "Understanding Popular Culture", Fisker divides the consumer groups of popular culture into two types: "fan groups" and "passers-by groups". Fan groups are the "popular culture fans" described by Fiske. They communicate and communicate in the form of passing symbolic symbols, and the identities between members will continue to develop and change with the deepening of their interactions with each other, and finally realize the "different" identity of the fan group among the members. good build.
This group's enthusiasm for mass culture investment is active, active, and enthusiastic. Their focus is mainly on the "symbolic productivity" of texts, and they can identify in the shortest time which works they can produce in their reading. pleasure and meaning, and quickly participate in the reproduction of these cultural symbols.
Therefore, the "symbol consumption" behavior of fan groups is also one of the reasons for the "Internet literature IP fever".
Take the Korean Internet IP "That Boy So Handsome" as an example. This work was written by a Korean female writer Kawai Tao. Since it was published on the Internet, it has been quickly sought after by Korean teenagers. Many people suffer from so-called so-called "That boy syndrome", the handsome boy's hairstyle and clothing have become the objects that Korean boys are eager to imitate, while the girls take the heroine Chiho's words "beauty starts from scratch" as their motto.
The film of the same name adapted from "That Boy is Handsome" has also been in the top ten of the Korean comedy movie list. On the day of the test screening, although the highest temperature had soared to 39.8 ℃, fans still crowded the test screening site. There were even some fans who came to watch from Busan, Incheon and other cities.
Many people are excited after reading the work, thinking that this work is a true portrayal of their own life, they project their emotions into the work, and transform ordinary inner fantasy into concrete and realistic behaviors.
It can be seen that fans will actively, actively and enthusiastically "support and pay" for their favorite web IPs.
No matter what form of web IP is presented to them, as long as the surrounding products are developed, there will always be some fans who will actively "consume" them.
This kind of consumption often presents a perceptual, impulsive, and blind tendency. The consumption here can be related to money or not.
In essence, this is a kind of "symbolic consumption" behavior. In the eyes of fans, all the symbolic goods that are inextricably linked to the Internet IP will fascinate and impress them. They use this symbolic consumption behavior to Demonstrate your affiliation with a social group and your difference from others.
As Fisk puts it, fans use their own production and distribution systems to create a fan culture, forming what is known as a "shadow cultural economy."
4. Reality Breaks the Wall: Fantasy Construction and Micropower
Australian scholar Mark Gibson has pointed out that in the fields of cultural studies, anthropological studies and sociological studies, it is impossible not to mention the French philosopher and social thinker Michel Foucault. Discuss related topics.
Fisk's theory of popular culture is also heavily influenced by Michel Foucault's view of power.
Fiske believes that popular culture only exists in the practice of daily production and life, not in closed and stable texts.
In other words, Fiske's focus has always been on the practice of popular culture rather than on the texts of popular culture. This is different from the Frankfurt School's point of view that the masses are only passive recipients. Fiske places more emphasis on the dominance of the masses in cultural practice. Sex and creativity.
He believes that popular culture is created by the masses, not imposed on them.
It arises from the bottom or within society, not from above.
Popular culture can not only help people build "bottom-up" symbolic power, but also help readers build the most microscopic "fantasy inner world" and realize self-identity in a microscopic, progressive, rather than revolutionary way. recognition.
For example, the construction of the reader's "fantasy inner world" starts from reading the text, but not every text can make the reader feel pleasure, only when the content of the text is related to the reader's own social situation and can lead him out This kind of "productive pleasure" can only be produced when they are social self, which is a kind of power of readers at the micro-political level, which can continuously stimulate their creative enthusiasm and integrate different cultural experiences into their own culture. field, and produce more cultural products with their own labels and meanings, and finally achieve further confirmation of individual identity and reconstruction of macro-power relations.
In the Internet IP, the reason why the popularity of the work continues to rise is that the author can always actively and flexibly connect with the public and their lives. The cultural experience generated by this connection can continuously promote the sublimation of the public's ideological and understanding. The further cognition of individual identity is the cultural field where the masses create themselves.
Taking the Japanese Internet IP "Tramboy" as an example, the work tells the story of a man named "Tramboy" who posted on the 2ch online forum to ask netizens how to pursue the beautiful lady "Miss Hermes" he met on the tram.
His posts were well received, with nearly a thousand replies to each discussion thread.
In the end, with the advice and encouragement of many netizens, Tram Man not only successfully captured the hearts of beauty, but his story has also become a legend on the 2ch website.
In this work, readers are like following the tram man on a spiritual "roller coaster" on this emotional journey full of twists and turns. The sadness, joy, anxiety, and sweetness in the story have also become accessible to readers important material for meaning re-creation, and these various "fantasy inner worlds" also constitute readers' most practical cultural experiences, which constantly encourage readers to find themselves in real life, and to reposition themselves and others, The relationship between society and nature, and the reader also realizes the reconstruction of self and the construction of identity in the process.
This is not only the "breaking wall" of the readers' ordinary life, but also the transformation and reproduction of their real life. It is a spiritual force inherent in the readers' thinking to promote self and social development.
This is exactly what Fisk said is the embodiment of the advanced and progressive nature of popular culture, and it is also his complete subversion of the Frankfurt School's popular culture theory. He is committed to exploring the positive and positive dimensions of popular culture theory, with an optimistic attitude Strive to defend popular culture.
Looking at the entire research paradigm of John Fisk's theory of popular culture, we can see that he took the meaning and happiness of the public as his research purpose, took the active practice of the public as the main line of research, and took semiotics as the research carrier. A complete system of theoretical research on popular cultural texts, audiences and functions.
This system not only escapes the pessimism and elitism of the Frankfurt School, but also brings a breath of fresh air to the study of popular culture theory.
At the same time, like other theories, Fisk's theory of popular culture also has some deficiencies and limitations. In his theory, there is a certain optimism and romanticization. He believes that the micro-power of the masses itself is a This kind of bottom-up social power can reconstruct the macro-power relations of society.
It can be seen that Fisk has fallen into the stereotype of "omnipotent" and "omnipotent" micro-political power.
However, John Fisk's popular culture theory has strong explanatory power, whether it is for the study of contemporary popular culture or the analysis of specific cultural phenomena such as "Internet literature IP fever".
(Author: Liu Xinran, Associate Professor, School of Marxism, Shanghai Jiaotong University)