Author(s)

Xiran Zhou ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Foreign Languages, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China

Corresponding Author

Xiran Zhou

ABSTRACT

In China, Big Name Fans (BNFs), acting as opinion leaders within fan communities, exert significant influence in orchestrating large-scale fan activities. Although the profound impact of fandom on the entertainment industry is widely recognized, the underlying strategies and mechanisms that facilitate this mobilization process remain largely unexplored. This study adopts the Discourse-Historical Analysis framework to delve into the linguistic strategies employed by BNFs on Weibo, China's premier social media platform for fan clubs, to mobilize large-scale and voluntary fan actions that demand substantial fan labor. The findings reveal that the predominant language strategies utilized are nomination and predication, which align closely with the emotionally charged environment of Weibo. Beyond examining the specific use of these language strategies, this study seeks to shed light on the underlying mechanisms that empower BNFs in their mobilization endeavors.

KEYWORDS

Language Strategies, Discourse-Historical Analysis, Fan Action, Fandom Culture, Big Name Fan

CITE THIS PAPER

Xiran Zhou, Understanding BNFs' Language Strategies in Mobilizing Large-scale Fan Actions: A Case of Fan Club Activities for the Film Article 20. Media and Communication Research (2024) Vol. 5: 77-84. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/mediacr.2024.050312.

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