Moments of "Madness": Cynicism in Times of COVID
This paper zeroes in on several transient yet significant moments that emerged in China during November to December 2022, when the country’s strict zero-COVID policy transitioned to an abrupt lift of all restrictions. It analyzes three types of phenomena to deepen our understanding of how cynicism o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Michigan Publishing
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Global Storytelling |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/gs/article/id/4575/ |
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| _version_ | 1850270308999626752 |
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| author | Shaohua Guo |
| author_facet | Shaohua Guo |
| author_sort | Shaohua Guo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper zeroes in on several transient yet significant moments that emerged in China during November to December 2022, when the country’s strict zero-COVID policy transitioned to an abrupt lift of all restrictions. It analyzes three types of phenomena to deepen our understanding of how cynicism operates as a coping mechanism for individuals to make sense of their everyday lives: (1) “literatures of madness” (fafeng wenxue), (2) group crawls on college campuses, and (3) pandemic jokes (duanzi) satirizing policy changes. The explored scenes illustrate a spectrum of cynical responses that challenge the distinctions between the real and the fictional, truths and rumors, and the playful and the political. Consequently, cynicism emerges as a diverse set of strategies on both textual and performative levels, aiding in the interpretation of the absurd. Further, an investigation of these cases sheds light on understanding contemporary youth culture in the context of a global health crisis. Amid the popular rhetoric about the youth celebrating passivity, all three cases illustrate the liminal space in which youths navigate between passivity and agency, between disillusionment and hope. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7fae8962b8794a849ff7b87c8be2d496 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2769-4941 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Michigan Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Storytelling |
| spelling | doaj-art-7fae8962b8794a849ff7b87c8be2d4962025-08-20T01:52:41ZengMichigan PublishingGlobal Storytelling2769-49412024-02-013210.3998/gs.4575Moments of "Madness": Cynicism in Times of COVIDShaohua Guo0Asian Languages and Literatures, Carleton CollegeThis paper zeroes in on several transient yet significant moments that emerged in China during November to December 2022, when the country’s strict zero-COVID policy transitioned to an abrupt lift of all restrictions. It analyzes three types of phenomena to deepen our understanding of how cynicism operates as a coping mechanism for individuals to make sense of their everyday lives: (1) “literatures of madness” (fafeng wenxue), (2) group crawls on college campuses, and (3) pandemic jokes (duanzi) satirizing policy changes. The explored scenes illustrate a spectrum of cynical responses that challenge the distinctions between the real and the fictional, truths and rumors, and the playful and the political. Consequently, cynicism emerges as a diverse set of strategies on both textual and performative levels, aiding in the interpretation of the absurd. Further, an investigation of these cases sheds light on understanding contemporary youth culture in the context of a global health crisis. Amid the popular rhetoric about the youth celebrating passivity, all three cases illustrate the liminal space in which youths navigate between passivity and agency, between disillusionment and hope.https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/gs/article/id/4575/literatures of madnessgroup crawlspandemic jokesyouth culturecynicism |
| spellingShingle | Shaohua Guo Moments of "Madness": Cynicism in Times of COVID Global Storytelling literatures of madness group crawls pandemic jokes youth culture cynicism |
| title | Moments of "Madness": Cynicism in Times of COVID |
| title_full | Moments of "Madness": Cynicism in Times of COVID |
| title_fullStr | Moments of "Madness": Cynicism in Times of COVID |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moments of "Madness": Cynicism in Times of COVID |
| title_short | Moments of "Madness": Cynicism in Times of COVID |
| title_sort | moments of madness cynicism in times of covid |
| topic | literatures of madness group crawls pandemic jokes youth culture cynicism |
| url | https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/gs/article/id/4575/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shaohuaguo momentsofmadnesscynicismintimesofcovid |