Audience empowerment in multilingual media

The interplay between audiences, platforms, and the state

Bibliographic Data

ID22425709
AuthorsJuerong Qiu (0000-0002-1011-7988, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author), Anthony Pym (0000-0002-9440-0886, Universitat Rovira i Virgili)
Year2026
Pages1-17
Publication date2026-07-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTranslation Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1478-1700 • E-ISSN: 1751-2921
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14781700.2026.2669512
OpenAlexW7167910487
LanguageEN
References cited19

Current video-streaming platforms encourage audiences to engage in the meaning-making and circulation of audiovisual content through liking, sharing, and commenting. These forms of participation can function as interactions between viewers, moving away from the centralized control of content creators and toward viewer empowerment. The shift becomes pronounced when a translated audiovisual product is received and commented on in multiple languages. This study examines a Chinese drama and its subtitled versions on four platforms. Various forms of online participation, including danmaku comments, timed comments, forum comments, reviews, and social media posts, are analysed to explore the power negotiations between different audience groups, the streaming platforms, and state control. It is found that Chinese viewers’ participation can influence the production of the original product, whereas non-Chinese viewers can affect translations and offer novel interpretations. However, these modes of viewer empowerment remain subject to the influence of online distributors and state censorship.

Audience participation · Drama · Empowerment · Negotiation · Social media · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Multimedia Communication and Technology · Subtitles and Audiovisual Media

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