ABSTRACT
Drawing on the idea of governance through the media, this chapter examines the way in which reality shows in contemporary China have imbued Chinese youth with a social consciousness conducive to the state pursuit of industrial modernity. Using the popular reality TV programme Produce 101 as a case study, it investigates the appropriation of neoliberal principles in maintaining an equilibrium between personal and social responsibility – a balance that lies at the heart of discourse around the China Dream. It argues that reality talent shows in China function within a larger framework of governance that surreptitiously appropriates the neoliberal logic of autonomy and meritocracy, repackaging these ideals into a tool for advancing the welfare of the collective. As such, these media spectacles function as a modern bard that confirms shared values, cultural assumptions and socio-economic aspirations of the nation. Ultimately, these shows reveal how governance in contemporary China largely rejects the traditional neoliberal assumption that the free market is capable of maximising social good, and instead co-opts neoliberalism’s language of individualism in a way that marries personal aspirations with those of the nation.
