Selling Out is (not) Selling Out
I saw the following advertisement in a subway station featuring Chinese blogging legend, Hanhan:
A rough translation into English:
I love the internet. I love freedom. I love getting up late. I love night markets. I love race cars. And I also love 29 kuai t-shirts. I’m not some flag-bearer. I’m nobody’s spokesperson. I’m Hanhan. I only represent myself. You and I are alike. I am Vancl.
Is it me, or has Hanhan sold out, and then utilized the ad to explain why he’s not selling out?
Despite the hypocrisy, this ad could also be said to represent an entire generation of Chinese born in the 1980s, the so called 80åŽ. They are caught between their society’s near-moral imperative to pursue wealth, and their desire to define themselves as individuals in a dynamic, quickly changing world.
Can you have it both ways?
Hanhan seems to think so.