Stardom in China
Chinese Celebrity Culture
The celebrity industry is thriving in China as celebrity images spread through public spaces and private screens in contemporary China, yet the scene remains to be a “systematically exclusive and hierarchical category” as the state seeks to maintain its control of the lucrative symbolic economy through media and cultural industries (Rojek, 2001). This creates a contradictory space which the celebrity culture of China is built upon. Celebrity culture in China may be brought up in a perfunctory manner but still possess a strong moral component. The extravagant flaunting of the celebrity industry is a testament to the exposure all kinds of celebrities acquire which is then used to feed the advertising-led business models within the media systems (Sullivan & Kehoe, 2018). This is done through regulative government-issued structures and frameworks that conduct informal soft controls in the form of statements and is accompanied by state media editorials laying out the expectations and norms that celebrities need to conform to. It functions as an interconnected commercial, legal and political structure. Guided by the Ministry of Culture (Wenhua bu 文化部), the Central Publicity Department (Zhongyang xuanchuan bu 中央宣传部), and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television (Guojia guangbo dianying dianshi zongju 国家广播电影 电视总局) are the key institutions who oversee celebrity-related affairs (Hood, 2015). This is all in an effort to maintain the “moral virtue of prominent individuals” where celebrities are expected to abide by the normative values imposed by the state and public such as faithfulness in marriage, filiality, and doing the best for the collective good (Edwards & Jeffrey, 2010). In particular, punishing celebrities through blacklisting from awards or professional and endorsement roles and issuing public apologies for violations such as drug use or sex scandals. However, despite the restrictions and control the celebrity industry has to subject to, individual celebrities have used their status to raise public awareness around LGBTQ issues, and notions of other values of Chineseness and filiality (Fung, 2008).
Just like other celebrities in China, Wang Yibo has been groomed by various entertainment companies to create him into the star that he is today. YG Entertainment (a Korean entertainment group) and Yuehua Entertainment (a Chinese entertainment group) decided to collaborate to create a boyband with both Korean and Chinese idols. Five members were sent to YG as trainees for two to five years and were set to debut under both companies. However, after the ‘No-Korean music policy’ in 2017, the government issued a ban on most if not all South Korean products due to Washington’s agreement with Seoul to build a missile shield system (Maizland, 207). China’s dissatisfaction has caused the group to debut under Yuehua only. Being the youngest in the group, Yibo is treated by the team as the ‘little brother’, as many instances of behind-the-scenes video or photoshoots pictures him being taken care of by the other older members. In addition, the management team seems to take that into account when building his persona as they cast him into the ‘rapper-bad-boy’ role. This then begins the start of his star persona when he represents the ‘unruly, rebellious’ younger brother in most families. The creation of this persona was intentional to promote a more familial-focused idol image as compared to the usual ‘flower boy’ image that boyband groups tend to materialize. As a follow-up to this persona, Yibo continued to be cast into ‘brotherly-comedic’ centric characters by playing a mythological powerful boy who is well known for throwing tantrums as his acting debut character. In his attempt to break apart from this image he landed his first major role in “Love Actually” as a young handsome prodigy CEO, playing the love rival of the main character. This role added a different aspect to his persona by offering a more mature romantic heartthrob quality to his image.
The Dangai industry
In China, the fictitious stories of young beautiful men in romantic relationships remain to be a popular genre following the Japanese boy’s love (BL) manga, internet literature, fan-made texts, and cinema (Wong, 2020). This genre was dubbed danmei (耽美), a loanword originating from Japanese kanji (tanbi). However, due to the censorship risk in China from its common homoerotic content, many producers who buy up the title rights for danmei fiction would modify its original content to fit the censorship regulations of the country. This caused them to assume coded forms of expression when demonstrating the underlining romantic relationship of the main characters, giving birth to the genre of dangai (耽改) (Ng & Li, 2020). In the midst of balancing the coded content, dangai genres hit the sweet spot of desirability and scarcity, becoming the new favorite in the economic chain of celebrity production, hinging on the female consumption of “beautiful and kind” young men (Ye, 2022). The high consumption of dangai content could be accounted to the ‘dangerous pleasure’ of consuming something that might be illegal and could be removed anytime soon, this contrasts with homonormativity which encourages the “baiting” of LGBTQ consumers through queer visibility (Ng & Li, 2020). Due to the dangers of content like these being censored anytime, it builds on the urgency and fans’ fear of missing out, cashing in on limited-time content behind memberships and early-bird privileges, as well as exclusive access to off-screen appearances by the actors. Moreso when crackdowns on homosexual and LGBTQ content by government regulations serve to only increase the consumption of these products instead.
