In today's traffic-led era, the Internet celebrity economy is booming like a sunrise industry.
However, in this craze, a group of Internet phenomena who ignore moral norms, are keen on extreme means to hunt for traffic, and frantically pursue commercial monetization, they are like "stubborn psoriasis" attached to the network fabric, chasing hot spots and doing everything they can, but in the process ignoring the cornerstone of social ethics and destroying the harmony and stability of public order.
Recently, a male Internet celebrity has caused strong public dissatisfaction by imitating the role of "Zhao Shizi", a traditional wandering god in Fujian. It is worth noting that this Internet celebrity also got involved in the popular talent show "Creation Camp" earlier, and once experienced the aura and popularity of becoming a "male star".
However, it was this former "male star" who, with this rash move, fell from the peak to the bottom in an instant, and turned from popular to completely banned. Although the phenomenon of rubbing hot spots is not uncommon on the Internet, it is rare to blaze such blatant desecration of folk culture.
This incident continued to burn on the Weibo hot search list for several days, attracting more than 100 million times of attention and heated discussions, showing the fierce collision between beliefs and interests in front of the public, triggering deep social reflection.
What's even more regrettable is that this male Internet celebrity is just a microcosm of the huge online ecosystem.
Driven by the interests of traffic, more and more people are devoting themselves to this carnival feast that has lost the basic bottom line, and it is urgent for all sectors of society to jointly review and guide, in order to re-establish a healthy and orderly network fashion and protect our spiritual home and cultural heritage.
Internet celebrities appeared, and their original forms were revealed
Time has passed to the key node of the tenth day of the first lunar month, before the much-anticipated cosplay event has not yet set off waves, the colorful folk events in various places have accumulated considerable attention and popularity early by virtue of the strong momentum of short **new**.
In the land of South China, the English song and dance in Chaoshan area, the lion awakening in Foshan are violent, the fish and dragon dance in Huizhou are jubilant, and the blazing fire dragon in Meizhou is burning people's passion. In this lively folk picture, especially the love of the "worship" ceremony in Fujian is the most praised, and the annual celebration of the gods can be called a climax and fascinating.
Especially this year, after five years of rumors, the highly respected "house god" Zhao Shizi was finally moved by sincerity and agreed to come to the scene in person, which made the people's expectation index soar to an unprecedented height. Countless shots are ready to go, and a traffic feast seems to be on the verge of launch.
However, just as the event was officially opened, an incredible turn of events caused unanimous confusion among local residents and even tourists from afar. No matter which angle you look at the picture, you will find a particularly eye-catching character, a person dressed as "Zhao Shizi", who swaggers and swaggers to lead the procession, becoming the focus of everyone's attention.
In the solemn procession of wandering gods, the "groom" waved the long whip several times to warn, but the frivolous participant did not care about this, but regarded it as a good opportunity to improve his own ** interaction, and responded to the warning of the whip with a perfunctory smile.
When he intended to get close to the character dressed as Zhao Shizi in order to take a photo in the same frame, it was obvious that those who carried the statue with a sacred mission quickly adjusted their direction, so that Zhao Shizi's image was not visible.
All kinds of details reveal the serious conflict between this person and the atmosphere of the wandering spirit, like an alien who trespasses without permission, just to take the opportunity to be contaminated with the heat of the folk event. The incident quickly spread in cyberspace, and the public discussion became more and more intense.
As enthusiastic netizens on the Internet have popularized relevant knowledge, more people have begun to realize how many taboos in local folklore have been violated by his series of behaviors.
What is particularly dazzling is that at that time, Zhao Shizi's costume was painted with a four-clawed dragon ornament that symbolized his status, but he was wearing a tyrannical five-clawed dragon cosy costume, which not only visually surpassed the gods, but also openly led the gods in front of the statues, enjoying the incense offerings that should have been offered to the gods all the way.
In the face of the surging public opinion, the MCN company to which it belongs urgently came forward to defend it, claiming that the participation of the Internet celebrity artist was based on the official invitation of the Cultural and Tourism Bureau. However, the Bureau of Culture and Tourism then resolutely clarified, bluntly saying that the other party's move was pure nonsense, and it was actually using folk activities to rub hot spots and attract attention.
