Title "W2.0" viešoji erdvė: kinų diskursas Lietuvos "W2.0" savilaidoje /
Another Title (W2.0) public sphere : Chinese discourse in Lithuanian users' generated content.
Another Title (W2.0) public sphere : Chinese discourse in Lithuanian users’ generated content.
Authors Žvinklienė, Alina
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Is Part of Kultūra ir visuomenė. 2013, [Nr.] 4 (2), [Nr.] 4 (2), p. 119-142.. ISSN 2029-4573
Keywords [eng] W2.0 public sphere ; Identity ; Orientalism ; Chinese ; Mass media ; W2.0 community ; Users generated content
Abstract [eng] The main idea of the article is to define and detect the changes in Lithuanian identity construction in relation to ethnic Other. For this reason, users’ generated content, i.e. readers’ comments as a polyphonic text created by the Lithuanian W2.0 community in response to the publications about Chinatowns and Chinese activities in Lithuania published in the popular national internet-portal DELFI.lt during 2006-2008 and 2013, is analyzed. The concept of orientalism that refers to a set of cultural practices and discourses usually defined as ethnocentrism, prejudicial stereotyping etc., is used for the interpretation of data. The main outcome of the research suggests that Lithuanian orientalism appears mainly as sinophobia which is not related to the actual number of Chinese settled in Lithuania. It may be also said that by actualizing Chinese “invasion” in Lithuania the mass media provoke the publicity of sinophobic sentiments. At present, de-actualization of the Chinese topic in the Lithuanian on-line mass media, on the one hand, and strengthening of the total legal control of the users’ generated content, on the other hand, can be observed. In the context of the forced spread of political correctness in the (W2.0) public sphere both processes influenced a suppression of sinophobic sentiments in public more than actual changes in the national identity. Finally, it is possible to presume that the Lithuanian W2.0 public sphere is similar to the W2.0 public sphere of other democratic countries. It is closer to Mediterranean countries in its democratic quality of users’ generated content, i.e. the national community mainly uses the W2.0 public sphere to reproduce hegemonic attitudes and express its frustration with the authorities instead of leading argumentative debates.
Type Journal article
Language Lithuanian
Publication date 2013