Facing increasingly unstable futures, Chinese youth are reinforcing their identities in nostalgic pasts.

1. Young
Nostalgia
Chinese
youth
finding
themselves
in
the
past

2. Saturday
September
18,
at
the
Intel
Creator’s
Project
party
at
798,
Peng
Lei,
lead
singer
of
New
Pants,
surprised
the
audience
by
smashing
an
Apple
computer
onstage.
Photo
from
Creator’s
Project
Weibo

3. His
message
was
simple:
The
Internet
sucks.

4. Comments
from
Weibo:
@creatorsproject:
Entering
the
new
era,
rockers
are
smashing
new
things.
Ha!
@creatorsproject:
Is
the
sponsor
[Intel]
behind
this?
@creatorsproject:
That’s
such
an
old
Mac;
why
not
smash
an
iPad?
@creatorsproject:
Impressed
and
moved
by
the
scene:
with
New
Pants
saying
'www
is
the
saddest
innova;on
of
the
21st
century',
I
am
a
big
fan
of
theirs.
*
In
order
to
protect
the
idenUUes
of
the
posters,
we
won’t
disclose
the
source
threads,
however
these
comments
stem
from
the
Weibo’s
of
several
trendy
affluent
youth
that
were
at
the
event
and
posted
about
it.

5. Why
cry
out
against
the
Internet?
Isn’t
digital
culture
enabling
Chinese
youth
to
grow?
Peng
Lei’s
Apple
smash
reflects
a
widespread
tension
at
the
root
of
some
important
trends.
That
tension
is
young
nostalgia.

6. Nostalgia
is
the
pain
caused
by
a
longing
for
the
past.

7. People
feel
nostalgia
when
the
world
changes,
and
new
condiUons
challenge
their
idenUty
and
concepUons
of
the
world.
“…
sadly,
if
people
con;nue
to
download
music,
the
future
for
bands
like
ours
is
uncertain.”
-­‐
Peng
Lei,
SHMag,
November
2008

8. Nostalgia
protects
our
sense
of
self
by
finding
conUnuity
with
an
idealized
vision
of
the
past.
‘When
the
present
is
confusing,
I
can
refer
back
to
my
happiest
memories.’
Photo
from
Neng
Mao
website

9. Nostalgia
doesn’t
occur
just
for
old
people,
or
whenever
there
is
great
change:
the
cause
is
present
anxie;es
which
threaten
our
iden;ty.
In
the
1980’s,
China’s
‘Red
Guard’
generaUon
rejected
the
Cultural
RevoluUon
decade
of
their
youth,
embracing
new
urban
ways
of
life.
But
in
the
1990’s,
faced
with
the
confusion
of
Chinese
modernity,
the
‘Red
Guard’
generaUon
became
nostalgic
for
the
Cultural
RevoluUon
decade.
CitaUon
from
Yang
Guobing’s
‘China’s
Zhiqing
GeneraUon’

10. “Nostalgia
connects
individuals
to
their
past,
compels
them
to
ar;culate
their
genera;onal
experience
in
narra;ves,
and
contrasts
a
past
viewed
as
containing
beauty,
meaning,
and
purpose
with
[the]
present…”
-­‐
GUOBIN
YANG,
‘China’s
Zhiqing
GeneraUon’

11. In
China
today,
post
80’s
youth
are
confused
about
who
they
are
and
how
they
fit
in
the
world,
and
are
feeling
the
effects
of
nostalgia.

12. Losing
the
Past:
Speed
of
Change
Chinese
youth
literally
see
the
past
slipping
away
as
rapid
development
erases
the
tangible
traces
of
history.
-­‐
DestrucUon
of
heritage
sites
-­‐
Absence
of
ritual
and
sacred
spaces
-­‐
Unstable
systems
of
inhabitance

13. Losing
the
Future:
Threats
to
Stability
Chinese
youth
are
scared
of
an
increasingly
bleak
future
-­‐
Anxiety
about
the
compeUUve
job
and
housing
markets
-­‐ -­‐
Disgust
with
adult
society
-­‐
Worries
over
environmental
destrucUon
The
movie‘2012’
has
been
highly
influen;al
to
Chinese
youth

