“大家在一起”:上海广场舞群体的“亚文化”实践——表意、拼贴与同构

The Subcultural Style of the Early Elderly Square Dancing Groups:Signifying,Bricolage and Homology

本文从表意、拼贴和同构三维度,探讨遍布中国街头的初老龄广场舞群体的亚文化实践。通过对上海城区11个广场舞现场的田野调查发现,广场舞群体呈现以下特点:(1)表意实践中,其亚文化表征明显带有不同时代的主文化因素;(2)具体体现为不同"世代意识"下的传统与现代、反叛与顺从、健身与艺术间的拼贴;(3)拼贴的基础是同构,其中,价值理念、身体体验以及群体认同是舞蹈与初老龄女性发生亲密同构的基础性机制。广场舞体现了出生于20世纪50、60年代的我国女性经历中的某些核心价值,也反映了她们退休后转而对另类替代性共同体的期盼。"集体经历"、"独生子女政策"是本文强调的两个引发广场舞亚文化群体兴衰的掣肘因素。

From the perspectives of signifying,bricolage,and homology,this study analyzes the subcultural characteristics of the early elderly“Square Dancing”groups,which emerged over the past one or two decades in China.Based on focus group interviews and participant observation of 11 square dancing groups in downtown Shanghai,the author draws on the theoretical perspective of the subculture theory of the Birmingham School,revealing that:(1)In the signifying practices,the subcultural presentation of the Square Dancing groups integrate the elements of the mainstream cultures of different periods.(2)The bricolage between mainstream culture and subculture is embodied by the coexistence of multiple“generation ideologies”,i.e.,the bricolage of traditional and modern values,as well as of the mainstream cultures of different generations.The bricolage between mainstream culture and subculture is also embodied by the interwoven rebellion and subordination behaviors,including contention and compromise in striving for space,resistance to loneliness and subordination to the collective,and the mixture of the“red songs”and“the little apple”when choosing songs.(3)The objective of bricolage is homology,where values,body experiences,excitement,and native identification consist of the intimate homology between dancing and the early elder females.That is to say,the emergence of the Square Dancing groups reignites some core values of females who were born in the 1950s and 1960s,and also stands for the expectation for and participation in an alternative community after they retreated from workplace.