The Metaphorical Media Image of an Elderly Person in the Chinese Social Network Douyin

Abstract

Currently, short-form video hosting services are gaining popularity in China, which means that their influence on society is rapidly increasing. Multimodal perceptual images constructed by these short videos have integrity, structure and constancy. One of the most well-known social media platforms in China for watching short videos and creating a certain image is Douyin. It is important to note that one of the key media images broadcast in this social network is the media image of an elderly person. This can be explained not only by the attractiveness of an elderly character and his/her hobbies, but also by the fact that the elderly population in China has been growing (rapid ageing phenomenon) due to an increase in life expectancy and declining birthrate. The article analyses the metaphorical model that actualizes various features of the representation of the media image of an elderly person in Chinese media discourse. The screening of Douyin videos conducted by the authors is based on such methods as contextual and descriptive analysis, as well as cultural interpretation. The paper turns to the theory of metaphorical modelling and views the concept of metaphor not only as a separate type of discourse, but also as a means of conceptualizing an image in the minds of native speakers. The most frequent metaphors used to create a media image of an elderly person are as follows: “an elderly person is a child”, “an elderly person is a saint/immortal being” and “an elderly person is a treasure/precious thing”. The study also points out that in the Chinese media space, the image of an elderly person is positive since an older adult has a number of skills and characteristics that meet the needs and interests of the majority of the platform’s users.