In the current situation of the global cultural content industry, the cultural hierarchy is being reorganized more dynamically than ever. The rapid rise of “subculture” content and the resulting expansion of economic influence are causing major ch...
In the current situation of the global cultural content industry, the cultural hierarchy is being reorganized more dynamically than ever. The rapid rise of “subculture” content and the resulting expansion of economic influence are causing major changes in the existing cultural landscape. This newly called “subculture” refers to cultures that have been “selected” to become “popular” or "mainstream" only when certain conditions have been fulfilled. In other words, a culture that has recently been located at a certain point between “main” and “sub” has emerged simultaneously, forming a kind of “Gray-zone” within cultural hierarchies. The aforementioned phenomenon is also occurring in China, and it shows a “Chinese characteristics” which is different from other countries in terms of the process of forming a “Gray-zone” and the criteria for entering a “Gray-zone” of specific content. The “Gray-zone” of the Chinese cultural hierarchy is constantly expanding in scope and influence, and this change partly attributes to the “tolerance” to those subculture and the shift in cultural policy by the Chinese Communist Party and the government. Factors such as the ever-expanding influence of new media, changes in Chinese cultural consumption, failure to spread or export “leitmotif” content to the abroad, and the need for Chinization due to the absence of Chinese originality in subculture content are driving the Chinese government to accept subculture elements.