Bilibili and Squid Game: Understanding the Connection

By /

Bilibili and Squid Game: Understanding the Connection – How a Chinese Youth Culture Hub Engaged with a Global Phenomenon

Introduction: A Tale of Two Phenomena

In the autumn of 2021, the world was captivated by a South Korean television series that appeared seemingly out of nowhere to dominate global conversations. Squid Game, a brutal, visually arresting survival drama, smashed Netflix viewership records, becoming a cultural touchstone discussed, debated, and memed across virtually every corner of the internet. Simultaneously, halfway across the world, another digital behemoth continued its steady rise, solidifying its position as the premier online hub for China’s youth culture. Bilibili (often shortened to “B Site” or 哔哩哔哩), a platform initially rooted in anime, comics, and games (ACG), had evolved into a sprawling ecosystem encompassing video sharing, live streaming, community forums, and much more.

On the surface, these two entities might seem unrelated – a globally distributed Korean drama on a US-based streaming service, and a unique Chinese digital platform operating within its own distinct internet ecosystem. Yet, despite Squid Game not being officially licensed or readily available for streaming within mainland China, Bilibili became one of the most vibrant and crucial spaces for Chinese audiences to engage with, dissect, and creatively reinterpret the global phenomenon. How did this happen? What is it about Bilibili’s structure, culture, and user base that allowed it to become a central node for Squid Game discourse and content creation in China, even in the absence of official distribution?

This article delves into the intricate relationship between Bilibili and Squid Game. We will first provide a detailed exploration of Bilibili itself – its origins, unique features like the danmu (bullet comments), its evolution beyond ACG, its specific cultural milieu, and its position within China’s competitive digital landscape. We will then revisit the global sensation that was Squid Game, outlining its premise, key elements, thematic depth, and staggering worldwide impact. Finally, and most crucially, we will bridge these two worlds, analyzing exactly how Squid Game content proliferated on Bilibili, the types of user-generated content that flourished, and why Bilibili, specifically, was uniquely suited to host this explosion of unofficial engagement. Understanding this connection offers profound insights into cross-cultural digital phenomena, the power of user-generated content platforms, the dynamics of media consumption in restricted environments, and the unique characteristics of China’s Generation Z internet users.

Part 1: Deconstructing Bilibili – More Than Just China’s YouTube

To understand how Bilibili became intertwined with Squid Game, one must first grasp the platform’s multifaceted nature. Calling it merely “China’s YouTube” is a gross oversimplification that misses its specific origins, cultural significance, and unique interactive features.

Origins and Evolution: From ACG Niche to Mainstream Youth Hub

Bilibili was founded in 2009 by Xu Yi (under the pseudonym “⑨bishi”) initially as a fan website named Mikufans.cn, dedicated to the virtual idol Hatsune Miku and heavily inspired by the Japanese video-sharing site Niconico Douga. In 2010, it was rebranded as Bilibili, a name derived from the nickname of Mikoto Misaka, the protagonist of the popular anime series A Certain Scientific Railgun. This ACG (Anime, Comics, Games) focus was Bilibili’s initial DNA. It attracted a dedicated community of young users passionate about Japanese pop culture, animation, and gaming.

Unlike traditional video platforms focused solely on professional content or short-form entertainment, Bilibili cultivated a strong sense of community from the outset. Its early success was built upon user-generated content (UGC, or PUGV – Professional User Generated Video, as Bilibili often terms it) related to ACG culture: fan-subtitled anime episodes (often operating in legal grey areas), anime reviews, game walkthroughs, fan art showcases, and music covers.

However, Bilibili strategically expanded beyond its ACG roots. Recognizing the diverse interests of its growing user base (predominantly Gen Z and Millennials), the platform broadened its content categories to include lifestyle, technology, fashion, beauty, food, knowledge/education, music, dance, entertainment news, and much more. While ACG remains a core pillar, Bilibili successfully transitioned into a comprehensive cultural community and entertainment platform for young Chinese internet users. This expansion was crucial, allowing it to capture a wider audience and host discussions on virtually any trending topic, including international phenomena like Squid Game.

The platform went public on the NASDAQ in March 2018 and later secured secondary listings, signaling its arrival as a major player in China’s tech landscape. Despite this growth, it has strived (with varying degrees of success) to maintain its community-centric feel and differentiate itself from competitors like Youku, iQIYI, Tencent Video (focused on licensed dramas and films), and Douyin/Kuaishou (focused on short-form video).

