Mediatization of Religion and Its Impact on Youth Identity Formation in Contemporary China

In response to the trend of information technology development, religions in China are undergoing a process of mediatization. This study takes the popular Chinese animated films Ne Zha: Birth of the Demon Child (哪吒之魔童降世) (2019) and New Gods: Yang Jian (新神榜: 杨戬) (2022) as research cases of mediatizat...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wei, Mengxue (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: MDPI 2024
In: Religions
Year: 2024, Volume: 15, Issue: 3
Further subjects:B fan community
B animated movies
B Modern Religion
B youth identity
B mediatization of religion
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)

MARC

LEADER 00000naa a22000002 4500
001 1881527891
003 DE-627
005 20240223141314.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 240223s2024 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.3390/rel15030268  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1881527891 
035 |a (DE-599)KXP1881527891 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 0  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |a Wei, Mengxue  |e VerfasserIn  |4 aut 
245 1 0 |a Mediatization of Religion and Its Impact on Youth Identity Formation in Contemporary China 
264 1 |c 2024 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a In response to the trend of information technology development, religions in China are undergoing a process of mediatization. This study takes the popular Chinese animated films Ne Zha: Birth of the Demon Child (哪吒之魔童降世) (2019) and New Gods: Yang Jian (新神榜: 杨戬) (2022) as research cases of mediatization of religion and conducts a focused study of the respective protagonists Ne Zha (哪吒) and Yang Jian (杨戬), both prominent figures in Chinese religious and folk traditions. Through text analysis and empirical research on the two movies and their fans, this study examines how religion is being mediatized in contemporary China in the transformation to Religion 2.0 or a type of amalgamation of real- and virtual-world practices that enact a relationship with the divine, and how this shapes identity formation for fans, who are mostly young individuals in their teens and twenties. This research argues that to obtain permission for dissemination in mainstream media and thrive in the cultural context of China, religion chooses to assume the form of media products that can bypass scrutiny that forbids “supernatural phenomena” and aligns with the mainstream ideology. It has to be a “contributory religion” that contributes to the “revitalization” of national spirit and inherited Chinese culture, not a potential “superstitious” threat to the Marxist orthodoxy. In the context of official promotion of atheism and the regulation of public discourse, animated films with themes adapted from traditional mythological and religious stories, such as Ne Zha: Birth of the Demon Child and New Gods: Yang Jian, have become a major cultural form through which people in China engage with religious symbols and narratives. The enormous success of the two movies resulted in a large population of young fans. Influenced by these films, their fans have developed an egoistic religious perspective rather than assimilating the religious or cultural messages contained in the movies. These fans may experience solace and a call to faith to some extent in their consumption of the movies, but they selectively enhance religious literacy that only meets their personal needs. Interest in divine individuals far outweighs interest in or loyalty to the religious doctrine or sect itself. Pilgrimages are undertaken to fulfill personal fantasies, and the promotion of the divine is aimed at vying for influence within fan communities. The second part of this study examines the activities of the fans that I argue are characteristic of the age of Religion 2.0. 
601 |a Religion 
650 4 |a youth identity 
650 4 |a fan community 
650 4 |a animated movies 
650 4 |a Modern Religion 
650 4 |a mediatization of religion 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Religions  |d Basel : MDPI, 2010  |g 15(2024), 3, Artikel-ID 268  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)665435797  |w (DE-600)2620962-7  |w (DE-576)348219067  |x 2077-1444  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:15  |g year:2024  |g number:3  |g elocationid:268 
856 |u https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15/3/268/pdf?version=1708595975  |x unpaywall  |z Vermutlich kostenfreier Zugang  |h publisher [oa journal (via doaj)] 
856 4 0 |u https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030268  |x Resolving-System  |z kostenfrei  |3 Volltext 
856 4 0 |u https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15/3/268  |x Verlag  |z kostenfrei  |3 Volltext 
912 |a NOMM 
935 |a mteo 
936 u w |d 15  |j 2024  |e 3  |i 268 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 4490450982 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1881527891 
LOK |0 005 20240223141314 
LOK |0 008 240223||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 035   |a (DE-Tue135)IxTheo#2024-02-22#7D8521DA81EBC27D893EE399CCF73AAEA754A605 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-Tue135  |c DE-627  |d DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a ixzs  |a zota 
OAS |a 1 
ORI |a TA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw 
REL |a 1 
SUB |a REL