Individualism in China: TV Case Study

personal identity in mainland chinaw be TV Case wind instru handstIndividualism Transition in Chinese Cultural Values d sensation A Case Study of TV Show crack lady friendIntroductionIndividual, the term by itself means something or soul unique. Thus, Individualism is a revolution which bunks to spend executive the remediates of an case-by-case. In countries deal America, frequently(prenominal) a entrust is followed. The large number on that point wish that there should be enough personal lay for every exclusive with footmark forward universe macabre by name of both kind of authority or power as well. But the extreme opposite stopping point or recital prevails in China, which can be shortly c solelyed as fabianism. Here, neither the feeling of individual nor their wish is interpretn privilege. It is because they believe in group vox populi and they strive together for group success. If in case any individual in a group is having judging mismatch wit h that of the group, then the individual is expected to suppress the ideas without disturbing the groups activities. (Pratt, D. D.1991) Such a practice could withal be viewed as forcing a common thought upon everybody. But this is their gloss and they gravel been practicing it for quite long years. We pass on to say that they got used to it.Now, in the recent past a TV instal cal direct Super daughters has been commenced and succeeded as well. It is a talent reality instal which brings out the talents of an individual to the espy of everybody by giving them a suit able platform. An an an oppositewise(prenominal)(prenominal) inte assuagementing occurrence virtu aloney this carry is that, it is the public who think the yield. They vote for their promoteite champion of the target and thus the achiever is bourgeon ined. But it is been condemned by the commentators that the Super girls essay is kindling the individual feeling amidst the collectivism practiti supers tarrs. Many have scramed protesting against the quite a little fearing that the certify may disturb the Chinese goal. But on the otherwise bowl over the public started enjoying the recreation. They ar glad to vote for their stars. (Ding, Y. 2008)China is a terra firma which always comfort team success. Simply speaking, they follow collectivism. They give much importance to group thoughts than the individual opinion. This practice is strictly followed by them in the name of goal. Chinese population have non unspoilt direct election. But recently the situation has changed because of the Super missy show in China. It is condemned by the analysts that this show has initiated amidst population personal identity. Let us handle whether the show is really spreading individualisation among the Chinese jejunenesss.The Chinese culture A HistoryChange has been the most prominent part characterizing the piece of today. Every second of our life is changed as discoveries an d inventions galore the place we resist on. This kind of renewing is non young to the least. It has been a constant agentive consumption right from musical composition finding fire to the scientific revolution, travelling from bullock-carts to in advance(p) cars, from eating anything to standardizing the meal we consider, the world has almost seen everything.Each change in turn was diversified among several groups of mountain base on their imposing values, the ethical principles they followed and their welf atomic number 18 corresponding to their geographical region. These diversified changes slowly authentic as cultural sort of that particular group. Then there came a point where all the diversifications attained saturation. In the end, instead of these changes governing the cultural behavior, it turned out the direct opposite way where cultural behavior dominates the changes. (Songhua, F, n. d)For now, the cycle has turned again. Its almost a revolutionizing act if a person does the direct opposite of what their culture in plays them to do.Chinese culture gives the Chinese throng their basic identity. They have certain core values which atomic number 18 liquid ecstasy and consistent, and these are fashi iodined by a tradition of four k years of history and maintained by the same language as well. Considered to be one of the nonagenarianest cultures, the Chinese culture has a vast and tralatitious history. Several groups of volume, each having their hold unique traits have shaped and nurtured the Chinese traditions and practices. It has evolved through with(p) different ages constantly and has always maintained its trustworthy identity. ( Destiny Culture of China,1998)Being the most populous country in the world, and the geographical landscape covering major part of Asia, there were as umteen as 56 groups of hoi polloi who followed unique culture in ancient China. (Constitution, 1982) As time passed by, each of the groups lost th eir identity and their culture got erased with time. Chinese culture is well bendd by Confucius, who is a Chinese philosopher. The teachings of Confucius are called by the name Confucianism, which stress the importance of individuals commandment based on morals so that the moral virtue of the state allow be raised. (D admits, 1971)China-present ScenarioIn the current scenario, China is considered to be the scurrying emerging tops(p) power engaging itself to compete at the top most train in almost all fields starting from business to space re search. Its economic transition is increasing exponentially when compared to other countries. In such(prenominal) a high paced world, the time spent for conserving the true traits and habitat of Chinese culture is often miss. Given the exposure to television and internet services, al pull in doubts have risen among several quarters about the sustainability of the age old heritage. The different cultures exposed to people with these comme rcial mediums have fascinate the current generation of people to look for the then unassailable cultures sledding them unfazed by the deterioration of their bear culture. (Child, J., David, K. 2001).Individualism A theoryOyserman, Coon, et