Recently, the "showman" and "laughing city" with middle-aged and elderly Internet users as the main fan group have entered the field of vision of young people. Their signature characteristics: lip-syncing singing, shy and sweet smile in the mirror, and last-century style dressing, have sparked a trend of imitation and second creation among young netizens.
In the process of cultivating "Laughing Allure 2.0", netizens not only deconstructed the middle-aged and elderly "local culture" by watching and consuming, but also participated in the construction of "local culture" more immersively, and experienced the pleasure of "idol cultivation".
Participate in the whole process
Develop "Laughing Allure 2.0" online
In front of the kitchen windowsill, a sweet woman wearing a pink hollow slim undershirt has her eyes fluttering, her red lips are lightly opened, and she sings the hot song "Send Lovers" to the lip shape.
Accompanied by the sound of music, her fingers were slightly cocked, slowly pointing to the sides, as if she was communicating with the audience on the other end of the phone screen.
This is a video posted by the post-90s blogger "Blossom Wealth" on the online platform, and sharp-eyed netizens immediately discovered that she imitated the top blogger of Douyin "Laughing and Alluring".
The style of dressing in the eighties and nineties of the last century, sweet makeup and smiles, lip-syncing singing, life-like and even local video backgrounds... These are typical characteristics of "a smile in the city".
3 months ago, when "Blossoming Wealth" first released a video on the online platform, she was also evaluated by netizens as "with a bitter face" and "thief eyebrows", and now she has become one of the bloggers who imitate "A Smile Allure", and was jokingly called by netizens as having a "pension temperament".
All of this stems from the collaborative efforts of netizens and bloggers themselves. At the end of August, "Flowers Bloom and Wealth" posted a video on a life platform, saying that he hoped to become a "harvester for the elderly" by imitating "Laughing and Alluring the City", seeking advice from netizens.
In that video, she wore a thin-shouldered, tight-fitting cropped suspender belt, twisting her body with great effort, not only lip-syncing, but also trying her best to make her eyes look to the side. Although she deliberately cut herself an "earthy" bangs, the effect of this video is still far from the sweet and coquettish (earthy and innocent) of "A Smile Allure".
Some netizens feel that her "eyes are the same as being a thief", and she does not have the charm of "laughing and falling into the city"; Some netizens directly persuaded them to quit, "No, sisters!" Let's go the other way! Your looks are blocking this road. ”
The dissuasion of netizens did not dispel the idea of "flowers blooming and becoming rich", and she still insisted on updating the video. After a period of time, many young netizens were moved by her firmness, and they chose to support her with practical actions, starting a "Laughing Allure 2.0" cultivation plan.
According to the current situation of "Flowers Blooming and Rich", netizens compared the style of "Laughing and Alluring", and gave suggestions to "Flowers Blooming and Rich" in terms of costumes, makeup, props, shooting scenes, eye movements and other aspects.
"The sundress is replaced by a dress that does not show your skin, and tomorrow you will be second in middle-aged and elderly Douyin." "I want to post a big face and shoot a video... You have to keep smiling wide and open your eyes wide, and you can't squint with a smile... The sisters' facial features are sassy, and you can find a way to rely on the gentle wind from your clothes, makeup, and hairstyle to modify the feeling of being sassy and heroic..." ”
Among them, the "transformation project" suggested by netizens the most is the expression action: emphasizing that every gesture should be "tender like water", while the original eyes of "Flowers Blooming and Wealthy" were criticized for being too direct and lacking a sense of shyness.
"Blossoming Wealth" continued to listen to the suggestions of netizens and began to transform itself in an all-round way: online shopping for clothes, earrings, air bangs wigs, and equipment with a "sense of cheapness" and "down-to-earthness". The total renovation cost does not exceed 400 yuan. The changes are also quickly apparent, and the video screen has become bright and saturated, revealing a "local" atmosphere in the red and green.
What is more intuitive is the affirmation of "flowers blooming and rich" by the data of the network platform. In the past three months, each of her videos has received thousands of views, with a total of 1,9 and 15,3 likes. "Blossoming Wealth" said that in the first month of the video's release, her number of fans was less than 1000,<>, but after all-round adjustments, the daily increase in fans was about one or two thousand.
