| ID | 080722 |
| Title Proper | Internet Ideotainment in the PRC |
| Other Title Information | national responses to cultural globalization |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Lagerkvist, Johan |
| Publication | 2008. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Political leaders and establishment intellectuals in China often claim that their country is experiencing challenges from the Internet that entail threats to traditional culture, Chinese youth, and existing value orientations and ideology. To meet the challenge, they argue, there is a need to re-think outdated strategies of propaganda. In this article, I coin the term ideotainment, which is helpful for understanding the underlying rationale and concrete outcome of their thinking. Ideotainment is the juxtaposition of images, symbolic representations, and sounds of popular Web and mobile phone culture together with both subtle and overt ideological constructs and nationalistic propaganda. It is argued that strategies of ideotainment are envisioned as an effective means to engage perceived enemies in China's cyberspace, win battles of public opinion, and not least to shore up legitimacy for the Chinese Communist Party in the information age. |
| `In' analytical Note | Journal of Contemporary China Vol. 17, No.54; Feb 2008: p121-140 |
| Journal Source | Journal of Contemporary China Vol. 17, No.54; Feb 2008: p121-140 |
| Key Words | China ; Information Technology ; Cyberspace |