A Study Of Body Discipline In Short Video Culture

With the rise of consumer society,the shift towards visual culture and the development of new media technology,the short video cultural space is filled with a large number of visualized body imagery,and the human body is greatly magnified,and each individual is able to freely express and exhibit the body.In the short video space dominated by popular and participatory culture,the attention to the body is focused on the beauty of the external image,and “face value”becomes the focus of expression,and there is a sharp increase in professional short videos on body modification and shaping.However,this is accompanied by the worship of face value and materialism,and the degree of body anxiety and involution is constantly increased and alienated as a tool for labor and consumption.The emphasis of short video culture on appearance,body,and form has brought the body back into the “mind-body dualism”,which has become a technical tool of capital for body discipline.To address this phenomenon,this paper selects Shake Yin as the research platform and short videos related to body grooming and shaping as the research objects,namely beauty,dressing,and fitness short videos,and uses non-participant observation,in-depth interviews,and content analysis to carry out the research.The first part of this paper is divided into three parts,starting from the phenomenon that short video culture focuses on the beauty of the body,which is becoming a medium for individual expression and is manipulated by others and culture.The body in short video culture is manipulated,shaped and domesticated,showing obvious body discipline qualities.Then,we borrow Foucault’s regulation theory to analyze how the body norms in short video culture,the power of body regulation,are generated.As a micro power,the premise of its generation lies in the refinement of the “division”of the body,which generates a continuous stream of body transformation content;at the same time,as the power to dominate and control the body aesthetically,the basis of its formation lies in the presentation of the “charm” of the body,and the process of body transformation,which forms the power of body regulation.In addition,as the source of the power of bodily discipline,the knowledge of the “transformation”of the body,it strengthens the credibility of the power,and under the combined effect of the three,the power of bodily discipline is created.Finally,we analyze how this normative power acts on the body,how the mechanism of body disciplinary power operates.The standardized,stylized and scenario-based body symbols show users the aesthetic standards of body image,body power is good at setting hot topics to stimulate users’ imitation enthusiasm,and at the same time,creating a circle culture to build body identity concept,and body regulation power carries out daily training for the body through the above operation mechanism.The normative power of the body is detailed,personalized and intellectualized,and the training means are presented in the face of entertainment,freedom and culture,“embellishing”the body’s cognition,attitude,posture and behavior,etc.The body becomes a repairable machine,and productive thinking makes body anxiety and involution more and more obvious.At the same time,the perception of the self is constantly shifting between the real,shaped and ideal body,and the flesh is becoming more dominant,soft pornography is increasing,and the spiritual value of the subject is obscured by reality.In this regard,individuals must be alert to the cunning of body power and cultivate the character of “paying attention to the self”.