Fansub Cyber Culture in China

Аннотация

With the popularization of Internet in China, fansubbing foreign movies or television programs became a rising phenomenon in Chinese cyberspace. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese netizens organized as fansub groups work collaboratively subbing foreign mass media products and put them online for free downloading. This thesis investigates the fansubbing practice and constitution of these Chinese fansubbers of American TV shows - a unique Internet community of practice and affinity, which is, by definition, also a community of interculturality. Through a longitudinal participant observation in the community and my experience in watching the fansubbed shows, I analyze the textual characteristics of fansubtitles of American TV shows, attributing its difference from traditional audio-visual translation and its interculturality catering to the demand of the members of the community. My analysis also centers on the intercultural features of fansubbing community, which shows that the fansubbing practice that bridges and reflects both American and Chinese cultures shapes its members’ identities construction, in terms of their language, sense of humor, and national and international personalities. Based on these, I argue that this particular cyber community contributes to the process of globalization, which in turn help to influence and precipitate China’s cultural and even political reform.