Key Features: The Pillars of the Bilibili Experience

Several features define the Bilibili experience and are critical to understanding its role in phenomena like Squid Game:

  1. Video Hosting (PUGV and OGV): Bilibili hosts a vast ocean of videos. The majority is PUGV – content created by its users, ranging from amateur clips to highly polished productions by popular “UPs” (Uploaders, Bilibili’s term for content creators). Bilibili actively supports its creators through revenue-sharing programs and promotional tools. Alongside PUGV, Bilibili also invests in OGV (Occupationally Generated Video), including licensed anime series, documentaries, films, and original productions. However, the platform’s soul arguably still resides in its PUGV ecosystem.

  2. Live Streaming (直播 – Zhībō): Bilibili has a robust live streaming section covering gaming, IRL (in real life) streams, study sessions, performances, and more. This real-time interaction further strengthens the community bond. Streamers often react to videos, discuss trending topics, or interact directly with their audience via chat and virtual gifts.

  3. Danmu (弹幕 – Bullet Comments): Perhaps Bilibili’s most iconic feature, inherited from Niconico Douga. Danmu are user comments that fly horizontally across the video screen at specific timestamps. Instead of a static comment section below the video, danmu creates a shared, real-time viewing experience. Viewers react collectively to moments in the video, crack jokes, provide context, or share insights that scroll across the screen for others to see. This feature transforms passive viewing into an active, communal event. It’s perfect for generating hype, sharing immediate reactions, and creating an atmosphere of watching together, even when viewers are physically apart. The danmu system is a breeding ground for memes and inside jokes specific to the Bilibili community.

  4. Community Features (分区 – Fēnqū, 圈子 – Quānzi): Bilibili is organized into numerous content categories or zones (分区). Users subscribe to zones relevant to their interests, creating dedicated spaces for niche communities. Within these zones, users can post videos, articles, and participate in discussions. This structure allows users interested in a specific topic (like a particular TV show) to easily find related content and interact with like-minded individuals.

  5. Strict Community Guidelines and Testing: Historically, becoming a full member of Bilibili required passing a 100-question test covering platform etiquette, ACG culture, and internet safety. While this requirement has been adjusted over time, it reflects Bilibili’s effort to cultivate a specific community culture and filter out users unfamiliar with its norms. This fosters a sense of belonging among registered users.

  6. Gaming: Gaming is deeply integrated into Bilibili, both as video content (walkthroughs, reviews, esports) and as a revenue stream through Bilibili’s publishing and distribution of mobile games.

  7. E-commerce Integration: Bilibili has increasingly integrated e-commerce, allowing creators to sell merchandise and linking products within videos or on dedicated shop pages.

Bilibili’s Culture: Community, Memes, and Knowledge

The platform’s culture is characterized by:

  • Strong Community Identity: Users often feel a sense of ownership and belonging. There’s a shared understanding of platform-specific slang, memes, and etiquette.
  • Emphasis on Creativity: PUGV is celebrated. Users are encouraged to create, remix, and comment. Fan-made content is highly valued.
  • Meme-Driven: Bilibili is a powerhouse for generating and propagating internet memes within China. The danmu system accelerates this process.
  • Shift Towards “Knowledge” Content: In recent years, Bilibili has actively promoted educational and informative content (“knowledge” zone), attracting creators who produce videos on science, history, technology, finance, and more. This diversifies the platform and appeals to users seeking self-improvement.
  • Youth Focus: While the user base is aging slightly, it remains predominantly composed of Gen Z and young Millennials. The content and culture reflect their interests and communication styles.

Position in China’s Internet Ecosystem

Bilibili occupies a unique niche. It’s not just a video platform; it’s a cultural community.
* vs. Youku/iQIYI/Tencent Video: These platforms are more akin to Netflix or Hulu, heavily reliant on professionally produced, licensed films and dramas (OGV). While Bilibili has OGV, its core differentiator is the PUGV ecosystem and community interaction.
* vs. Douyin/Kuaishou: These platforms dominate the short-form video market, focusing on quick, often algorithmically-driven entertainment. Bilibili typically features longer-form content and fosters deeper community engagement around specific interests rather than just fleeting trends.

