Hero is Back- The rising of Chinese audiences: The demonstration of SHI in popularizing a Chinese animation

Abstract

This article studies how Chinese audiences’ participation contributes to a new all-time animation box-office champ, “Monkey King: Hero is Back,” and how such participation may contribute to facilitating a richer and more varied cultural life in China in the future. This made-in-China animation film snatched the throne from DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 2” by breaking the latter’s 4-year record (617 million RMB) after announcing its box-office sale had exceeded 800 million RMB on 4 August. The significance of the animation is approved by a seminar held by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television, naming it “the milestone of domestic animation film production” on 4 August. The legend of the animation is an exemplification of the enthusiasm of Chinese audiences, who identify themselves not only as fans but also followers and cheerleaders of the film. They self-addressed themselves as zi lai shui (literally means tap-water, 自来水), figuratively means the Internet mercenaries willing to advertise the film on social media at their own expense. Drawing on the literature of power and influence, fans of “Monkey King: Hero is Back” will be interviewed and their online activities and comments will be analyzed to find out (1) how the scattered audience members built a united identification online and (2) how such spontaneous but also well-organized Internet aggregation turns into SHI (overwhelming with numerical strength, social capital, and influence) and further empowers the Chinese audiences in an era in which social media prosper in China.