The politics of love in contemporary China: Cosmopolitanism and competing masculinities in Best Time

Abstract

Since the new millennium, the television industry in China has witnessed a flourishing of television series addressing the aspirations, struggles and gender expectations of the urban middle class. Nevertheless, with few exceptions, little scholarly attention has been devoted to the televisual construction of masculine ideals in the contemporary era. Taking as a case study Best Time (最美的时光), one of the most popular idol dramas of 2013, this article fills a lacuna in current scholarship and addresses the televisual construction of cosmopolitan masculinities by focusing on the tension between two prominent social groups: overseas returnees and indigenous talents. Through analysis of the construction of competing masculinities in Best Time, this article argues that this drama is as much about an undertone of national rejuvenation, and the desire for China’s rise and global dominance, as it is about unrequited love. In pursuing this argument, a critical reading of a youth idol drama opens new avenues for understanding cosmopolitanism through the lenses of gender dynamics and nationalism.