Bilibili’s strength lies in its user loyalty, its unique interactive features (danmu), and its ability to host diverse, in-depth content created by its passionate user base. This unique combination set the stage for its unexpected role in the Squid Game phenomenon within China.

Part 2: Understanding Squid Game – The Global Phenomenon

Before examining its reception on Bilibili, it’s essential to understand what Squid Game is and why it resonated so powerfully across the globe.

Premise and Plot: A Deadly Playground

Created, written, and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, Squid Game (오징어 게임 – Ojing-eo Geim) is a South Korean survival drama series released on Netflix in September 2021. The story centers on Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), a divorced chauffeur burdened by gambling debts and struggling to support his daughter and ailing mother. He receives a mysterious invitation to participate in a series of traditional Korean children’s games for a chance to win an enormous cash prize (₩45.6 billion, roughly US$38 million).

Along with 455 other deeply indebted and desperate individuals, Gi-hun is taken to a secret, isolated island location. There, they discover the horrifying truth: elimination from the games means death. The participants, clad in green tracksuits and monitored by masked guards in pink jumpsuits under the oversight of the enigmatic Front Man, must compete in deadly variations of games like “Red Light, Green Light,” “Dalgona Candy,” “Tug of War,” “Marbles,” “Glass Stepping Stones,” and the titular “Squid Game.”

As the competition progresses, alliances form and shatter, moral compasses are tested, and the inherent brutality of the situation forces characters to make impossible choices. The narrative explores themes of economic desperation, class inequality, exploitation, morality under duress, the illusion of fair play within a rigged system, and the dark side of human nature when pushed to the extreme.

Key Elements Contributing to its Success:

  1. High Concept Premise: The juxtaposition of innocent children’s games with life-or-death stakes is immediately arresting and darkly ironic.
  2. Striking Visuals and Production Design: The series boasts a distinctive aesthetic: the vibrant, almost surreal game arenas, the iconic green tracksuits and pink guard uniforms, the geometric shapes (circle, triangle, square) used as motifs, and the chillingly oversized “Red Light, Green Light” doll. This visual language was instantly recognizable and highly shareable.
  3. Compelling Characters: While some characters drew criticism for being archetypal, key figures like the flawed protagonist Gi-hun, the calculating Cho Sang-woo, the resilient Kang Sae-byeok, the trusting Ali Abdul, and the enigmatic Oh Il-nam resonated with audiences, provoking empathy, frustration, and intense debate.
  4. Social Commentary: The series functions as a potent allegory for the cutthroat nature of modern capitalist society, particularly in South Korea but with universal relevance. It critiques extreme wealth disparity, the crushing weight of debt, and the dehumanizing effects of economic desperation, where individuals are forced to compete against each other for survival within a system designed by the wealthy elite for their entertainment.
  5. Suspense and Emotional Rollercoaster: Each game sequence is fraught with tension. The narrative skillfully balances moments of intense action, shocking violence, quiet desperation, and unexpected camaraderie, keeping viewers emotionally invested.
  6. Accessibility and Universality: Despite its Korean setting and cultural specifics (like the Dalgona candy), the core themes of debt, desperation, and moral compromise are universally understood. Netflix’s global distribution and effective localization (subtitles and dubbing) made it easily accessible worldwide.

Global Impact: Beyond Viewership Numbers

Squid Game‘s success was meteoric and unprecedented for a non-English language series:

  • Viewership Records: It quickly became Netflix’s most-watched series launch ever, reportedly reaching over 142 million member households in its first four weeks.
  • Cultural Zeitgeist: It dominated social media discussions, news headlines, and water cooler conversations globally. Hashtags related to the show trended for weeks.
  • Memes and Viral Trends: Numerous elements became instant memes: the Dalgona candy challenge, the “Red Light, Green Light” doll, the guards’ uniforms, specific lines of dialogue. These spread rapidly across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and, significantly, Bilibili.
  • Merchandise and Real-World Imitations: Official and unofficial merchandise flooded the market. Real-world events inspired by the games (without the deadly consequences, thankfully) were organized in various countries. Halloween costumes featuring the green tracksuits and pink jumpsuits were ubiquitous in 2021.
  • Critical Acclaim and Awards: The series received widespread critical acclaim for its direction, writing, acting, and production design, eventually winning numerous awards, including historic Emmy wins for Lee Jung-jae (Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series) and Hwang Dong-hyuk (Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series).

