Course:ASIA319/2024/"Overtitle/Subtitle/Damaku" (弹幕)

Introduction

Danmaku or Danmu (弹幕, translated as "barrage") was originally a military term describing a dense curtain of bullets. In contemporary video platforms, it has evolved into a distinctive form of viewer interaction, referring to the textual or emoticon comments made by audiences using the danmaku or danmu function while watching a video, known as "bullet curtain" or "danmaku/danmu comment."

User interface for displaying danmu comments on Bilibili.

It is significantly different from traditional video online reviews in terms of where and how it is presented. Traditional video comments exist independently of the video content, usually located in the comment area below the video, static display of user ID, comment time, IP location, comment text and other content, according to the order of the time of publication of the comments or the number of likes and other rules for sorting. Users need to view all the comments under a particular video by sliding the comment section, which is the default display format of the website, and users usually can not customize the style of comment showing.

Danmaku/Danmu comments, on the other hand, as a new type of comment, can be displayed in a scrolling manner from right to left, directly overlaying the video, and can be synchronized to the specific playing time of the video. By using this feature, users can watch videos while viewing the danmaku/danmu comments posted by other users, and they can also post timely information about their emotions, attitudes, and thoughts arising from watching videos and danmaku/danmu comments by sending out such comments. When delivering a danmaku/danmu comment, the user can set the color, font, scrolling speed, and the page position on which the comment text is placed. In addition, posting a danmaku/danmu comment is completely anonymous, and only the content of the comment is visible above the video, not the user's username. Such a danmaku/danmu function allows users to communicate with each other in a more direct way, creating a real-time shared experience, namely, although the danmaku/danmu comments a user actually sees while watching a particular video are sent by other users at another time when watching the same video scene, one can interact with those who have already watched the video and thus have the experience and feeling of shared viewing.

At this time, the danmaku/danmu have the dual characteristics of real-time and cumulative: users watching the same video can not only see the current moment other people sent danmaku/danmu, but all the danmaku/danmu will also be stored in the video's "danmaku/danmu pool" for subsequent viewers to view. This emergence breaks the pattern of one-way communication of traditional video websites, and viewers can communicate both synchronously and asynchronously while watching danmaku/danmu videos. Despite the danmaku/danmu being essentially non-synchronized, the way it scrolls and floats across the screen creates an illusionary atmosphere of multiple people watching online at once. Japanese scholar Hamano Satoshi calls this temporality unique to danmaku/danmu "pseudo-synchronization." From this perspective, danmaku/danmu can be considered as an innovative application of the instant messaging function on video sites.

In light of this, this wiki page explores what Chinese cultural traits are reflected by retracing the genesis and evolution of danmaku/danmu and, first, examining the differences in their application across different types of video content and platforms. Second, cross-temporal and cross-cultural comparisons are made to explain how the linguistic and symbolic expressions in danmaku/danmu culture highlight the characteristics of contemporary Chinese online culture, how these characteristics are similar to and distinct from traditional cultural expressions as well as how the mode of development of danmaku/danmu culture in China differs from that in other countries (e.g., Japan), and what cultural and social factors it presents. At last, an attempt is made to expose the social, cultural and political problems facing danmaku/danmu culture (such as copyright protection, information interference, public opinion guidance, etc.) in order to raise the question of the development challenges of contemporary Chinese popular culture.

The genesis and dictionary meaning of the keyword

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The term “danmu” was adopted in China as a wasei-kango from the Japanese word “danmaku (だんまく).” The word danmaku was introduced in the ACG community by the arcade game Batsugun, a vertically scrolling shooter that established many modern templates of danmuku-style games. This subgenre featured intense and continuous waves of projectiles that players must evade, and the relentless barrage of shots in danmaku games lend themselves easily to a vivid description of the constant onslaught of comments saturating the entire visual field.

Danmaku became the proper noun for this particular type of on-screen commentary in 2006 on a Japanese video-sharing website Niconico. This platform allows viewers to post comments that appear directly on a playing video that move across the screen in sync with the video’s timeline. With Niconico’s growing popularity in Mainland China, Chinese ACG websites such as AcFun and Bilibili also began to adopt danmaku features around the year of 2008 to 2009. Danmu rapidly became widely embraced by ACG users in China, and by the end of 2015, major Chinese subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming applications, such as iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Videohad also integrated it.

Controversy over Its Pronounciation

The Chinese character “弹” is composed of “弓” (gōng) and “单” (dān), both of which are pictographs. The character “弓” refers to a bow or any device for shooting arrows and projectiles — as seen in words like “张弓” (drawing a bow), “弹弓” (slingshot), and “弓箭” (bow and arrow). The character “单” initially represented a hunting tool somewhat similar to a slingshot, later evolved into a weapon. The oracle bone inscription version of “单” depicts a forked stick with stones and rope tied to its ends. “单” also took on the meaning of “one” or “single,” likely because the tool could only bring down one animal at a time.

“弹” is a heteronymic character with different meanings attached to each pronunciation. When pronounced as “dàn”, it refers to a “bullet” or bullet-shaped objects. When pronounced as “tán”, it functions mainly as a verb in contexts such as “弹棉花” (fluffing cotton), “弹奏” (playing a musical instrument by plucking with fingers), “弹射” (ejecting or shooting by spring action), or “弹劾” (exposing / accusing).

