The 揽佬 section is my favorite observation. The algorithm doesn't just flatten the music, it inverts it — a song about scarcity and desperate prayer becomes a vibe, the hunger becomes aesthetic. What you're describing with "来财" being a prayer not a flex is exactly the kind of nuance that can't survive the format it's being distributed in. The TikTok version of Chineseness is always going to be the one that's convenient to consume. The harder question is whether enough people will eventually follow the thread back to the real thing, or whether the flattened version just becomes what Chineseness means to the people who only know it from outside.
Thank you for reading and yes this exactly! I doubt many people would go on to listen to the rest of his album, where in songs like “Whips and Cribs" he says he's "casting a spell" for more wealth and it completely contradicts with how most TikTokers perceive him. So much of Chinese entertainment is (and has been) in this bind of not surviving its format - it's part of why I started this publication!
That’s exactly the bind — the format selects for the hook and discards the context, and the context is where the actual meaning lives. “Casting a spell” for wealth hits completely differently when you’ve heard the whole album. Really glad this publication exists for exactly this reason, adding to my regular reading 👏
I know this is not the main point (and the whole piece is so good I feel bad for not commenting on it), but the only thing I disagree with is "the most heartthrob Sherlock to have ever appeared on modern television" ahaha
Ahaha what I meant was that he was probably the most conventionally attractive Sherlock! i.e. good hair, nice bone structure and Hollywood jawline vibes, which just adds to the eerie AI vibe of the whole show imo. Too clean and pristine-looking for the character to me...
Fascinating piece, unfortunately, it really is just the way the medium works. Tiktok and short form content will always flatten everything to it's bare aesthetic. It's fun to watch from the outside, but one day you'll find your own culture being flattened in the same way.
Thanks for reading! I’m very aware of the medium and what it does - my point here is more on how the flattening is affecting China specifically when it is already pretty flattened and often ridiculed/fetishised/othered on Western platforms, especially when it comes to entertainment and fan cultures. You are right that everything is flattened though - I am seeing a lot of reels and memes about Italians and French that are based on a lot of trite stereotypes too. Would love to see a native’s take on it
The 揽佬 section is my favorite observation. The algorithm doesn't just flatten the music, it inverts it — a song about scarcity and desperate prayer becomes a vibe, the hunger becomes aesthetic. What you're describing with "来财" being a prayer not a flex is exactly the kind of nuance that can't survive the format it's being distributed in. The TikTok version of Chineseness is always going to be the one that's convenient to consume. The harder question is whether enough people will eventually follow the thread back to the real thing, or whether the flattened version just becomes what Chineseness means to the people who only know it from outside.
Thank you for reading and yes this exactly! I doubt many people would go on to listen to the rest of his album, where in songs like “Whips and Cribs" he says he's "casting a spell" for more wealth and it completely contradicts with how most TikTokers perceive him. So much of Chinese entertainment is (and has been) in this bind of not surviving its format - it's part of why I started this publication!
That’s exactly the bind — the format selects for the hook and discards the context, and the context is where the actual meaning lives. “Casting a spell” for wealth hits completely differently when you’ve heard the whole album. Really glad this publication exists for exactly this reason, adding to my regular reading 👏
Thank you so much! <3
I know this is not your main point, but hard same on Young Sherlock.
I know this is not the main point (and the whole piece is so good I feel bad for not commenting on it), but the only thing I disagree with is "the most heartthrob Sherlock to have ever appeared on modern television" ahaha
Ahaha what I meant was that he was probably the most conventionally attractive Sherlock! i.e. good hair, nice bone structure and Hollywood jawline vibes, which just adds to the eerie AI vibe of the whole show imo. Too clean and pristine-looking for the character to me...
Fascinating piece, unfortunately, it really is just the way the medium works. Tiktok and short form content will always flatten everything to it's bare aesthetic. It's fun to watch from the outside, but one day you'll find your own culture being flattened in the same way.
Thanks for reading! I’m very aware of the medium and what it does - my point here is more on how the flattening is affecting China specifically when it is already pretty flattened and often ridiculed/fetishised/othered on Western platforms, especially when it comes to entertainment and fan cultures. You are right that everything is flattened though - I am seeing a lot of reels and memes about Italians and French that are based on a lot of trite stereotypes too. Would love to see a native’s take on it