Second, create imitation
Win young people's attention to local culture
After "Xiucai" and "Laughing and Alluring" became popular on the Internet, a wave of imitation and second creation among young people was set off, and it triggered a discussion among the elderly about why the two were "on top"; There are also netizens who dismantle and teach the signature actions and expressions of "Xiucai" and "Laughing and Alluring" to face different "embarrassing" occasions; There are also many people who imitate "Xiucai" and appear in university cafeterias, basketball courts, and dormitories.
At the beginning of imitating "A Smile Alluring City", "Flowers Bloom and Wealth" created accounts in Xiaohongshu and Douyin respectively. When naming her account, she chose the words "Blossom Wealth", plus a large red rose and two pink hearts. In the personal introduction column, she chose to set up different personalities.
On Douyin, her personal introduction shows that she is 37 years old, saying that she is single and divorced and lives alone with her daughter; In Xiaohongshu, her identity is a left-behind mother with a baby, hoping to have a career.
"Blossoming Wealth" told a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily that the copywriting information came from other online bloggers, and she copied and pasted it. Regarding the age, she initially filled in 40 years old, and then she was reminded by netizens that this did not meet the middle-aged young woman's design, so she modified it. Comparatively speaking, Xiaohongshu's character design is closer to her real situation. She said she was born in 1994 and has been working in Guangdong for many years. He currently lives in Foshan, Guangdong, and is working full-time at home with a baby, while her husband works in Guangzhou.
Teacher C, a fan of Xiaohongshu who "blooms and is rich", believes that the "real earth" style of "Laughing and Alluring" and "Xiucai" cannot attract young people, while the contrast between ordinary people in the process of imitating the greasy and earthy tide makes young people feel interesting.
Many fans of "Flowers Bloom and Wealth" said that they had not paid attention to "Xiucai" and "Laughing and Alluring" before, and they had never been exposed to this kind of culture, but they only became interested in the imitation and joke videos of the two on the Internet.
Yi Zhou, a post-90s fan, said that in the past, if she swiped a video in the style of "Xiucai" and "Laughing Allure" on Douyin, she would not like it, but quickly rowed away. But after paying attention to the imitation show of "Flowers Blooming and Rich", she also began to pay attention to "Laughing and Alluring".
She also often copies and pastes the messages of some middle-aged and elderly users in the Douyin comment area under the video of "Blossoming Wealth" in Xiaohongshu, and sometimes imitates the tone of "Big Brother" to make up some copywriting.
It is interesting to note that "Blossoming Wealth" originally just wanted to attract middle-aged and elderly users on Douyin by imitating "A Smile and Alluring City", but now her number of fans on Xiaohongshu is much higher than that of Douyin, "I originally wanted to 'charm the old brother', but I didn't expect to charm young women." ”
Some netizens left messages, hoping to enter Douyin to help "Blossom Wealth" increase fans and create an atmosphere. However, other netizens advised that this move would affect the operation and followers of the "Blossom Wealth" Douyin account. According to the principle of Douyin algorithm recommendation, if "Blossom Wealth" has more young fans on Douyin, the algorithm will not push her to more elderly users, and she will not be able to achieve her real goal.
Fan impressions
Bringing accomplishment and satisfaction from cultivating idols
Young netizens have jointly developed "Laughing and Alluring City 2.0", and the significance of this behavior has gone beyond its original banter.
Fans have a clear understanding of the process of cultivating "flowers blooming and becoming rich", and most of them directly indicate that they have experienced a kind of happiness in the process of participatory companionship.
A number of fans of "Blossom Wealth" said that they are "veteran fans" and "iron fans", and during the interview, most of them can also list the progress of "Blossom Wealth" in the past three months.
Many fans were impressed by the video she shot in the kitchen wearing a pink cut-out knit. "It's different from the feeling before, there is a delicate feeling, she really worked hard to figure it out." Participating in and witnessing the cultivation changes in the external appearance and inner charm of "Blossoming Wealth", watching her become a small blogger with 20,000 fans from an unknown ordinary person, fans not only developed a love for idols, but also experienced a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
There are also many fans who are attracted by the firmness, self-confidence, seriousness, sincerity, and hard work shown by "Blossom Wealth" in the process of transformation, and they project a positive and positive self on "Blossom Wealth".
Fan Yizhou said that "Blossoming Wealth" did not give up its original goal because of the negative comments of netizens, and insisted on updating it three times a day, which is very inspirational.
A fan who is still in college mentioned in an interview that she didn't pay much attention to the video of "Flowers Blooming and Wealthy" when she first swiped it. It wasn't until the end of August this year that she suddenly discovered the progress of "Blossoming Wealth", so she started to like her and continue to pay attention to her. "People who keep working hard are commendable, and I think it's a joy to see others improve."
