The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures will host MA Candidate Yixin Liang and her colloquium "Visualizing Chinese Media Ideologies: Biao Qing Bao and its Development in Chinese Internet Culture" on February 17.
My thesis addresses Biao Qing Bao, a new type of internet meme consisting of an image and a text caption, and development on the Chinese internet. In this presentation, I will use the concept of media ideology proposed by Illeana Gershon to explain how people's conception of mediated codes of communication shapes their practice and usage of technology and media. In this sense, Biao Qing Bao, as one of the semiotic codes created and circulated on the internet, is not only a type of visual entertainment that references Chinese pop culture, but also an indicator of fluid media ideologies and power dynamics in Chinese society. I will focus on two significant moments in the development of Biao Qing Bao: the internet censorship launched by the CHinese government and the Facebook campaign in 2016 to discuss how Biao Qing Bao was transformed from a visual weapon to confront hegemony to an icon of national identity.The talk begins at 12:00 in room 4130 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.