Interactive Mechanism Of Online Mukbang Community On Bilibili Video Website

As an "imported product",Mukbang has quickly attracted the attention of sub-cultural communities in China because of its novel expressions.Viewers who like Mukbang'gather' together on video platforms and form the online interested-related communities where they communicate,exchange emotions and spread culture.This thesis selects Mukbang communities on the Bilibili Video website,the largest sub-cultural community platform in China,and looks at the mechanism for interaction between viewers and broadcast jockeys(BJs).It uses the Interaction Ritual Chain,a concept put forward by Randall Collins in 1986 as the theoretical framework to analyze the interaction among Mukbang communities on the Bilibili Video website,and identify the rules and distinctive features of their interaction.It further explores the patterns of their group behavior and causal factors of such patterns.During the research,this thesis conducts a five-month participatory observation on five kinds of Mukbang communities and performs content analysis of barrage and commentary on the most played videos in these communities.Besides,in-depth interviews with 15 community participants are conducted to obtain their attitudes towards subjects,content,motivations and influences of interaction among Mukbang communities.Based on the above data,this thesis further summarizes the features and mechanism of interaction in these Mukbang communities.The thesis has shown the result that interaction in Mukbang community presents four aspects of characteristics:1.Two-way interaction of subjects;2.Sensory features of content;3.Emotional motivation as the main driving force;4.Realistic impacts.It's concluded that the Mukbang community has constructed a sustainable two-way interaction model that has positive impacts on viewers' actions.By awakening viewers' senses and emotions,this model meets their demands for expressing emotions,seeking resonance and enhancing the sense of participation.What's more,the emotional tendency of content is an important factor that affects viewers' willingness to participate in the community interaction.Positive content helps to increase the audience's willingness and cultivates a good community atmosphere,while negative content prevents the audience from interaction and effects the stability of community.Besides,the thesis finds that the interactive mechanism of Mukbang communities is an emotional mechanism with a chain structure,which is formed by chains of interactive rituals with common concerns and emotions as the link.This mechanism is composed of four elements:virtual gathering of subjects,setting limits for outsiders,derivation of common concerns,and sharing common emotional states.During the interacting process,the mechanism produces symbolic results including community symbols and ethical standards,emotional results including community solidarity and personal emotional energy,and behavioral results.Also,the rise of Mukbang community is associated with social changes.Sub-cultural resistance for identity,atomic individual's singularity and loneliness,and symbol consumption under emotional economy are the main social motives behind the interactive mechanism of Mukbang communityBased on the above findings,this thesis holds the opinion that the Mukbang community,in order to strengthen its inner interaction and realize its steady development,should focus on producing positive content,establishing a two-way interactive model,highlighting common concerns and enhancing viewers' emotional and sensory experiences In addition,this thesis,by studying online communities,proves that Collins's theory has undergone a new evolution in the context of new media and its core model,'Interaction Ritual Chain' model,has also been revised and improved.In this model,the prerequisite for the interaction ritual has been transformed from the presence of member's physical body into the 'virtual presence' of member's avatars in the cyberspace.