Research On The Production And Consumption Of Virtual Idols

In China,virtual idol is a new cultural phenomenon that has gradually emerged in recent years.Virtual idol,as a combination of technology culture,idol culture and secondary culture,attracts a group of young people born in the 1990s.Virtual idols reflect the aesthetic tastes and values of the new generation of young people and are an important mirror image of The Times.The insight of the phenomenon of virtual idol culture is helpful to understand the cultural development trend of the current society.The research object of this paper is the Chinese native virtual idol.The full text starts from the production of virtual idols,virtual idol texts,and consumption of virtual idols.It mainly answers three questions:First,how are virtual idols produced as products of the entertainment industry in the digital age?What kind of power practice does this production process reflect?Second,how is the image of virtual idols constructed?What is the meaning of carrying in the Chinese social context?What kind of power logic is embodied behind the construction of virtual idol image?Third,how do virtual idols are consumed as commodities in the age of consumption?What is the significance of this kind of consumption as a cultural production behavior?What is the impact on the audience?This research uses the methods of online observation,text analysis,and in-depth interviews to analyze the production of virtual idols,the image construction of virtual idols,and the consumption of virtual idols from the perspectives of communication political economy and cultural studies.The paper points out that the local virtual idols have experienced a period of multi-development after experiencing a short-lived exploration period and a start-up period of accumulation and integration.The development of the domestic secondary industry,the development of Internet technology and digital technology,and the prevalence of participatory culture are the social contexts for the development of local virtual idols.In the process of producing virtual idols,the star system and the cultivation production mechanism are the fundamental logic for producing virtual idols.The political,economic,cultural,technological and other factors jointly determine the production of virtual idols.The construction of virtual idol image is mainly based on multi-field text intertextuality and fans' production.The semiotic analysis of virtual idol text is mainly carried out from two parts:the character image and the work.The virtual idol image satisfies the fan's fantasy of perfect body and appearance,and reflects the local "loveliness" aesthetic;the virtual idol works carry multiculturalism and reflect mainstream values.Behind the image construction of virtual idols,the government,capital,and fans play against each other,making virtual idols show diversity of meaning.There are three ways for audiences to consume virtual idols:viewing consumption,paying consumption and production consumption.In the process of consumption,the audience regards virtual idols as perfect new gods,interesting social platforms,and "real" friends and families;but the excessive consumption of the virtual idol by the audience may lead to the loss of the subjectivity and the real dissipation.Virtual idols,as a new type of idol in the Internet era,breaks the traditional concept of "Idol must be here" and becomes the "prototype" of ideal idols.For fans,virtual idols are not substantially different from real people's idols,and virtual idols can satisfy emotional needs and are even more perfect than real people's idols.But the "perfect" of virtual idols stems from man-made technical manipulation,and fans' excessive obsession with virtual idols may lead to moral and ethical conflicts.With the development of technology,"everyone can be a virtual idol"becomes possible,"humanized" virtual idols and "virtualized" real people idols will face new challenges.