Art of Useless: Fashion, Media, and Consumer Culture in Contemporary China

The People's Republic of China has undergone a sweeping cultural reorganization since 1978, from proletarian culture under Mao to middle-class consumer culture today. Calvin Hui's The Art of Useless explores how consumer culture contributes to China's changing social relations through the cultivation of new identities and sensibilities. He examines the commodity chain of fashion on a transnational scale, from production to consumption to disposal, and media portrayals of the intersections of clothing with class, gender, and ethnicity. He also considers how documentary films depict the undersides of consumption, revealing how global capitalism renders migrant factory workers, scavengers, and garbage invisible.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 21 September 2021
Publisher: Columbia University Press

The People's Republic of China has undergone a significant cultural transformation since implementing economic reforms in 1978, transitioning from the proletarian culture under Mao to the middle-class consumer culture prevalent today. In this context, the emergence of a Chinese middle class and the prevalence of consumerism in a socialist country have become intriguing questions.
The Art of Useless provides a fresh perspective on China's unprecedented political, economic, social, and cultural transformations. By examining the changing representations of fashion production and consumption in documentaries and films, Calvin Hui explores how culture contributes to the evolving social relations in China. He delves into the transnational commodity chain of fashion, encompassing production, consumption, and disposal, as well as media portrayals of the intersections of clothing with class, gender, and ethnicity. Hui highlights key cinematic narratives that depict the desires and struggles of different social groups, such as factory workers longing for high-quality suits, intellectuals yearning for fashionable clothes, and white-collar women craving brand-name commodities. Through his analysis, Hui sheds light on the underside of consumption, revealing the exploitation of laborers, the accumulation of waste, and its disposal, which often render migrant factory workers, scavengers, and garbage invisible in the global capitalist system.
This highly interdisciplinary work combines theoretical depth with meticulous close analyses, offering an innovative rethinking of the emergence of China's middle-class consumer culture. By examining the role of consumerism in shaping social identities and sensibilities, The Art of Useless provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of China's transition and the evolving relationship between culture, class, and consumerism in a socialist context.

Weight: 394g
Dimension: 152 x 226 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231192491