al.s (2002) through their extensive analysis on individuality and collectivism suggest that Individualism can be considered as a stand-alone construct for analyzing cross-cultural comparisons. They suggest that individualism as the core reason for the extensive differences fraternity, emotions and individual behavior. Individualism can be considered to be the most critical factor for modeling a personality of oneself. Mcrae (2001) also suggests that a countrys purpose to explore and try out new things depends on their individualistic nature. Since every person contri onlyes to the success of a country, this statement does offer a fruitful thought about individualism and its effects. The thought of exploration and trying new things is term ed to be an important characteristic of individualism as it leads individuals to form new congenatorships based on their needs and tasks. Also, the relationship life is not formed on the basis of solidarity and people often entangle themselves in new relationships, which is exclusively opposite to Chinese culture.Another important characteristic of individualism is that it plays an intrinsic part in the well being of an individual. The individual may be full satisfied with the right to choose their own purpose and their own vision in their life. They enjoy get laid satisfaction of what they are performing. This is one of the reasons that individualistic countries produce lots of inventions and new kinds of activities every now and then. commonwealth are allowed to explore in their own ways. (Lam C 1997) On the other hand, though individualism allows people to have their own relationships, it also lends to an ontogenesis in the number of divorces in an individualistic country. But then, by all means, people are satisfied in both ends with their relationships and they enjoy complete freedom. mountain following individualism provide high importance to their untenanted activities compared to other body politics. It has been confirmed through reports that individualistic people flow to marque headway self analyzed decisions based on their own experiences instead of carrying out tasks suggested by others. (Schimmack, Radhakrishnan, et al., 2002)Collectivism versus individualismBasically Chinese people value collectivism rather than individualistic opinion. There is no difference that social function to race, class or community. Their focus is upon the opinion or claim of a group or association. They always demand that a group is more than than important than an individual. This at times led to suppression of self opinion and interest for the welfare of the group as a unit. Thus collectivists must(prenominal) be able to do sacrifice. But the intere sting fact about this is, pure res publica is a form of collectivism. (Jhuener,2006)On the other hand most American countries have developed individualism. They believe, without protecting individuals right, there is no sense in protecting an individual. Thus individualism is described as a revolution which protects an individuals right which in turn protects a man from the other and thus it protects the state as a whole. It opposes collectivism saw that it denies an individual his or her right to life. Moreover they charge against the collectivists that they are drunkenness the country. Also they condemn that the ability and efforts of some men are been sacrificed for the stake of others. (Wong, E. Y. 2001)David Brooks, a newspaper editor, has analyzed about the striking behavior of the mindset of the collectivists and that of the individualists. He cites an interesting example. If we show the image of a fish ice chest to an American, he entrust focus the biggest fish in the tank and go out start explaining about it, whereas if the same image is shown to a Chinese person, he will view the tank as a whole and will start explaining about the contextual behavior of the group of fishes inside. Brooks says (2008) An American in general looks into the category barely a Chinese will look into the context. Also Brooks (2008) explains the behavior of people in collectivistic countries and individualistic countries asPeople in individualistic countries tend to overestimate their skills whereas those in collectivistic societies under estimate their skills. People in countries like China will always tend to contri furthere more for group efforts.Scientist too has supported his thoughts. They say relationship is the key to happiness. People sustentation in groups tend to flourish whereas those living alone tend to depression and they even commit suicide.Super misfire the show all country which gets a feel of something attractive and something they could get att racted too would agreeable it with open hearts. Such is a scenario with the television show, Super miss. It is fundamentally a Chinese version of American graven image TV show. When the show first started in 2005, it attracted as many as 400 one thousand thousand people from China, almost equaling the population of US and UK totaled together. It is a feminine contested show, where any girl irrespective of our background origin and other details can participate in it and showcase her talent. The show was conducted in a hierarchical round order, where each round filters the number of candidates and notwithstanding the best of the lot enter the final round. (China Daily, 2005)The 2005 season saw more than a hundred thousand applicants. Everyone was effrontery 30 seconds to perform on stage and in the allotted time they have to impress the judge with their talent. Out of the entire competitors, third were filtered for the final round. They battled it out in one of the most excitin g shows that entire China has never experienced. (China Daily, 2005)The exposure was so much that during the final show, almost every Chinese voted for the contestants to show their support. The major feature that attracted people towards the show apart from the glittering display was that the people were in turn played the role of the judges. It involved voting through SMS and other services. This made everyone feel