On Thursday 9 April 2020, M. Xu will defend her PhD dissertation, entitled: ‘Getting Close to the Media World: An ethnographic analysis of everyday encounters with the film industry in contemporary China’.
This dissertation aims to provide a multi-sided perspective on encounters between ordinary people and the film industry, focusing in particular on media encounters in China. It poses the following main research question: What is the role and significance of ‘unmediated’ encounters with the media world in contemporary Chinese society? The dissertation investigates not only how these media encounters are organised and experienced, but also the wider impacts of this cultural phenomenon. Why focus on China? The Chinese film industry has experienced phenomenal growth in the last decade and is expected to become the world’s largest market in box office revenue and audience numbers by late 2020 (Deloitte, 2017). Likewise, opportunities for these Chinese audiences to encounter media people face-to-face have greatly increased in the past five years. However, despite the prevalence and popularity of such practices, media encounters remain an underexplored topic within Chinese media studies. Understanding the cultural phenomenon of media encounters in China can shed light on this booming film industry from a unique perspective.
The PhD defences will not take place publicly in the Senate Hall or Professor Andries Queridoroon due to the coronavirus. The candidates will defend their thesis online.