The origin of the word 弹幕, as the introduction touched upon, was initially a military term, "barrage." This tactic was widely used during World War I and World War II. The second character "幕",  which means covering fabric, is used metaphorically here to describe that the bullets densely block the line of sight resembling a thick curtain. It refers to the action of continuously firing large guns to protect soldiers advancing on an enemy. As mentioned in Chapter 25 of "The Panorama of World War II, Vol. 3": "At this point, bombing and strafing also began in the air while a creeping barrage was executed on the sea... All of the Japanese weapons——carefully concealed artillery, mortars, and other guns——originated the firing simultaneously, creating a fierce and dense barrage... " This chapter remarks how the U.S. created a continuous barrage against Japanese positions but the Japanese forces also unleashed a counterattack that trapped the Americans in a deadly crossfire using the same tactic of concentrating heavy and destructive artillery bombardment. The character "弹" in "弹幕"as barrage takes the meaning of "bullet," thus many people think that it should be read as "dàn" to preserve its contextual and etymological meaning. Nowadays, this term largely refers to the comments that appear over videos on websites scrolling from right to left that resemble bullets "flying" across the video. and when they are too dense, they obstruct the view of the video like how barrage used to defense the armies under massed sustained shelling.

The pronunciation though, still has different interpretations to this day. Some believes that "弹" should be pronounced as "tán" because the way 弹幕 appear on the screen is very similar to pop-up windows. Moreover, the term 弹幕 has shifted away from its original military meaning long since. The pronunciation of "tán" seems to be more fitting since it is more common both in terms of meaning and frequency for this character, as people barely associate flying comments with dense bullets in wartime.

In Japan, only the platform Niconico uses the term "danmaku" to refer to this specific type of comments showing on the video screen. The phrase "danmaku" first appeared on Niconico in a comment of a video titled "レミオロメン." And if you visit Niconico's website now, the platform itself does not call this feature "danmaku" officially, but rather "コメント" (comment). Unlike YouTube and Bilibili, Niconico does not have a designated comment section under its videos. Instead, the site's comments appear in the form of "danmaku," which has led some to argue that referring to the flowing comments on videos as "danmaku" is a misnomer.

Additionally, the issue of verbal disputes in danmu comments has drawn attention. Some have pointed out that users often engage in harsh languages where disagreements escalate into verbal violence. The pronunciation of "danmaku" (弹幕), with the word "弹" (dàn)  unintentionally amplifies its aggressive and confrontational connotation. If pronounced as "弹幕" (tán mù), however, it could somewhat reduce the violent implication at a linguistic level, as "弹" (tán) sounds similar to "谈" (tán), meaning "to talk," and could be associated with the idea of commenting as a form of discussion rather than attack.

An elaboration of its variegated meanings, actual usages, and value-loaded implications

An elaboration of its variegated meanings, actual usages, and value-loaded implications in Chinese popular culture, to be substantiated with concrete examples. The actual meanings and their implications are typically diverse and variable. The most active problems of meaning are always embedded in actual usages of the keywords. The section can be further divided into five:

1. The multiple explicit meanings and implicit connections people make when use the keywords to discuss their everyday experiences and popular culture scenes. For instance, find out how the keyword is used in academic readings, in the popular press, and in the online discussions by providing short citations (with linked references);
2. A shared body of words associated with the keyword (could be synonyms and antonyms or hypernyms) in our general discussions of Chinese popular culture and society;
3. Can you find a counterpart term in any Western or non-Chinese popular cultures? Compare the multiple terms from different languages but sharing a similar meaning.
4. Compare and summarize multiple meanings in their distinct contexts while digging into a range of ideas and values;
5. How dictionary meanings are transferred, distorted, or subverted? For example, how does the keyword originate in one language and migrate to another language? How does the keyword originate in one context and get subverted, misused, or renewed in another context (e.g. the word tongzhi was a socialist word for comrades, but now become a synonyms for queer/gay after migrating via different cultural spheres and regions)? After its origination in the Chinese popular culture scene, what about the international reception and appropriation of the keyword? The original meanings of words are always interesting but what is more interesting is the subsequent variations.

Social, cultural, and political problems

What social, cultural, and political problems are suggested through the usage of the term? Many of these social, political, and intellectual issues and conflicts are thought through as we are conscious of the keywords as elements of the problems. Tip: Focus on the moments when scholars, journalists, reviewers, or the public make complaints over the practice, institution, or perspective implied by the keyword. Those moments are often very telling occasions for you to diagnose the actual developments and meanings of the term, especially their extension, variation and transfer. Also the "political problems" mentioned here include but extend beyond the realm of the government's censorship or the state's policy; sometimes, the subcultural communities' relationship to the mainstream culture or the dominant ideology (like consumerism) could also be political (we call it subculture's politics). You can find your own interpretations on this aspect. Ultimately this section helps to answer the question--why does this word become popular in the contemporary Chinese societies? from a symptomatic reading perspective.

Studies related to the keyword

Find and summarize existing studies related to the keywords. Incorporate scholarships from several different disciplines, such as literary studies, cultural studies, anthropology, psychology, sociology, etc. Discuss how several disciplines converge into your research--make sure all the studies you cite are relevant to popular culture studies. Think about if any of the current studies can help you address questions like: why does this word become popular in contemporary China? Why do people in contemporary China want to use it? To express what kind of message as a group? You might comment on the existing studies and recommend amendment, correction and addition as your scholarly responses (but this is entire optional and should not be the focus of this project)

Conclusion

You should conclude your Wiki paper by summarizing the topic, or some aspect of the topic, and if possible, briefly suggest a position or a direction for future investigation or research.

References

1. Ensure that you use reliable sources (e.g. peer reviewed literature, esteemed journalistic reports, your own field-notes). Citing a reliable newspaper or media is acceptable, only when you cannot find another more reliable source;
2. Use the Wikipedia reference style (see Wikipedia:Inline citation);
3. Provide a citation for every sentence, statement, thought, or bit of data not your own, giving the author, year, AND page number in the reference list (if quoting textually);
4. You can reference foreign-language sources but translate the reference to English.

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