This Internet celebrity's series of misdeeds completely ignited the anger of **, and the official had to take a stand and condemn it as a typical example of "porcelain consumption" with no bottom line. The official stressed that in the process of actively inheriting and carrying forward the heritage of folk customs, we must deeply understand and respect the cultural heritage contained therein, and resolutely resist any form of bottomless consumption and desecration.
As the wildfire spread online, the influencer finally had to adapt to the situation and issued a sincere apology**, claiming that he had personally gone to the temple to reverently throw cups and offer incense, and revealed that his actions had been forgiven by the gods.
However, the apology did not effectively quell the public's outrage, and the fate of his personal social media platform was temporarily banned after being reported.
At the same time, some netizens asked: Is it now taboo to even role-play as a form of free expression? In fact, this isn't the first time the influencer has dabbled in folk culture to drive traffic.
Back to the Spring Festival, he won 100,000 likes for his short ** appearance in the image of "God of Wealth", which once set off a craze on the Internet, and did not cause any offense at that time.
This Internet celebrity is good at respecting the activities of others, through self-innovative scenario setting and exquisite scene packaging, successfully creating topical heat, and to a certain extent, also promoting the spread and popularization of culture. However, his performance in the activity of wandering gods this time was completely different - from the sacred and solemn idol decoration, to the solemn and orderly activity process, and even the dense camera focus and high popularity of the scene, all of them were the objects of his deliberate "borrowing".
In the final analysis, the cultural heritage and folk beliefs accumulated in Fujian over thousands of years are by no means a tool for individuals to use at will to achieve commercial realization.
However, the camera is like a sharp *** ruthlessly revealing the true face of those clowns who only obey traffic and ignore cultural dignity, this Internet celebrity is just one of them, and perhaps more people are exposed in similar interest pursuits.
The belief in the gods has been reduced to a wealth code.
In this land, some people actually play the image of gods, and accept the worship of the people in a grand manner; On the other hand, with the help of modern technology, some people set up online live broadcast rooms for the gods, and accumulated overflowing wealth by collecting rich rewards.
Focusing on the local area of Fujian, a team under the banner of "Zhao Shizi", on the road of promoting the culture of the gods, seems to be obscured by the fog of interests in front of them
They not only used the idol for live broadcasts, openly asked the audience to give tips and gifts, and even did not hesitate to attract the public's attention with frivolous acts such as touching the face of the idol; What's more, they speak ill of the fan base, abuse the fan base, create conflicts, and run a fandom like an entertainment idol with the sacred idol.
Although they claim to have "invited" the gods, there is no sign of reverence for the gods in their behavior, and the so-called "faith" has become a ladder for them to pursue their own interests.
People can't help but think deeply, when they greet the gods, what they are thinking about is the abundant harvest of grains and the tranquility of the four seasons in the land of Fujian, or the gold and silver treasures piled up in front of their homes?
A closer look at Fujian's folk culture reveals why people are outraged by such acts.
Dating back to more than 400 years ago, the wandering spirit activities in Fujian have been handed down to this day, carrying a profound historical accumulation, and are also known as "inviting the gods to come, patrolling the countryside in spring", implying the beautiful vision of praying for "smooth wind and rain, peace and well-being of the family and country".
In this solemn ceremony, more than 300 statues of the gods went through a long parade of 17 hours, and every detail embodies the endless efforts and hard work of the organizers.
There is also a description that when you tell the people of Fujian that the festival of the gods is about to start at 5 o'clock in the morning, they will get up and wait until 3 o'clock in the morning, which just proves that the Fujian people cherish and adhere to this ancient custom.
CR: White Deer**.
Not only limited to grand celebrations, but also the reverence of the Fujian people for the gods has long been deeply imprinted in the daily life.
Whether it is about family and country or trivial matters in life, they will seek guidance from the gods through the unique custom of tossing cups, and the results are only feasible (the three holy grails that symbolize good luck), infeasible (the yin cup representing warnings), and debatable (laughing cups), which is more intuitive and deeply rooted than the complex tarot card divination or horoscope analysis in the West.
Even in the absence of clear confusion, people can unreservedly reveal their hearts to the gods and even perform pious confessions. In this land, the compassionate Mazu Niangniang, with her broad mind, accepts the sorrows and prayers of every believer equally.
