Post-00s “job and work”: the two-way rush of the mainstream and the trend
Red Net Moment | July 15, 2023
□Fang Kai (Qingdao Agricultural University)
“Whoever talks nonsense, give him an electric cannon”, “Dinosaurs carrying wolves”, “Great windmills creaking and spinning”… A few years ago, it was absolutely hard for people to imagine that these “brainwashing music” would be as serious as ever combined with the official account of, and get along so well. Nowadays, the “organization team” of the short video platform is getting bigger and bigger, many official accounts have set off a “creative wave”, and the message area has become a “song order platform”.
We are no strangers to discussions about young people on the Internet. This generation endowed with youthful vitality shows its youthful demeanor in different ways and leads the development of social trends. Today, the post-00s have entered the media circle, changing their role from “reportees” to “operating editors”, especially changing the folk image of traditional mainstream media, which has aroused heated discussions among the public. In this carnival, people refreshed their understanding of the mainstream media and also gave the post-00s the “head work” of contrasting cuteness. Some netizens left a message, “At the beginning I said that post-00s were not allowed to work, and you didn’t listen.” “Post-00s edited, post-90s reviewed, post-80s wiped their sweat and reported to post-70s”… All kinds of funny jokes are expressing everyone’s concern for this group as the main force of mainstream media content innovation and are also full of love for the two-way rush of the mainstream and the trend.
It is not difficult to see that the mainstream media and trend expressions go in both directions, and dialogue and interaction are the key. Although the entire society is under the coverage of the propaganda network, the development of mass media has promoted the freedom of information choice for the public. Faced with a long speech and a sentence of paternalistic preaching, young people in particular still feel somewhat resistant. The 50th “Statistical Report on Internet Development in China” shows that as of June 2022, the number of Internet users in my country is 1.051 billion, and the proportion of Internet users aged 20-29 and 30-39 is 17.2% and 20.3% respectively. It can be seen that how to attract young people, how to rely on trends, and produce products that the masses like to hear and see has become an important aspect for mainstream media to enhance their communication power and influence. This kind of “reorganization” allows us to see that those works of art that are loved by the public have been put on the stage, and works that are engraved in the depths of memory, such as the theme song of “Journey to the West”, “Shook and Beta”, Zhao Lirong’s short essays, etc., also glowing with vitality. The mainstream media let go of their stance, and the trend of individuality goes forward, and the mainstream value is also deepened in this interaction.
Idealistic fellowship, quiet walk far. Of particular note is that this year marks the tenth year of media convergence. Ten years of merging media has produced many well-known masterpieces, reversed the reporting situation of “whoever writes and who reads, who writes and reads”, and created an innovative and dynamic publicity environment. Facing the spring breeze of media fusion, groups of young people took up editorial positions and operated official accounts with innovative thinking. The two-way rush of the mainstream and the trend is not only reflected in the combination of popular culture and mainstream media in the content of works but also allows us to see that the cooperation between mainstream media and young groups, media integration escorts young people’s daring to think and do, and innovates. The concept also revives the traditional media in the new environment.
Trend + mainstream = top stream. “Post-2000s work” is just a representative. Behind this two-way rush is our affirmation of the road to media integration and our expectations for innovative expression.
Source: Red Net
Author: Fang Kai
Editor: Tian Dezheng