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| January 2013 |
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23 |
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| 研究論文Research Articles |
| 腐敗、官場想像與新自由主義理性 ──解讀宋思明現象 |
| Corruption in the “Realm of Officialdom” Narrative, and Neoliberalism: Making Sense of Song Siming, the Good Corrupt Official in Snail House |
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(2179)
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| 作者 |
白若雲 |
| Author |
Ruoyun BAI |
| 關鍵詞 |
《蝸居》、腐敗、官場想像、新自由主義、犬儒主義 |
| Keywords |
television drama, neoliberalism, official corruption, cynicism |
| 摘要 |
針對電視劇《蝸居》中魅力四射的貪官人物宋思明在中國社會引起的波瀾，本文提出關於「腐敗」和「貪官」的再定義的問題，並採用話語分析並結合文本細讀和網絡受眾研究，闡述官場想像和新自由主義話語對「貪官」的再詮釋。它指出這部商業電視劇，折射出的是年輕的城市白領階層對權力和金錢的想像。《蝸居》所塑造的貪官形象，重新定義了甚麼是大眾可以接受的政府官員，挑戰了官方的反腐敗話語對腐敗的定義，為腐敗合理化和常態化開闢了新的社會文化空間。本文進而指出，官場想像和新自由主義話語是構成當今中國犬儒主義的重要方面。 |
| Abstract |
How is corruption understood in China? How do people feel about corrupt government officials? In 2009, a corrupt official character in the television drama hit, Snail House ( woju), became a popular icon of charisma and masculinity among many young, urban viewers. By looking at the popularity of this character, known as Song Siming, this paper seeks to understand how meanings of corruption are changing in China today. Combining a close reading of the popular drama and vast numbers of online commentaries and paying particular attention to the articulation between the text and the sociopolitical context, this paper argues that Snail House provides ample evidence of how corruption has been redefined and reframed by collective imaginations of “the world of officialdom” (guangchang) and neoliberal thinking and rationality.
The drama presents a set of ideological ambiguities. On the one hand, it challenges the official discourse of corruption and may therefore be considered subversive. On the other hand, it effectively encourages a reading of corruption as normal and necessary, as can be seen from viewers’ comments on Song Siming. Many viewers seem mesmerized by his talents in managing social and human relationships and readily acknowledge but dismiss the fact that he engages in corrupt transactions. One can argue that such a representation of corrupt officials plays an active role in rationalizing and normalizing corruption. This paper further argues, drawing on Slavoj Zizek, that the valorized corrupt official figure exemplifies the prevalence of cynicism in the specific sociopolitical condition of post-socialist China.
Cynicism as a dominant structure of feeling among many Chinese young people, is nourished by neoliberalism (whether understood as a globalizing ideology of “free market” or as a kind of “governmentality” that stresses the management and optimization of the self) and a cultural imaginary about the stratum of government officials. These two normalizing discourses of corruption, internalized by a cynical middle-class that desires to get by in the world, laid the groundwork for the enthusiastic reception of Song Siming, an idealized corrupt official figure. In a strong sense, Song Siming is a middleclass construct that points to a profound moral ambivalence and an intense anxiety regarding survival in a highly competitive society.
本文引用格式
白若雲(2013)。〈腐敗、官場想像與新自由主義理性──解讀宋思明現象〉。《傳播與社會學刊》，第23 期，頁177–200。
Citation of this article:
Bai R.Y. (2013) Corruption in the “Realm of Officialdom” narrative, and neoliberalism: Making sense of Song Siming the good corrupt official in Snail House. Communication & Society, 23, 177–200.
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