It is worth mentioning that Mazu in Fujian also has a special identity certificate - that is because she needs to use modern means of transportation to travel around the world to fulfill the sacred mission of "patrolling", this unique phenomenon makes people sigh at the beauty of the blend of tradition and modernity.
In addition, the level of dedication to the gods in Fujian is amazing. According to a list of donations to the 2023 "King of Martyrs" drum board team circulating on the Internet, a single village can raise up to one million yuan, and this pious devotion and deep faith are enough to make other places unreachable.
In this way, when millions of dollars are invested like bright stars, no one can resist the curiosity to explore the secrets, and they are eager to see it and focus on it.
The presence of deities is also important in the youthful realm of community, especially for the new generation after the millennium, and Fujian's rich folk culture is quietly intertwined with fashion trends.
At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, when the grand celebration of the gods comes to an end, the local people continue the unique and pious tradition of warmly inviting the gods from all over Fujian to share the joy of the Chinese New Year and enjoy the blockbuster films of the Spring Festival.
It is worth mentioning that the selected films are not random, but follow the ancient ritual of throwing baskets, and the gods themselves select the works that best suit their hearts. This year, the favor of the gods fell on director Jia Ling's Chinese New Year masterpiece "Hot and Hot", giving the film an extraordinary meaning.
In this eye-catching travel activity, the much-talked-about "Zhao Shizi" spared no expense to create a statue of the gods, which is rumored to cost tens of thousands of yuan for customization alone, and the entire production process lasted nearly a month, which shows the depth of his intentions.
The sculptor revealed that the shape of this statue is inspired by the image of the protagonist Jing Xuan in the popular animation "Reflections", and this ingenious artistic concept has undoubtedly won it the enthusiasm of young people.
The folk culture that carries a long tradition has always been deeply imprinted in the hearts of the local people with its attitude of flexibly adapting to the changes of the times. Although to outsiders, they may be more of a carnival or a tourist attraction to attract attention, for many people, these folk activities contain a solemn belief sustenance, and with the increasing degree of respect and cherishment, the attention and popularity they bring are also high, which in turn has triggered some people to grasp the potential business opportunities.
Looking back at the Spring Festival holiday in 2024, Fuzhou has received a staggering 629 tourists50,000 person-times, and the total tourism income exceeded 56The 3.4 billion yuan mark has effectively promoted the development of the local economy.
Behind this prosperity, however, there are always individual profit-seekers who try to deflect themselves by turning sacred beliefs into instruments of profiteering, and desecrating solemn creeds as the keys to unlocking wealth.
When interests become the only pursuit, and the moral bottom line is gone, the original simple and sincere folk culture will lose its original charm and be cast on a layer of copper stench.
Traffic comes first, entertainment is dead
In fact, the public's antipathy towards some influencers is not limited to their wanton trampling on moral boundaries, but also due to their deep disdain for their all-encompassing pursuit of traffic.
This phenomenon is vividly reflected in a street photography incident in Taikoo Li, Chengdu, where the ** was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, which quickly stirred up a ** storm.
At that time, this street photo** and the accompanying gossip swept the whole network with lightning speed, and onlookers once speculated that the two protagonists in the picture might face social condemnation and isolation.
However, what is unexpected is that instead of retreating, the female parties in ** chose to face the camera directly, with the help of the live broadcast platform and in-depth dialogue with the majority of netizens, generously ** how to cultivate a strong heart, and even share how women can achieve the beauty of both internal and external cultivation, this series of actions will undoubtedly push the incident to a new climax.
In this traffic whirlpool, some people ignore the moral bottom line in order to chase the heat, and some people flock to it because of the hunting psychology, as the joke says, "The madness of the traffic world is so crazy that the junior can also play an important role in the original wedding", people can't help but feel that the world is hot and cold, and there is nowhere to find justice.
Dramatically, the live broadcast woman quickly accumulated tens of thousands of fans with this controversial incident, and her personal homepage immediately posted a number of ** content wearing elegant cheongsam, obviously warming up and testing the waters for future live broadcast actions.
Amazingly, she was able to turn traffic from negative news into business value in just a few days.
What's even more ironic is that as this matter continues to ferment, many Internet celebrities have heard the wind and are competing to find the purchase link of the same dress in the incident, and keen merchants have also rushed to work at night and immediately put the same product on the shelves.