Squid Game wasn’t just a hit show; it was a global cultural event, demonstrating the power of compelling storytelling and distinct visuals to transcend language and borders in the streaming era. Its themes, characters, and iconic imagery provided fertile ground for discussion, analysis, and creative engagement – precisely the kind of material that thrives on a platform like Bilibili.

Part 3: The Connection – Squid Game’s Unofficial Life on Bilibili

Here lies the core of our exploration: how did a show unavailable through official channels in China become a massive topic of discussion and content creation on Bilibili? The answer lies in a confluence of factors: the sheer virality of Squid Game, the resourcefulness of Chinese internet users, and, most importantly, the unique ecosystem Bilibili provides.

The Access Barrier: No Official Release

Due to China’s strict media regulations and censorship concerning foreign content (especially content depicting graphic violence, social unrest, or critiques of societal structures that could be interpreted as critical of the status quo), Squid Game was never officially licensed for distribution by any Chinese streaming platform (like Youku, iQIYI, or Tencent Video) nor approved for broadcast. Netflix itself is not directly accessible in mainland China without the use of VPNs (Virtual Private Networks).

This meant that the vast majority of Chinese viewers could not simply log onto a local service and watch the show legally. However, the global buzz surrounding Squid Game was inescapable. News outlets reported on its success, social media outside China was flooded with related content, and word-of-mouth quickly spread news of this must-watch series. Demand inevitably surged.

Circumventing the Barrier: How Chinese Audiences Watched

Chinese internet users, particularly the digitally savvy youth demographic that populates Bilibili, are adept at navigating the complexities of the Great Firewall and accessing international content. Several methods facilitated the viewing of Squid Game:

  1. Piracy: Illicit copies of the series quickly became available on various online platforms, torrent sites, and cloud storage services accessible within China. Entire episodes or seasons could be downloaded or streamed unofficially.
  2. VPNs: Users with VPNs could access Netflix directly or other international platforms hosting discussions or clips.
  3. Fragmented Viewing: Many users likely experienced the show through clips, summaries, and reaction videos shared on platforms like Bilibili itself, even without watching the full series seamlessly.

While the means of access were unofficial and operated in a legal grey area, the desire to participate in the global conversation surrounding Squid Game was immense. And Bilibili became the primary destination for that participation.

Why Bilibili Became the Hub: A Perfect Storm

Several inherent characteristics of Bilibili made it the ideal platform for Squid Game content to flourish, despite the lack of official licensing:

  1. PUGV Dominance and Flexibility: Bilibili’s foundation is user-generated content. While directly uploading full, copyrighted episodes would likely lead to takedowns, users could upload a vast array of related content:

    • Reviews and Summaries: Detailed plot breakdowns, episode recaps, and critical reviews, often split into multiple parts to avoid copyright filters and keep viewers engaged.
    • Analysis and Interpretation: Deep dives into the show’s themes (capitalism, morality, social commentary), character analyses, symbolism interpretations, and comparisons to other works (Battle Royale, Kaiji, As the Gods Will).
    • Clips and Compilations: Short, edited clips highlighting key moments, shocking scenes, or character interactions. These often fly under the radar of automated copyright detection or fall under fair use arguments (within the platform’s context).
    • Memes and Parodies: The striking visuals and repeatable game mechanics were perfect meme fodder. Users created countless parodies, comedic sketches, and meme compilations referencing the show. The Dalgona challenge, the “Red Light, Green Light” sequence, and the guards’ distinctive look were particularly popular subjects.
    • Fan Edits and AMVs (Anime Music Videos): Creative edits pairing scenes from Squid Game with music, often focusing on specific characters or relationships.
    • Cosplay: Users showcased their Squid Game-inspired costumes (green tracksuits, pink guard outfits, player numbers).
    • “How-to” Content (Implicit): While direct guides to piracy might be moderated, discussions often implicitly pointed towards ways users were accessing the show.

    This PUGV focus meant that the discussion and reinterpretation of Squid Game could thrive, even if the source material wasn’t hosted directly. Bilibili UPs (Uploaders) became crucial intermediaries, digesting the show and repackaging it into various formats for the Bilibili audience.

