According to many scholars, the Chinese media increasingly subjugates women and depicts them in relation to marriage, and by extension home and motherhood. Women who do not adhere to these ideals,...Show moreAccording to many scholars, the Chinese media increasingly subjugates women and depicts them in relation to marriage, and by extension home and motherhood. Women who do not adhere to these ideals, are stigmatized by the media. At the same time, the media bestows men with important social roles and expectations. In my research, I investigated whether single men and single women are indeed depicted according to different standards.Show less
Asian Representation in American film productions has long been a topic of discussion. For many years, Asian people were portrayed as the Yellow Peril, the model minority, the perpetual foreigner...Show moreAsian Representation in American film productions has long been a topic of discussion. For many years, Asian people were portrayed as the Yellow Peril, the model minority, the perpetual foreigner and several other stereotypes related to gender. In the recent years, Asian Americans have become more vocal on this topic and they have been asking for more representation in Hollywood, with The Joy Luck Club having been the only film with a fully Asian cast for 25 years. In the last two years, two new American films came out with fully Asian casts, namely Crazy Rich Asians and The Farewell. Not much academic research on Chinese people’s opinions on these films has been done, therefore, in this thesis I went into depth and analyzed the reviews on the Chinese website Douban, to see what the Douban audiences thought of these three films. In this thesis I answered the question: How do Douban users perceive the portrayal of (overseas) Chinese people in American films? Through a discourse analysis on the reviews taken from Douban, I found that the majority of Douban users is content with the representation of Chinese people in these films, however, there are critical notes about stereotyping and the Western perspective on China that they feel is present in these films.Show less
This thesis takes the THAAD incident as a case study to explore the influence of political factors on the mass consumption of Korean Popular Culture in China.
By answering the question “how is the topic of disability covered by the English articles in the China Daily newspaper?” through a content analysis as well as performing a a literature overview of...Show moreBy answering the question “how is the topic of disability covered by the English articles in the China Daily newspaper?” through a content analysis as well as performing a a literature overview of the position of disabled people within Chinese society, and giving an overview of the discource concerning disability rights, this thesis attempts to understand how the CCP frames itself and the country on the topic of disability rights, and to what extend this framing is truthful. The content analysis was performed by analysing english newspaper articles that the term disability in the China Daily. The results show that the newspaper reports positively on the policies of the CCP government concerning disability and disabled people. The language and framing used by the China Daily when reporting on disability and disabled people shows high useses of the medical model's understanding of disability, regularly portraying disability as a struggle that needs overcoming.Show less
Elder care in China faces great problems, increasingly due to the ageing of society. In order to tackle issues related to elder care, China has actively been seeking international partners to...Show moreElder care in China faces great problems, increasingly due to the ageing of society. In order to tackle issues related to elder care, China has actively been seeking international partners to collaborate with to share and exchange ideas on the topic. The Netherlands has been one of them, already cooperating with China since 1998. This thesis will describe the issues related to the Chinese elder care, as well as provide a first, exploratory insight into the cooperation between China and the Netherlands.Show less
In this thesis, the Venice Biennale is taken as a focus point illustrating how the Chinese Contemporary art field is presented to an international public, how the Chinese government has interests...Show moreIn this thesis, the Venice Biennale is taken as a focus point illustrating how the Chinese Contemporary art field is presented to an international public, how the Chinese government has interests in retaining a certain image of this field and how that fits in the wider perspective of governments using contemporary art events as soft power platforms.Show less
In 2020, the Chinese government will implement a Social Credit System. This system is meant to increase the social control and stability within Chinese society. The methods of this system, such as...Show moreIn 2020, the Chinese government will implement a Social Credit System. This system is meant to increase the social control and stability within Chinese society. The methods of this system, such as use of mass surveillance and Artificial Intelligence, have sparked controversy in global media. This thesis puts the system in perspective with two already implemented social management systems, the Dangan and the Hukou. The comparative analysis shows five similar elements between the systems and six differences. Furthermore, this thesis proposes a narrative of continuation of social management for the Social Credit System, rather than seeing the system as something entirely new.Show less
