Consumption Of Nonmainstream As A Way To Mainstream:How Did Guyue A Backpacker Become A Star Of Sina Microblog?

Backpacking tourism as a unique subculture originated from the western countries. Backpackers present a non-mainstream lifestyle. With the economic development and social transformations, backpacking has grown in popularity in China. Chinese American Gu Yue, who has nearly two hundred thousand followers on Sina Microblog, has become famous in China because of his unique lifestyle and ideas of life. Current thesis explores the role of microblog in the process of Gu becoming famous and explains why Gu became famous in the context of consumer society.Current thesis consists in three parts:Part I is literature review. Firstly, previous literature on the history of backpacking tourism, essential features of backpackers, their motivations and identity are illustrative to understand Gu Yue and his followers. Secondly, the researches about backpackers how to use social media are helpful to understand social media’s role in communication. Thirdly, researches on audience change as the society and media technique develops."Spectacle/Performance Paradigm" points out that the study on audience should focus on the "construction of identity" rather than "power". This paradigm is instrumental for current thesis to clarify how Gu and his followers construct their identity though microblog.Part Ⅱ is the empirical study on Gu’s microblog posts and book. Firstly, the overall characteristics of Gu’s microblog posts, the different strategies that Gu used during different periods of time, the online and offline activities based on microblog, the image of Gu held by his followers are explicated by content analysis. Secondly, based on analysis on Gu’s book and his microblog, Gu’s motivation, self-identity and his understanding of his followers are explored.Part III is the discussion based on the empirical study. There are two paradoxes in the process of Gu Yue becoming famous. First paradox is rooted in the fact that Gu takes up mutually incompatible roles:backpacker and life mentor. Since Gu uses microblog to present his travel and life, his backpacking travel is more and more like performance rather than a way to seek authenticity, which is a central pursuit to backpackers. However, thanks to the exhibitions and exchanges made possible by microblog, Gu became a’life mentor" as his idea and lifestyle can be propagated and thus influence others. The formation of Gu’s identity as’life mentor’can be explicated by the "Spectacle/Performance Paradigm". The second paradox lies in Gu Yue’s motivation and the impact. One of his important motivations is to make this ’non-mainstream’lifestyle enter the mainstream. However, it is not Gu’s lifestyle but the consumption of his travel and life that became popular. The reason why he can live such a life—traveling without working, is precisely because his travel actually becomes his work. TV stations, the press and other companies sponsor his travel. What the consumers buy is the identity constructed through microblog by spectacle, performance, imagination and narcissism.Current thesis contributes mainly in two areas. Firstly, it provides an alternative perspective to analyze microblog. From the perspective of "Spectacle/Performance Paradigm", microblog is a medium which contributes to the formation of "spectacle society". Gu and his follows construct their identities through microblog. Secondly, current research shows that the identity that "Spectacle/Performance Paradigm" refers to is not free from the grip of consumer society. The very followers, who are the consumers of Gu’s travel, are contributors to the production of Gu’s becoming a "star" Any study on microblog in China would remain insufficient without proper attention to commercial penetration and manipulation.