as if they contribute towards the selection of the winner and this in turn motivated each individuals beliefs. (Ding, Y. 2008)One of the major factors of individualism that affected the Chinese culture through this show was neither the Government, nor the political party had any sort of role to play in its success. Its an ultimately new thing for the people of China.The reason for that is, prior to this show, the only entertainment that was effrontery to people through television was Spring Festival show, conducted by the presidency itself. And this show was running under strict supervision. Only the party people were allowed to view it, the rest were all watching through television alone. In fact, they were allowed only to watch, not even to participate. Rest of the shows that got lineed was all troops schedules, bashing out all kinds of military anthems and stuffs. And so, in short, with this show, the party and the government were neglected all together. For, the people, any kind of information and policy from the government regarding the show wouldnt have mattered anything. Hence, there was no show as universally accredited as this show was. (Hutong, X. 2005)The country till then had never lucky any individual pop star to turn media towards them and gain popularity. So, when the leash young lads, in their early 20s, rocked the stage with confidence and superiority, the whole nation appreciated and amazed. It was a freedom of liberty, a freedom of expression to many individuals to show their talent to all in a way they have never done before. (Hutong, X. 2005).This is the most popular as well as the most sensational show as well. But then, it is been condemned by the politicians that this show is offending the tralatitious custom of China. Inevitably this show has kindled the nationalists to get by upon the land in China. Generally the success of TV shows lies upon the comments of certain analysts who could be political commentator. Thus they took in their hands to post-mortem about the sensational show. Yardley, J. (2005). stick out of individualismSince the time when China became as Peoples Republic of China in 1949, Collectivism has been their policy. It still remains the same. It does not have direct elections to select a person to run the country. On this point of view, the Super Girl show has provided the people a new form of election where individual voting matters. It besides totally opposes the cultural values of China. (Junbo, J. 2009).It follows the footsteps of individualism which leads to the class of democracy in a non- republican country. This is the point where the show attracted envys from all corners on a political vista. As soon as the show gained popularity, the politicians criticized it to be ridiculous and rudimentary, obstructing the growth of Chinese culture and mentioned it as promoting individualism. (Quing, M. 2005).The change in cultural values towards individualism did not stop with entertainment transmission line alone. The mindset of the people was another major factor that got changed. In China before Super Girl, people were not given an opportunity to vote. This in turn lead people disabled to execute their freedom to surveil their own course of life. In all ways, the government or the lead came in their way. After this show, people have an opportunity to exercise their right to participate, execute their will. (Li, B. , 2005).The other change brought about by this show is that the convulsion and joy experienced by the people during the show, dis played that people are ready to move away from the idealistic values followed by the communist party. though this seems to be just a view of people, many critics believe that it has led to a new phenomenon emulating the civil purchase order, where individual people can be given the higher priority rather than the society. Starting from the end of the twentieth century, there have been innumerable divisions within the society based on social and cultural values. Zhu Dake (2005) has even mentioned about this,The Super Girls let us see that when the media can grasp public opinion, it can generate a virile force. I feel that public opinion will be the most productive force in 21st century China. position of mediaComing to the part the media played in this, the Super Girls show has showed that how powerful media can be. It has given a solid strength and evidence to the people that media has the power to change the face of the nation. It has the power to raise the representative of the public, no matter how big the government is. Also, with the approach of internet really qualification its way into each and everyones lives, the right to express individual view as collect attention and people are starting to use it.Super Girl-Show for allBefore the show was aired, every activity performed in the country was gradually developing a split mingled with the different takes of society. The elect and rich people of China had a better say in each and every activity than the under-privileged. This was turning out to be a major factor cultivating caste and ethnic group differences. The arrival of this show smashed up such theories that were existing and that were been practiced. It cleared the air stating a firm statement that the country and participation is for all. (Lynch, D. 2005)Super Girls the three finalists and their spirit of individualityOut of the several thousands of people who competed in the Super girl show, three girls were selected in the final. They w ere Li Yuchun, Zhou Bichang, Zhang Liangying. Out of the three , Li Yuchun emerged as the winner with almost 3.5 million votes. What helped her , irrespective of our weak voice was her personality and undeterred attitude and motivation to succeed. These are the traits of individualism. She had a, very much look of boyish hair style and a smile that could lead 1000 other people smile. Her main characteristic that made her the youth icon of 2005 was her astounding capability to enthrall the public and her fearless agonistical nature. She was determined to win the competitions and was ready to show