Zhang, Ning
(2024)
Leslie Cheung in mainland China: cross-border circulation, fan participation, and cultural memory.
PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.
Abstract
Despite Hong Kong star Leslie Cheung's suicide due to depression in 2003, his influence in Mainland China has not only remained undiminished over the past 20 years but has even grown stronger, attracting a large following of young fans. While several Hong Kong stars have passed away prematurely, few have possessed the same level of charisma and enduring influence as Leslie Cheung in the Mainland. From the perspective of an interdisciplinary study, which mixes star research, fan research and cultural memory studies, this thesis deals primarily with Cheung's cross-border circulation and posthumous stardom in the Mainland, with a focus on how his fans have constructed his collective memory in the particular political and cultural environment of Mainland China. Through an analysis of the historical materials in Chinese and English and related literature, this thesis firstly examines the complex relationship between Hong Kong and the Mainland in terms of population, economy and the cultural industry before 2003 to understand Cheung's cross-border circulation in a complex and dynamic historical context. The thesis then investigates how both formal and informal paths have contributed to his circulation in Mainland China by analysing various English and Chinese materials, and fan recollections. Also, through personal interviews, direct observation, and digital ethnography, it explores how fans have constructed his memory among the public and fan communities through offline commemorations, memorial places, and online fan communities.
The thesis argues that through a complex circulatory network constructed through industrial collaboration, star self-image construction, and fan participation – negotiating with the specific ideology and breaking through the censorship system – Cheung successfully established his cross-border star status in the unique economic and historical context of the Mainland during the 1980s and early 2000s. This thesis also argues that by organising commemorative events, establishing memorial sites, and re-imagining his image within online communities, fans have successfully facilitated the flow of Cheung’s memory across generations and groups, thus consolidating his posthumous cross-border stardom and collective memory. In this way it reveals how fan participation is able to construct a cross-border stardom in the complex dynamics of the Mainland through negotiation with specific ideologies during a star's life and after their death.
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