The effects of genres in Wang Yibo’s star persona
Applying the previous concepts, I analyse Wang Yibo’s star persona and image on two different shows - “Love Actually” and “The Untamed”, both shows depict him playing similar characters as the love interest of the main lead (even if it is not direct in The Untamed). Both shows are made to portray a different type of persona, each symbolizing a different aspect of representation within his stardom career.
Love Actually (2017)
Wang Yibo as Zhai Zhi Wei in Love Actually (2017)
In order to analyse his role in The Untamed, there is a need to compare it to his previous works to discern the differences between the characters and how it shapes his stardom persona to this day. Most notably the show “Love Actually” where he plays the love rival to the main character. In this show, he depicts Zhai Zhi Wei, a young handsome prodigy CEO who is the boss of the main character. Throughout the whole story, he tries to pursue An Qing Huan who is played by Joe Chen, using his boyish charms and comedic instances to win her over.
In this scene, he is shown wearing a pink feminine-like pyjama whilst glaring at the female lead (although not shown in this still) across the room that does not seem to be his. Further examining the scene, it shows that he is not entirely annoyed at her but rather occupies a more endearing tender look towards her with the slight upward tilt of his mouth. This example fully demonstrates the recent trend of a ‘soft’ male ideal culture which intersects with women’s buying power and the young groups that use the Internet most effectively (Louie, 2012). This trend greatly promotes the effeminate and emotionally vulnerable “gentle man” which Yibo emits by accepting to wear her clothes (Hinsch, 2013). Departing from the bad-boy-rapper image he garnered during his days as an idol, he exudes the soft yet dominant masculinity to better fit the trends of actors during that time. Even more so prior to this scene, the show depicts him showering in her apartment for 10 to 15 seconds where it tries to use the ‘consumption of the male appeal’ or nanse xiaofei. This strategy uses young, good-looking, and sexy male bodies often labelled as xiao xianrou 小鲜肉 (little fresh meat) to expand the consumer market (Luo, 2017). “Fresh meat” is coded sexually in Chinese as it representatively describes attractive and young human bodies. The word “little” is also used in a figurative sense to highlight the person’s inexperience from their age and labels a man with youth and an ideal body shape yet without much social or career achievement (Luo, 2017).
Although he represents a “gentle man” and “little fresh meat” in the eyes of the society of China, his character and overall personal life seem to spell the opposite image. In the show, his character as a young CEO demonstrates another aspect of the “ideal” man in China. The “Mr. Tall Wealthy Handsome” type represents the much admired “epitome” of manhood, as it identifies that a man has cultivated a successful life for himself whilst maintaining his natural good looks (Luo, 2017). Wang Yibo symbolizes that type of man on-screen and off-screen. Where many respondents emphasize the values of hard work and the long-term process of endeavours instead of the direct results of success and fame (Xu, Reijnders & Kim, 2021). As a celebrity in China, he tries to portray his characters and image in a way that reflects the values of the country, as most mainland Chinese celebrities often do. However, in The Untamed, he demonstrates a more individualistic demonstration of his values as opposed to the representation of the ones he was taught by the country.
The Untamed (2019)
Wang Yibo (left) as Lan WangJi with Xiao Zhan (right) as Wei WuXian in The Untamed (2019).