  2. Danmu Culture: The real-time danmu commentary system was perfectly suited for the Squid Game phenomenon. As users watched clips, summaries, or analysis videos, they could share their immediate reactions, shock, theories, and jokes with thousands of others simultaneously. Danmu scrolling across scenes like the first horrifying round of “Red Light, Green Light” or the tense marble game created a powerful sense of shared experience and collective emotional response, mimicking the feeling of watching together in a large group. Memes born in the danmu (“前方高能” – “High energy ahead,” warning of an intense scene) became intrinsically linked to watching Squid Game content on Bilibili.

  3. Community Structure (分区): Dedicated zones or widespread tagging allowed users interested in Squid Game to easily find relevant videos, discussions, and communities. Users could subscribe to specific UPs known for their Squid Game analysis or participate in forums dissecting plot points and fan theories. This concentrated the discussion and fostered a sense of community around the show.

  4. ACG Roots and Meme Affinity: Bilibili’s origins in ACG culture meant its user base was already familiar with analysing narratives, discussing character archetypes, appreciating distinctive visual styles, and engaging heavily with meme culture. Squid Game‘s strong visual identity, game-like structure, and meme-able moments resonated deeply with this audience. The platform’s tools and culture encourage creative remixing and parody, which Squid Game invited in abundance.

  5. “Knowledge” Content Trend: The platform’s push for educational and analytical content provided a space for more serious engagement. UPs created videos discussing the socio-economic commentary of Squid Game, its connections to real-world issues in South Korea and beyond, its philosophical underpinnings, and its place within the survival genre. This elevated the discussion beyond simple reactions and memes.

  6. Live Streaming Engagement: Bilibili streamers reacted live to popular clips, discussed fan theories with their audience, debated character motivations, and sometimes even played fan-made games inspired by Squid Game. This interactive format further amplified the show’s presence and allowed for real-time community building around the topic.

  7. Platform Tolerance (A Balancing Act): While Bilibili operates within China’s regulatory framework and employs content moderation, its PUGV-centric nature creates a vast grey area. Uploads of full episodes would likely be removed quickly due to copyright and censorship concerns. However, reviews, analyses, parodies, and discussions – particularly those that didn’t directly challenge sensitive political lines – were often allowed to remain, especially given the immense user interest and engagement they generated. The platform benefited from the traffic and activity, creating a dynamic where Squid Game content could proliferate extensively, even without official sanction. Moderators likely focused on removing direct piracy links and politically sensitive interpretations, while allowing the bulk of the creative and analytical PUGV content to flourish.

Types of Squid Game Content Dominating Bilibili:

Based on the above factors, the Squid Game ecosystem on Bilibili was rich and varied:

  • In-depth Analyses: Long videos dissecting themes, symbolism, and social critique were highly popular, often framed within the “Knowledge” zone. Creators compared Squid Game to philosophical concepts or historical events.
  • Character Studies: Videos focusing on individual characters like Gi-hun, Sang-woo, Sae-byeok, or Ali, exploring their motivations, moral choices, and tragic arcs. Shipping (imagining relationships between characters) also occurred.
  • Meme Compilations: Collections of the funniest memes, danmu reactions, and short parodies related to the show.
  • Creative Reinterpretations: Fan animations, drawings, music videos (AMVs), and comedic skits reimagining scenes or characters.
  • Game Mechanic Breakdowns: Videos explaining the rules of the games, discussing strategies, or highlighting clever details in the game design.
  • “Reaction” Content: UPs filming their reactions to key scenes (often using clips obtained unofficially) or reacting to other popular Squid Game videos on Bilibili.
  • News and Trend Updates: Videos discussing the show’s global impact, reporting on related news (like casting for Season 2), or covering viral trends like the Dalgona challenge.

Essentially, Bilibili users didn’t just passively consume information about Squid Game; they actively deconstructed, reconstructed, celebrated, critiqued, and memed it into a phenomenon tailored to the platform’s unique environment.

Part 4: Wider Implications and Analysis

The convergence of Squid Game and Bilibili is more than just an interesting case study; it highlights several significant trends and dynamics in the contemporary global media landscape, particularly concerning China’s unique digital sphere:

  1. The Permeability of Cultural Borders: Despite governmental controls like the Great Firewall and strict media licensing, globally viral cultural phenomena like Squid Game possess an immense power to seep across borders. The sheer force of global buzz, combined with the resourcefulness of internet users, ensures that such content finds an audience, even in restricted environments. Digital platforms, even those operating primarily within one nation, become nodes in a globalized cultural network.

