新媒介视域下的“取消文化”及其反思

A Reflection on“cancel culture”from the perspective of new media

最近几年,一种取消文化在美欧乃至亚洲一些国家日渐风行,并对当代社会文化与生活产生了较大影响。在对待取消文化的态度方面,有支持者亦有反对者。支持取消文化的自由派人士把取消文化解读为弱势群体的武器,认为它让普通公众有机会在媒介空间中表达自己对那些带有歧视或不公平含义之言论的态度与立场;而反对取消文化的群体,特别是部分社会精英阶层的人士则认为取消文化已经异化为一种群体性羞辱,它不仅妨碍了人们的自由,而且还助长了暴戾的社会气氛。从新媒介的视角看,取消文化既代表了新媒介时代无中心传播模式下公众表达的新趋势,又反映了新媒介时代网络空间祛虚拟化的文化趋向与特点。其内在的逻辑表明,新媒介技术是型构文化的积极力量,它的产生和发展总是与特定的文化形成和发展有着密切的联系。在当下的新媒介时代,取消文化的迅速发展隐藏了取消文化扩大化与极端化态势下的隐私公然被侵犯、人肉搜索及与之相伴的网暴风险与危机。

“Cancel culture”has become increasingly popular these years.Supporters argue that it a weapon for the disadvantaged to express disapproval of discriminatory or biased speech on social media platforms.Opponents,particularly the social elites,believe that it isreduced to mass shaming which threatens freedom and encourages violence as well.Against the backdrop of new media,this indicates a trend in the public expression in decentralized communication and also the devirtualization in the cyberspace.As a driving force for the construction of culture,new media technology is closely associated with given cultures.Its rapid developmentmasks the risks it has caused such as privacy infringement,human flesh search and cyber bullying.