A Twitter Bodhisattva : Ai Weiwei's Media Politics
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2012-04-27
Author(s)
Abstract
This project investigates voices of dissent in twenty-first century China from a cultural perspective to find out how artists and writers mount resistance towards the ruling regime via social media. It uses the media politics of artist and activist Ai Weiwei as a case study. It argues that the success of Ai's global communication strategy lies in the combination of international celebrity status, criticism against power, transgressive language, and round-the-clock interaction with his netizen audience and the news media. Back in 1996, Ai Weiwei imagined a modernist movement that would enact a ‘non-compromising, non-cooperative vigilance on society and power,' and since 2005 he has embraced the new digital media, in particular Web 2.0, blogging and microblogging, as tools to enact this ideals and to disseminate them in defiance of state surveillance and censorship. The ‘one-man reality show' staged by his blogging responds to the new celebrity culture and the ‘reality' trend in creative industries. At the same time, Chinese netizens refer to him as ‘God Ai' and ‘bodhisattva,' looking at him for spiritual support and enlightenment. In a similar combination of tradition and late modernity, Ai Weiwei's style has broken away from the traditional forms of Chinese intellectual discourse, while maintaining the literati's commitment to ‘smooth change' and ‘spokemanship for the people.' We also identify the formative experiences that have shaped Ai Weiwei's activism, including the Cultural Revolution, the art-cum-protest activities of the Stars Group, and his life in the US, where he documented civil disobedience and police intervention against it. As a result, this research enhances our understanding of cultural production and consumption in the Chinese cyberspace as a socio-political barometer.
Language
English
Keywords
Ai Weiwei
activism
China
Web 2.0
Internet
blogging
censorship
art
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Book title
Conference on Modes of Activism and Engagement in the Chinese Public Sphere
Publisher
Asia Research Institute/National University of Singapure
Publisher place
Singapore
Start page
19
Event Title
Modes of Activism and Engagement in the Chinese Public Sphere 2012
Event Location
NUS, Singapore
Event Date
26.-27.04.2012
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
215415