  2. The Power and Flexibility of PUGV Platforms: Bilibili’s success in hosting Squid Game discourse underscores the distinct advantage of platforms built around user-generated content. Unlike traditional OGV-focused streamers who rely on official licenses, PUGV platforms thrive on user creativity and commentary about content, regardless of its official availability. This allows them to capture the zeitgeist and become central hubs for discussion even when they don’t host the primary source material. Bilibili didn’t need to license Squid Game; its users created a parallel universe of content around it.

  3. User Agency and Circumvention Culture: The phenomenon demonstrates the agency of Chinese internet users, particularly the younger generation, in seeking out and engaging with global cultural trends. They possess the technical skills (using VPNs, finding pirated sources) and the cultural drive to participate in conversations happening outside their immediate digital borders. Platforms like Bilibili become spaces where this agency is expressed through content creation and community interaction.

  4. The Nature of Virality in Semi-Restricted Spaces: Squid Game on Bilibili shows how virality operates differently within an environment with content moderation and access limitations. The content that thrives is often derivative, analytical, or transformative (memes, reviews, analysis) rather than direct reproductions of the source. The platform’s features, like danmu, amplify virality through shared, real-time reactions, creating a unique participatory culture around the trending topic.

  5. Challenges for Rights Holders and Platforms: The situation presents challenges for both Netflix (the rights holder) and Bilibili. For Netflix, while the buzz generated on Bilibili might indirectly increase brand awareness, it represents a massive audience engaging with its hit property largely outside its own ecosystem and without direct monetization. For Bilibili, it’s a constant balancing act: benefiting from the huge traffic and engagement generated by trending global topics while navigating copyright issues and content regulations. Overly strict moderation could alienate users, while lax moderation could attract unwanted regulatory attention or legal challenges. Bilibili treads a fine line, often relying on the “safe harbor” provided by its PUGV model while actively managing blatant piracy and sensitive content.

  6. Bilibili as a Unique Cultural Barometer: The way Squid Game manifested on Bilibili – the specific types of analyses, memes, and discussions that gained traction – offers valuable insights into the interests, concerns, and cultural lens of young Chinese internet users. The emphasis on social commentary, character morality, and comparisons to other media reflects the sophisticated engagement of the Bilibili community.

  7. The Role of Interactivity: The danmu feature cannot be overstated. It transformed the (often solitary) act of watching pirated content or analysis videos into a lively, shared, and highly interactive event. This communal aspect is central to Bilibili’s appeal and was crucial in making the platform the de facto public square for Squid Game discussion in China.

Conclusion: A Symbiotic Connection Forged in the Digital Grey

The relationship between Bilibili and Squid Game is a fascinating testament to the dynamics of modern digital culture. Squid Game, a globally dominant piece of media entertainment unavailable through official channels in China, found a vibrant and dynamic second life on Bilibili, a platform uniquely positioned to foster such engagement. This was not merely a case of users discussing a popular show; it was an instance where the platform’s core features – its PUGV focus, its interactive danmu system, its strong community structure, and its meme-savvy user base – actively shaped and amplified the phenomenon within the specific context of the Chinese internet.

Bilibili provided the stage, the tools, and the audience for Chinese youth to dissect, debate, parody, and participate in the global Squid Game conversation. Users circumvented access barriers to watch the show and then flocked to Bilibili to share their reactions, analyses, and creative interpretations. The platform, in turn, benefited from the immense surge in traffic and user engagement, further solidifying its position as the cultural hub for China’s younger generations.

Understanding this connection reveals much about the flow of global culture in the digital age, the resilience and adaptability of online communities, and the unique power of platforms like Bilibili that prioritize user generation and interaction. It highlights how, even within complex regulatory environments, the potent combination of compelling content and a suitable digital commons can create unexpected and powerful cultural resonances. The story of Squid Game on Bilibili is not just about a popular show finding an audience; it’s about how digital platforms become crucial arenas for cultural negotiation, interpretation, and participation, rewriting the rules of media consumption in the 21st century. It serves as a compelling example of how user-driven platforms can become central to experiencing global phenomena, even – or perhaps especially – when official pathways are closed.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top