Flying Solo

Globalization, Neoliberal Individualism, and the Contested Celebrity of Li Na

Bibliographic Data

ID7528236
AuthorsHaozhou Pu (0000-0002-6190-0163, University of Dayton, corresponding author), Joshua I Newman (0000-0001-9033-2081, Florida State University), M D Giardina (0000-0002-9128-5974, Florida State University)
Year2017
Volume7
Issue1
Pages23-45
Publication date2017-11-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCommunication & Sport (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2167-4795 • E-ISSN: 2167-4809
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/2167479517739390
OpenAlexW2768411847
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited31

In this article, we examine the local–global celebrity politics of former Chinese professional tennis player Li Na. We locate Li Na as representative of a growing class of Chinese celebrities who display both extraordinary popularity and enormous marketability. At the same time, Li Na’s noted “rebelliousness”—most especially her “fiery” personality and overt public repudiation of the Chinese communist state—has made her a deeply politicized if not polarizing figure. In this study, we position Li Na as a symbolic body characterized by professionalism, individualism, and commercialism within Chinese media. Further, we investigate the representation, mediation, and consumption of her unique celebrity identity and the cultural politics of the danfei (the “fly solo”) policy in resonance to the decentralization of state power in China. We conclude by suggesting that Li Na’s rebelliousness symbolizes the core values of a growing consensus for neoliberalism in China; that is, it is her rejection of being Chinese (state) that reestablishes herself as Chinese (autonomous), which signifies fundamental social transitions in China intertwined with the embracement of the global economy and a reimagination of the nation

Aesthetics · China · Communism · Globalization · Identity (music · Individualism · Media studies · Neoliberalism (international relations · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Asian Culture and Media Studies · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Gender Studies · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Law

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