14. Losing
Themselves:
Fractured
IdenUty
Chinese
youth
(like
other
post-­‐
modern
youth)
are
not
sure
What
is
the
basis
for
individual
and
social
idenUty
-­‐
Overwhelming
transformaUve
possibiliUes
of
the
Internet
-­‐
Unpredictable
and
rapid
economic
change
-­‐
Splintering
of
generaUonal
culture
into
smaller
tribes

15. Chinese
youth
are
looking
to
the
past
When
things
were
simpler
Photo
from
Neng
Mao
website

16. Who
is
feeling
nostalgic?
Post
80’s
youth:
Post
90’s
youth
have
grown
up
in
the
digital
age,
and
are
more
comfortable
here
than
Peng
Lei.
Top
;er
youth:
youth
from
smaller
ciUes
are
more
opUmisUc
about
development,
and
their
generaUonal
bonds
are
sUll
pregy
much
intact.
But
anxiety
over
uncertain
futures
and
confusion
about
developing
iden;;es
stem
from
macro
changes
that
will
become
increasingly
relevant
across
;ers.

17. Tradi;onal
Nostalgia
Chinese
youth
reaffirm
their
idenUty
by
looking
to
their
childhood
for
reassurance.

18. Metersbonwe’s
MTEE
T-­‐
shirt
series
featuring
80’s
cartoons
like
Mr.
Black
was
a
hit.

19. Shanghai
indie
brand
Neng
Mao
makes
clothing
inspired
by
80’s
childhood
days,
and
puts
stories
and
images
of
childhood
toys
on
the
tags.

20. In
Beijing,
new
youth-­‐
oriented
restaurants
are
using
elements
like
tradiUonal
furniture
and
crockery
for
a
comforUng
‘home’
feel.
Photo
from
‘ ’
Dianping
page

21. Post-­‐
Modern
Nostalgia
Chinese
youth
reaffirm
their
idenUUes
with
histories
they
have
no
direct
experience
of.

22. “For
me
the
[fronUer]
American
style
is
about
freedom,
independence,
and
self-­‐
reliance.”
-­‐
Liu
Ke,
owner,
Mega
Mega
Vintage
Mega
Mega
Vintage
on
Gulou
Dongdajie

23. In
the
post-­‐
modern
world,
Chinese
youth
can
connect
to
past
cultures
through
movies,
music,
TV,
the
Internet,
and
consumpUon.
Chinese
youth
might
not
have
direct
experience
of
these
cultures,
but
post-­‐
modern
pasts
have
the
benefit
of
coming
prepackaged
with
the
consistent,
simplified
dynamics
that
nostalgia
craves.

24. The
most
visible
post-­‐
modern
nostalgia
trend
is
vintage
fashion…
But
vintage
styles
have
been
a
global
trend
for
years
now.
Chinese
vintage
consumers
are
probably
connecUng
to
global
cool
more
than
surrogate
histories.
S;ll,
trend
leaders
in
China
are
deep
into
the
stories
behind
the
looks.

25. What
does
it
all
mean?

26. Chinese
heritage
brands
like
Warrior
shoes
and
Forever
bicycles
have
seen
a
resurgence.

27. old
=
good?

28. 1.
Brand
Histories:
Stories
>
Authen;city
Chinese
youth
want
product
stories
that
connect
their
values
to
comforUng
pasts.
AuthenUcity
is
less
important:
tell
the
story,
create
the
context!
2.
Brand
Enablers:
Support
>
Choice
Prevailing
wisdom
is
that
individualized
youth
want
many
new
choices.
But
Chinese
youth
already
have
plenty:
what
they
need
is
the
added
support
of
history
for
the
idenUUes
they
have
chosen.
3.
Brand
Values:
Sympathe;c
>
Ancient
TradiUonal
nostalgic
youth
seek
to
recapture
the
purity
and
clarity
of
youth.
Post-­‐
modern
nostalgic
youth
seek
the
freedom
and
style
of
bygone
eras.
In
choosing
past
iconographies
to
employ,
don’t
forget
the
emo;onal
need
is
for
pasts
that
are
reassuring
and
match
values,
not
just
recognizable.

29. Thanks!