The construction and effects of“Chien-Ming Wang Phenonmenon”：A Glocalization Perspective
Date Issued
2008
Date
2008
Author(s)
Huang, Wen-Tang
Abstract
Abstracthis research tries to understand the“Chien-Ming Wang Phenonmenon” and its effects on fans’ identity, through Robertson’s “glocalization” theory. First, I have uncovered the development of MLB, from 19th to 21th, focusing on its path of becoming a type of cultural imperialism. Further, I have identified the development of Taiwanese baseball, from Japanese colonization to the present, understanding it as the Taiwanese“baseball nationalism.” With these two general trends, the MLB craze among Taiwan baseball players between 1997 to 2000 is the result of their confluence, which is also the background of“CMWang Phenonmenon”. The glocalization mechanism of CMWang Phenonmenon started with media report and broadcast that branded CMWang with nationalism symbols. Significantly, CMWang become a “greatest common denominator”between antagonist nationalist loyalties in contemporary Taiwan. Hence the public outcry “Don’t consume CMWang,” which brought CMWang and Taiwan local symbols closer but prevented unconstrained media reports and political propaganda. By linking CMWang and Taiwan local symbols together, a less commercialized and politicized, and therefore more proper strategy to“consume”CMWang has arisen. By uncovering the proper way to consume CMWang, I have studied advertisement texts about CMWang, in which we could find the mechanism of glocalization of CMWang, and the works of micro-market which is also an element of glocalization. These maneuvers made CMWang’s imaginations and symbols inlay between Taiwan local symbols and MLB pitcher, which was transferred by the logics of political propagation and commercials. The exclusive motive behind the “Don’t consume CMWang”made CMWang a “blank” and “arbitrary” signifier. From this, CMWang become a text, which allow to be consumed, and consolidated the right of link between Taiwan local symbols and CMWang, then intensified the situation of“consume CMWang”. But when we put CMWang’ meanigngs in a broader time-space context, the divergence between the cultural imperialism approach and the glocalization approach becomes explicit. In order to solve the contradiction between these two approaches, I have delved into the idea of the “Taiwan-Yankee team”, including media reports, game broadcast and the dynamic process of fans’ identity in the “Taiwan-Yankee team”aura. Through discussions with fans about the “Taiwan-Yankee team,” I have found that they had enough critical consciousness and knowledgeability to decipher the idea of the “Taiwan-Yankee team.”The fans have been able to understand it as a mixed symbol, the core of which is identifying CMWang as “Taiwang”, which is a praise of CMWang for being a positive image of Taiwan. Therefore, “Taiwang”represented the reflexive and glocalized dialectic of the fans, combining a“relativization”and a “essentialization” of identities in the tide of glocalization. Furthermore, through the CMWang Phenomenon, I have found that the fans were also able to link appropriately the newness (be a MLB pitcher) of the CMWang Phenomenon and the history of Taiwanese baseball, understanding the contribution of past baseball players and at the same time, recognizing the meaning of CMWang for Taiwan.inally, the“glocalization”of “CMWang Phenonmenon”represented as Taiwan baseball nationalism to defuse MLB cultural imperialism.
Subjects
Baseball nationalism
cultural imperialism
glocalization
CMWang Phenonmenon
micro-market
the process of relativization
the dynamic process of identity
Taiwan-Yankee team
Type
thesis
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