In an instant, this dress topped the hot search list, and the anchors from all walks of life not only competed to appear in the live broadcast room wearing the same costume, but even did not hesitate to imitate the plot in the play and hold hands with the so-called "cheating man" character as a new gimmick to attract the audience's attention. This absurd traffic chase battle is undoubtedly another vivid portrayal of the impetuousness and distortion of the Internet celebrity ecology.
Witnessing this situation, people can't help but sigh deeply: "Everything in the world seems to be vassals, but the traffic is the only one."
The same absurd plot reappeared in the teacher-student love turmoil in Shanghai not long ago, causing an uproar in the society.
The married female teacher who was involved in indecent love and had emotional entanglements with underage junior high school students became the object of imitation by Internet celebrities. This kind of behavior that is both ignorant and ignorant has also attracted a large number of onlookers.
A live feast that instantly transforms heat into real benefits, effortlessly and without pressure.
The Internet is like a vast virtual Truman world, and in this vast sea of information, hypocrisy and exaggeration abound. In order to capture that fleeting focus, some influencers do not hesitate to portray themselves as the most condemned characters, and they devote themselves to this traffic-chasing game without hesitation.
Even if they have to deviate from morality and ethics, even if they have to endure humiliation and criticism, these people are still willing to become prisoners of traffic. What's more, not only did he expose all kinds of unbearable things in front of the public, but also extended his claws to the peaceful lives of many ordinary people.
Take the aunt in Anhui who has been sticking to the construction site for ten years to sell boxed lunches as an example, she has become popular on the Internet with her affordable ** and sincere service. However, those influencers who are keen to chase hot spots and squeeze traffic have flocked to her booth to hype up live broadcasts, wasting food wantonly, resulting in many hard-working workers not being able to enjoy the meals they rely on on time. This scene is undoubtedly a severe torture of human conscience and social morality.
Photo source: Brother Zeng Zhendi.
Facing the camera, the aunt was full of tears and choked up: "There is indescribable sadness in my heart, as if I can't hold on anymore." In the end, she couldn't bear the harassment and had no choice but to close the stall, and the hard-working workers lost a place to fill their stomachs, but the Internet celebrity caught enough eyeballs in this wave of heat, patted his ass and left in style.
We are no stranger to such a picture - the grandmother selling steamed buns on the streets of Zhengzhou who was surrounded by Internet celebrities; The door of the grassroots singer "Brother Coat" was wantonly kicked through by Internet celebrities; Olympic champion Quan Hongchan's family was tightly surrounded by the cameras of Internet celebrities.
These shocking events are like a mirror, reflecting the unique business model of some contemporary Internet celebrity groups driven by "unscrupulousness".
They target hot spots, flock to wherever there is heat, squeeze whoever has value, and innocent ordinary people are forced to get involved in this almost crazy game of profit.
With the enthusiastic pursuit of traffic by Internet celebrities, this phenomenon reveals a more worrying social reality. Going back 39 years, the prophecy described by Neil Bozeman in his book Entertaining to Death has evolved into an inescapable and ironic phenomenon in today's society.
He profoundly pointed out: "Human beings have gradually become slaves of entertainment in silence, not only without complaining, but also enjoying it, which eventually leads our race into the situation of 'entertainment to death'." ”
He warns the world: "Our greatest sorrow lies in indulging in playfulness, because play is the most paralyzing of our intellect and causing us to die quietly in laughter." ”
Today, the central figure of the scandal we are witnessing can be easily transformed into an idol who is expected to be faced with dignity, but the events that should be faced with solemnity are carefully woven into a string of hot topics that cause laughter.
The public's gaze is instinctively drawn by content that is more bizarre, exaggerated, and even disregards the bottom line, which is the fundamental reason why influencers do not hesitate to abandon morality and dignity and strive to obtain higher traffic at the lowest cost. In their world, all actions are driven by profits, and only interests are paramount.
However, as ordinary people, we should stick to rational thinking, stay calm and sober, and not be coerced by the torrent of traffic.
Those who are extremely obsessed with traffic will eventually be devoured by traffic.
To this end, let's like it at the end of the article and jointly protect a healthy network ecological environment.