her self-identity. She was an ordinary person with no identity till the show was conducted. Later on, she became the heartthrob of many youths, instilling individualism in many of them.Even after several months of performing, all the three of them awaitd to improve their singing skill the way handled the public and popularity was phenomenal. Chinese culture was basically related with tend er-hearted inner feelings and nature. They do not care about the outer looks. But then, through this show, the girls were dressed and vigilant like Westerners. The Westerners got this trend only because of individual exploration. They were not afraid of the society for what they were wearing and in-turn led them to different findings. The same principle was followed here by the super girls, leading them to advertise the individualistic love for dresses to general public. They advertize themselves as an example of individualism. The culture of westerners is being imported by the girls but nonetheless, the girls have modified it to their own culture and traditions. (Robertson 1995) An example is the fast fodder going identified by U.S but then, the Chinese followed it and created their own menus accord to their culture. The girls served as the best examples of global advertising and cultural change.Super Girl reaction from governmentAs a result of the pressure scenarios created by the show, the government, on 2007, banned people from casting their votes through messaging and internet. In addition to this , the government also changed the show timings in such a way that it is not shown in prime time and as a result there wont be as much viewers as there were in 2005. They have also placed rules on who all could participate in the show. ( Kim, N, 2009 )This is in response to their thought that the contenders are turning out to be bad role models for the current and futurity generation. They wanted even the dressings and hairstyles of the participants should be strictly in line with the traditional culture of the society. (Bao,. X.J., 2006). Rules were proposed to an extent that they decided to ban the show. But the show went on in 2009 with all these restrictions and is expected to continue.Some critics who are in favor of the show believe the amendments in media rules to be a first step of success against the government. They are also of the opinion that w ith appropriate and planned teaching, people can be cognizant of the democratic values and can influence democracy to be started in the country. They pose the view that the people of US were not born with the talent of choosing right leaders, it came to them only in practice as part of their lifestyle. They believe that such thing could happen with China if practiced for twenty years. ( Ning, Q., Ning, C.T.K. 2002)Super Girl-benefits in different fields apart from democracy, this show has been a revelation in providing quality contents to the public, the system of operations being so contemporaneous, changing the ideal work moral philosophy followed by the orthodox people. In call of social values and society, the program was able to meet the demands inherent in common people. It helped them satisfy their disposition to exercise their rights. In terms of financial changes, this show provided revenue like never before, thus increasing the economical stature of the country from entertainment industry too. (Xinhua., 2006)Super Girl Negative RemarksAs a show, society wise, it didnt cause any problem. But due to its huge popularity, the show gathered crowd wherever it got telecasted. As a result of it, the law men had a tough time to handle the crowd. The crowds near the stadium were down in the mouth to enter and the law men had to use their sources to get rid of them. The whole situation had become unruly. The politicians later on took this as one of the reasons for bashing at the show. The criticism was not a major one and it was forget as time passed by. Another surface that occurred was that the selection round was not done properly and there were complaints from some of the participants that though they performed well, they were eliminated and some kind of dissimilitude is done for selection based on some issue. All this has not been given strong evidence till now and hence the complaints were not taken seriously. These were some of the black marks which happened during its course time.Personal perspectiveOn a personal point of view, life is just a matter of mental perception. One can find a sea of change in life if the view of the same problem is just changed from its current perception. The people who come to participate in the competition are from different traditions and origins. Before they could perform, one could see their culture and tradition being exposed to others, either by themselves, or through their characteristics.Such traditional culture takes a dump when they perform and get publicized after some success. Their individualism takes the front stage leaving out the collectivism and Confucianism. They are prompted to be self-aware, self conscious(p), care about themselves and neglect the so called cultural collectivism. This can be seen in two ways. This either affects their own cultural development or in a positive note, helps them liberalise and understand their own self rights. It is obvious that both cannot be achieved simultaneously. (Bodde, D.1957) isolated from the contestant point of view, the other factor that comes in here is the democracy and direct election. In my view, I dont see any kind of relation between the Super Girl show voting system and democracy. Yes, I understand, it is one form exercising ones right to participate. It gives you pleasure that you performed something that could change the fate of other person. But the change doesnt have the magnitude that a democracy election would have over an entire country. (Zhou, R. 2005).This being one view, one other point of view is that this could be seen as a democratic seed sown in a communist land. People tend to exaggerate this simple thing into such a huge issue that it got concerns from the government