How digital platforms facilitate parody: online humour in the construction of Hong Kong identity

Abstract

Previous works on Hong Kong identity and popular culture focused on films, television and music. Few studies investigate humour outside of these media and the humour of online communities. This study argues that humour is an important vehicle of identity construction, especially with the dominance of online platforms in modern communication. Using Benign Violation Theory and Ontological Semantic Theory of Humor, this study demonstrates how the trolling culture online has been an effective tool to subvert and negotiate the mainstream narrative of identity, embodied by the motto of ‘You lose if you’re serious.’ This paper analyses humorous ‘trendy posts’ from the Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities in Hong Kong and shows how satire and parody in Cantonese are used in online platforms to build the local Hong Kong identity as opposed to wider, national Chinese identity. What makes trendy posts special is the heavy use of Cantonese and references to local subculture and celebrities, often with the intention to mock and defy the narrative of mainstream television channels and shrinking local film industry. This study argues that such in-group connection and identity building are often a decentralised and bottom-up process, given that online contents are generated by users, who organically negotiate authenticity and membership. Serving the need for story retelling, humour is argued to be the perfect vehicle for collective memories and identity building for online communities.