Sexual harassment is a worldwide problem. Its importance has been emphasized beyond scholarly discussion by global public initiatives, such as the #MeToo movement. This campaign came to China in...Show moreSexual harassment is a worldwide problem. Its importance has been emphasized beyond scholarly discussion by global public initiatives, such as the #MeToo movement. This campaign came to China in January 2018 and encouraged thousands of women and men to use social networks as a channel to speak out about their experiences. Now, their WeChat posts bear testimony to the scope of the issue in China. This study aims to analyze these posts and answer the following research question: How do Chinese WeChat users discuss sexual misconduct, such as harassment or abuse, in #MeToo movement related posts, and what are the main topics they raise? Thematic analysis revealed that the most often mentioned themes included: the definition of sexual harassment, the causes of sexual harassment in Chinese society, as well as different types of offenders. In particular, this study identified that WeChat users acknowledge that sexual harassment may go far beyond physical harassment and also includes verbal harassment or gender harassment. Second, the analysis reveals that users tend to view a broad range of specifically Chinese societal and cultural reasons including gender inequality, patriarchy, traditional cultural norms, and wrong parenting educating patterns as contributing factors to the existence of sexual harassment in Chinese society. Finally, from the WeChat users' perspective, gender inequality and patriarchy are supported by traditional cultural norms which might be transmitted in the society via wrong educating patterns at home or school.Show less
In China, more and more security cameras on the streets are equipped with facial recognition technology. This artificial intelligent technology can identify a person immediately. Some fear for a...Show moreIn China, more and more security cameras on the streets are equipped with facial recognition technology. This artificial intelligent technology can identify a person immediately. Some fear for a great scale breach of privacy. This thesis discusses how the Chinese government conveys the message to the people that it is using this facial recognition technology. By conducting a discourse analysis, Chinese state-media Xinhua.net articles are analyzed. Mainly, this thesis shows that there is hardly any mention of privacy breach by using this technology in the articles. Second, it shows that local instead of national initiatives of facial recognition technology use are discussed to a larger extent.Show less
Through analysis of 36 articles in Kenya's most-read newspaper 'the Daily Nation', it has become apparent that most articles concerning the Belt and Road Initiative in this medium were written by...Show moreThrough analysis of 36 articles in Kenya's most-read newspaper 'the Daily Nation', it has become apparent that most articles concerning the Belt and Road Initiative in this medium were written by people in the employ of the Chinese government. The articles were also extremely positive on joint cooperation between Kenya and China and made a big point of China's goodwill vis-a-vis the Kenyan populace.Show less
Every Chinese citizen is required to have hukou, which proves that they are from and reside in a particular area. However, both migrant and urban children have faced serious issues pertaining to...Show moreEvery Chinese citizen is required to have hukou, which proves that they are from and reside in a particular area. However, both migrant and urban children have faced serious issues pertaining to their education because of their hukou.Show less
In this thesis I studied the effect of the two-child policy on the career expectations of Chinese female students. I did this through conducting in-depth interviews with female students studying at...Show moreIn this thesis I studied the effect of the two-child policy on the career expectations of Chinese female students. I did this through conducting in-depth interviews with female students studying at the university of Leiden. Some main topics that come up in this thesis concern gender equality on the labour market, stereotype gender roles in Chinese society and the family-work conflict that women expect to face as working mothers.Show less
The prevalent phenomena of "leftover women" has gained increasing attention from the media and different scholars in Chinese society. The term "leftover women" refers to urban and professional...Show moreThe prevalent phenomena of "leftover women" has gained increasing attention from the media and different scholars in Chinese society. The term "leftover women" refers to urban and professional women who remain unmarried by the time they are in their late twenties or early thirties. This phenomena frequently addresses questions pertaining to why such working women are not married, whether they are willing to marry and their attitudes towards marriage. The Chinese media has also produced many dramatic television series reflecting the situation and marital prospects of leftover women. Within the media, these women are stigmatised as money-worshipers, snobbish or picky. However, it has become evident that leftover women present themselves online as economically and spiritually independent entities who prefer compatibility over financial security in their romantic relationships. Upon comparing depictions of such women in the media to their self-representations, this paper makes a twofold argument: on one hand, media representations controlled by the dominant male discourse are criticising women for being money-oriented and picky so they become losers in the marriage market. On the other hand, women have realised their right to freely choose their own partners and decide when to get married. Hence, the discourse of leftover women actually represents a conflict between traditional patriarchy and potential burgeoning of a women's rights movement in the PRC.Show less
