Affective Rupture and Fatigue at Commercialization Nodes: A Study of Social Media Discourse Based on the Viral Phenomenon of Jingdezhen's "Chicken Cutlet Brother"
Abstract
As short-video platforms have become a key part of urban marketing, street vendors have quickly gained attention and now hold symbolic meaning in city life. Public sentiment about them has changed quickly because of new trends and commercialization. Jingdezhen's "Chicken Cutlet Brother" is a typical case of this phenomenon. He initially gained attention through humorous interactions, then began to gradually participate in official events, and served as a cultural tourism ambassador for Jingdezhen. However, as exposure and commercial collaborations increased, sentiment in Douyin comment section gradually shifted from positive to fatigue and dislike. To understand this shift, this paper analyzes Douyin comments through data collection and sentiment classification. It identifies three stages in sentiment shifts: viral surge phase, commercialization intensification phase, and fatigue and disengagement phase. The study further examines the relationship between key commercialization nodes and shifts in public sentiment. This paper finds that commercialization nodes served as clear triggers and amplifiers, shifting what was originally a relaxed interactive experience towards an exhausting evaluation. It also reflects the dynamic emotional relationship between influencers, platform mechanisms, and urban narratives, offering a new discourse analysis method for understanding sentiment shifts of current internet-famous cities.
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