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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Sabrina Qiong Yu
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© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Yiman Wang’s 2007 chapter investigates Hong Kong superstar Leslie Cheung’s enormous fandom during the first few years after his suicide in 2003. Seventeen years have passed but Cheung’s posthumous fandom has continued to grow, passing onto younger generations and forming a unique cross-border cultural phenomenon. This article presents a case study of a local fan site in Chengdu, China, Zhongqing Café, its owner Mr Lv, and its fan community. Based on data I collected on a visit to the Café in 2019 and my observation of its social media activities, the article examines how the Café functions as a cultural, economic, social, and familial space for local and trans-local Leslie fans. It offers a glimpse into Cheung’s posthumous fandom in Mainland China from affective, creative, economic, political, generational and identificatory perspectives. The article draws attention to the emergence of fan-entrepreneurs and their significant role in sustaining stars’ posthumous fame. It also highlights the process of deification, normalisation and depoliticisation in young Chinese fans’ consumption of Cheung, and argues this should be understood in relation to their need to build individual and collective identities within China’s current social and political context.
Author(s): Yu SQ
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Celebrity Studies
Year: 2021
Volume: 12
Issue: 2
Pages: 186-201
Online publication date: 07/04/2021
Acceptance date: 05/10/2020
ISSN (print): 1939-2397
ISSN (electronic): 1939-2400
Publisher: Routledge
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2021.1912096
DOI: 10.1080/19392397.2021.1912096
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