As demonstrated from the previous example, Chinese masculinity is seen differently compared to hegemonic notions of masculinity in Western eyes. Louie’s (2015) work on Chinese masculinities describes it in the context of Confucian senses where it regulates men’s attitudes towards ‘the structural concept of feeling and sentiment’ (or qing, 情). In this concept, it shapes their performance of proper wenwu masculinity. According to Louie, wen is related to the qualities including “scholarly, civil, mental, and refined which are qualities manifested most commonly in the world of scholars and gentlemen” these qualities might be the catalysts of the previous “gentle man” preference of men in modern China. However, wu attributes refer to capabilities in “martial arts, military leadership, physical skills, and power, emphasized typical in the world of warriors”. Both wen and wu masculinities require and embody the ability of control. In this case, these characteristics directly fit the character Wang Yibo portrays in The Untamed.
Wang Yibo’s character in The Untamed is known to be a strict, straightforward young man who has strong values and loyalty towards those with whom he has close relationships, which is a direct example of wenwu masculinity. The Untamed is a dangai phenomenon set in a wuxia world which are films that feature period costume martial arts. In this still, Yibo portrays the character Lan WangJi as he borrows his shoulder for Wei WuXian who is played by Xiao Zhan after a heavy battle. As depictions of dangai, scenes of homoerotic or romantic relationships are few and far between, although scenes like these often appear throughout the series.
Further analysis of the scene draws out different aspects of Yibo’s persona in relation to the character he portrays. Alike to his character in “Love Actually” he shows tenderness towards his co-star, but in this case more intimately. It paints his persona in a different light, instead of highlighting his boyish charms as the main characterization, the show chose to portray the more serious, no-nonsense side of his image, appealing to the wen aspect of his character. Similar to most dangai films, the studio tries to steer the show away from romantic relationships between two men, but in doing so opens a whole new paradigm of how the public reacts to a closer reiteration of ‘brotherly’ relationships. This application uses concepts of wenwu masculinity where it demonstrates different attitudes toward seduction from women which can become an obstacle to their achievement. While wu men resist women’s charm to maintain their masculinity, wen men, in those “scholar-beauty” romances examine a form of intimate relationships with women but cautions against sex to maintain the qualities of a ‘gentlemen’. Even so, wen men have to strictly bear their responsibility for women due to the familial ties and expectations of them to be the protector in the family (Yu, 2021). In this case, Yibo’s portrayal of Lan WangJi allowed him to manoeuvre his image from a modern heartthrob persona to a sterner and more serious look, greatly reflecting the wenwu masculinities, as opposed to the comedic drama, shows he got cast after his role in “Love Actually”.
Additionally, in this still, he does not present to have any amount of awkwardness present in his character, especially with the position he is in right now as opposed to how other male characters would normally react to being in this position with another male character. This perhaps stems from his performance within a performance as Yibo begins to portray his individualism towards the character. He begins to intersect both values of his own and the values of Confucian masculinities to represent the core of his acting image. This persona within the show greatly reflects his off-screen persona, as Yibo is known to be straightforward and blunt, giving a sense of authenticity to his character and in a way and applying that to Lan WangJi on screen. In this context it seems that certain parts of his off-screen personality leaked into his character on screen, allowing him to depict a sense of authenticity and originality in his acting. (Dyer, 2004). Being in the show permits him to imbue more of his off-screen personality in his acting, may it be behind-the-scenes moments with his co-stars or on-screen instances. It allows him to balance his responsibilities to his nation in representation and his own individual values, without compromising his relationship between the two. Wang Yibo’s stardom persona was created by the country for its purpose of symbolizing the ideal image of a celebrity, but in the course of his career, he managed to take that and alter it to suit his own persona, catering to his own ideals and values.
In conclusion, the essay demonstrates how the culture of the country or the society that the star is based in can greatly affect their persona. It personifies their values within themselves and the characters they portray. Wang Yibo was no different from other Chinese actors who had the same history as him, but his role in The Untamed brought forth his individualistic values, sculpting his star persona into what it is today. It demonstrates that a star can proudly portray both values of themselves and the country they represent, each in their own unique way.