Hero-Making in Chinese and U.S. News During COVID-19: The Warrior and Leader Images of Zhong Nanshan and Anthony Fauci

Abstract

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges to global health and raised important questions about social coordination. Amidst the crisis, discursive constructions of national heroes proliferated in Chinese and U.S. mainstream news media and played a crucial role in exercising social control and influence. From a comparative perspective, this article examines the structure and functions of heroic discourses and explores the similarities and differences of heroism across national borders. Specifically, we interrogate news reports on Zhong Nanshan and Anthony Fauci, two medical experts who emerged as prominent heroes in China and the U.S. respectively. Adopting a qualitative approach, we identify two central images in the construction of Zhong and Fauci as national heroes. One is “the warrior,” which illuminates the heroic qualities of determination, bravery, altruism, and perseverance. The other is “the leader,” which shows Zhong and Fauci’s pioneering roles and abilities in attracting followers. Intermingled with these two images are themes of moral excellence and exceptionalism. The most salient difference in the hero-making is that Zhong assumes a “supported hero” while Fauci assumes a “contested hero.” Overall, despite nuances shaped by socio-political contexts, Chinese and U.S. media share quite similar narrative structures in making national heroes during the pandemic.