Fan C teacher said that he also thought about taking the route of "laughing and falling into the city", but was soon persuaded by the poisonous comments in the comment area, "I can really see Fugui's efforts, she has listened to the suggestions put forward by netizens, and her progress is obvious to all." ”
"Blossom Wealth" has established 3 fan groups on Xiaohongshu, with more than 1000,<> fans in the group. In the process of cultivating idols, fans have gradually established a mimic intimacy with "Blossoming Wealth".
In the fan base or comment area, everyone generally affectionately calls "Blossom Fugui" as "Fugui", and the concern for her has also been derived into the private sphere, such as physical health.
Fan "Carb Kitten's Delusion" has been calling "Blossom Wealth" "sister" during the interview, she said that she likes to watch "Blossom Wealth" to share daily life, and through these videos, she can feel "Blossom Wealth" love for life, just like a big sister around herself. "I don't have an older sister of this age in my daily life. I would think that if I had a sister like that, maybe she would live like this. ”
Older netizens felt the feeling of "raising a daughter". Netizen "Li Xiaoer" claims to have a "mother's heart", and often gives suggestions for transformation in the comment area, hoping to help "flowers bloom and become rich". Seeing the progress of "Blossoming Wealth", she can feel a sense of pride, "just like my son was the first in the school."
At the end of the interview, she didn't forget to ask: "Does your platform have a lot of traffic?" Help us get rich and drain the drainage. ”
A group of young fans of Xiaohongshu have been paying attention to the achievements of "Blossoming Wealth" on Douyin, and look forward to her replicating the success of "Laughing and Alluring".
Cultural deconstruction
Immerse yourself in engagement and find cultural fun
This carnival of young people's Internet co-creation continues. In recent years, the breakthrough of "local culture" is actually inseparable from the deconstruction of the younger generation. Although with the popularization of the Internet and new media technology, the threshold of cultural production has been greatly lowered, and groups of different ages have been able to participate in the creation and production process of online culture, in fact, the younger generation still has more right to speak.
Regarding the co-creation of "Flowers Bloom and Wealth", some netizens jokingly said that her behavior can be regarded as "learning art in Xiaohongshu and then setting up a stall on Douyin". Xiaohongshu and Douyin are two platforms with very different styles, and there are obvious differences between them in terms of content production and user groups. According to the 2022 Xiaohongshu platform user portrait produced by Qiangua Data, Xiaohongshu has more than 2 million active users, of which 72% are post-90s users, and 50% of users live in first- and second-tier cities. Food, clothing, pets, weight loss and fitness are important directions for Xiaohongshu's cultural consumption.
The 2020 Douyin user portrait released by Giant Computing shows that the age group of male users is mainly concentrated in 19-45 years old, and female users are concentrated in 19-35 years old, 46 years old and above. At the same time, there are significantly more users in new first-, third-, fourth-, fifth-tier and below cities than in first-tier cities. In terms of content production and consumption, the number of playback videos of interpretation, life, and food is relatively high, and the number of emotional, cultural, and film and television videos is growing rapidly.
Some netizens have concluded that Xiaohongshu users are at the top of the chain of online cultural contempt, while Douyin is more successful in the sinking market. And the fan group of "Blossoming Wealth" is also trying to seize the cultural distinction of this online platform. To put it simply, the growth and transformation of "Blossoming Wealth" has been guided by a group of young netizens on Xiaohongshu, and everyone's purpose is to use the communication cognition of the Internet to help her become "Laughing and Alluring City 2.0" and successfully attract middle-aged and elderly users on Douyin.
At present, the fans of "Blossom Wealth" in Xiaohongshu are mainly women aged 18-34, living in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and other places, while on the Douyin platform, fans over 50 years old account for nearly 40%, and fans live in Guangzhou, Jiangsu, Hunan, Sichuan and other places.
Obviously, in the process of cultivating idols to "blossom and become rich", young netizens who have the right to speak on the Internet have realized the banter and deconstruction of local culture and elderly culture through different ways such as transformation suggestions and attention to comments, and at the same time immersed themselves in the construction process of "local culture", and looked for cultural fun in "looking down".
(The characters in the article are all screen names or pseudonyms)
This edition of the article / this newspaper reporter Chen Jing
(Beijing Youth Daily)