Postcard:An Exploring Study In Urban "Slow Culture"Phenomenon

In recent China, postcard culture has re-emerged with great popularity from the urban youth, being a different way to exchange emotions. By leveraging the travel culture and literary lifestyle, postcards are not only a new tool to show the young’s tastes, but also a mark for group identity.This paper uses qualitative research, trying to analyze the functional shift of postcards through its historical review. Then it discusses the social causes of postcard re-prevailing in the minority group via case study from both consumers and producers of postcard industry. These case studies reveals that the phenomena of postcard re-prevailing is a representative of "slow culture". It discusses the internal relationship between "slow culture" and modernity via context analysis of postcard. The pursuit of "slow culture" reflects spiritual anxiety of urban youth under fast and efficient urban life rhythmThis paper includes six parts. Part1introduces research background, objective and design, proposes the question and methodology. Part2introduces the core concepts, relative theories and literature review. Part3describes the history and functional shift of postcards, as well as the process of re-emerging. Part4analyses the postcard culture in depth, discussing group culture and symbol recognition accordingly. Part5explores the social factors of re-emerging and the business impetus for its popularity. Part6concludes the symbolic meaning of postcards, discussing about the relationship between urban "slow culture" and modernity, as well as the critics from consumerism to postcards as a sign of anti-consumerism.