itself and led to the restriction on the show itself. Here, I have to mention that Chinese people have thrown sand on themselves. They have seen something new, some new change being happening, which they could capitalize o n and make it scale greater heights. Instead, they tried to expose the democratic fusion that it minutely had, into a full blown issue and it showed the effects of it. (Jakes S. 2006) It is not possible here to suggest a predicament on whether the democracy interpreted through the show is valuable, deep and thought provoking. There is no compromise on whether it kindled the thought or not. Some people would go for a yes, some would go for a no but there can never be a unanimous decision for this issue. (Time,1954).People all of a sudden forget the mere existence of the central government and without any message or communication from the top level governance they just started forming groups and started enjoying by their groups. They have merely forgotten the presence of a top level institution in the country. They were living in their reel life rather than their real life. (Ding, Y. 2008).According to D.D Pratt (1991), transformation from collectivistic nature of human being to ind ividualism involves transformation of personality. This in his view is done in terms of perceptual, rational and moral knowledge. On Chinese point of view, it is about perfection and education. Hence their view was fully focused on Confucianism, and their human nature was limited in its view. With the advent of this show, it is shown that the Chinese have found about the innumerable forms that a human nature relationship can take in its entirety. Hofstede, G. (2001).The major highlight of the show that specially characterizes individualism is the way each one is given the freedom to express themselves, how they are given the freedom to express their emotions, there inside thoughts, irrespective of their tradition. The show showed that culture is just nothing but sharing between one another and the resulting boundaries that develop to individual groups.When people from different culture, from different walks of the society are pitted against each other, they make their own assumption s about others only based on their own culture that is their values and principles they follow. These are only reasonable from their point of view, not from others. Hence, these conceptions take a dig when they do something wrong, which in turn, leads them to do self conscious work and that is, individualism. So, self-conscious nature gets into them once they enter the show itself. This in turn affects the already inherent cultural values inside them. (Ding, Y. 2008).The other reasons that I could state for the analysis of individualism in Super Girl show is that it is not only providing the current generation youth, a role model to look for , or a principle to follow for, but the fact is the feel of warmth, a fresh charming wavelength flowing between the contestants and the youth. They give high priority to this warmth, higher than their friends higher than their colleagues and most importantly, higher than the model set created on a moral basis by the Chinese government. The othe r factor is the psychological factor. The youth are able to get psychologically inspired through this show. Psychological inspiration involves , a belief in inside to follow their goal, a head start to achieve their goals and an attitude, that can take success or failure no matter what comes, taking both in a positive way. So, for all these aspects, the culture of the Super Girls can be used as an doer in shaping up their career. (Yan, Y 2000)An apt example for this scenario could be, the use of rules and regulations in an apt manner can be followed by other rule making or governing institutions. People who feel are lagging in educational career, can concentrate on their extra-curricular talents with this show as an inspiration. So, this show gives the self confidence to the youth and in the process applies self-realization.Another example that could be provided is how even the under-privileged people can mark from the Super Girls, the ability to persist until the goal is reache d. It gives them the confidence not to rest until the limelight is achieved. (Zan, Z.2009). According to Ha Jin, an acclaimed writer, The Chinese youth have changed their own perception. They think about themselves differently. They are self-worthier and they have started to think in terms of earning money for themselves to achieve their purpose. He feels that people are no more thinking that individualism is a bad factor and they are appreciating it shuttingIt is a fact that the Super Girls show has sown the seed of individualism in China. This situation can be compared to a drowning person who gets air mixed with carbon dioxide. It is obvious that the person will try to take as much air as possible without caring the level of carbon dioxide. The same has happened in China. But, this cannot be exaggerated by any means. Though the show is running for a period of 6 years, the substance of individualism impact it had upon the Chinese youth is very minimal. Individualism is a complica ted issue and is directly related with the development of the nation. China, being the fastest developer in the world is yet to come in terms with the individualistic nature of U.S on cultural perspective. The national differences are going to continue to be prevalent between these nations. No matter, how many different add up of shows come, the domination of traditional collectivism in historic China is not going to be replaced by individualism any time soon.ReferencesHofstede, G. (2001). Cultures consequences (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, CA Sage.McCrae, R. R. (2001). Trait psychology and culture Exploring intercultural comparisons. ledger of Personality, 69, 819846.Oyserman, D., Coon, H. M,. Kemmelmeier,M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism valuation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 372.Pratt, D. 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