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Message in a Bottle: Lyrical Laments and Emotional Expression in Mandopop*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2008

Marc L. Moskowitz
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Abstract

This article explores the ubiquitous themes of loneliness, isolation and anomie in Mandopop (Mandarin Chinese language pop music). This is not to imply that people in the PRC and Taiwan are lonelier than people from other countries but, rather, that being human they experience these emotions. What is distinctive here is that Mandopop becomes a primary conduit to express feelings that are sanctioned in daily speech. The article addresses these concerns and uses in-depth interviews in Shanghai and Taipei to find out why Mandopop's themes of loneliness and isolation are so resonant to its fans.

Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 194 , June 2008 , pp. 365 - 379
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 2008

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References

* I am grateful to the Fulbright Foundation for providing research funds for two consecutive grants to work on this project from July 2005 to May 2007. I would also like to thank David K. Jordan, Terry Kleinman, Andrew D. Morris and David Schak for their comments on earlier drafts. This article is based on 18 interviews in Shanghai and 57 interviews in Taipei. This includes laypeople and people from Taiwan's music industry such as lyricists, performers (who sometimes write their own lyrics) and people working in music companies. Because I was primarily interested in the presentation of, and reflection on, women's experiences in these songs, the majority of the interviewees were women. They were overwhelmingly college-educated urbanites in their 20s and early 30s. They ranged from men and women I met for the first time in tea houses or coffee shops to friends that I have known for several years. With the exception of public figures (such as the pop stars) I have given them all pseudonyms to protect their identities.