Sensing ‘performance anxiety’: Zhang Ziyi, Tang Wei, and female film stardom in the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

This article explores the intersection of affective-sensorial and politico-cultural dimensions involved in female film star-gazing in present-day China. Case studies of two controversial female film stars (Zhang Ziyi and Tang Wei) reveal that the actresses’ on-screen and off-screen sexual performances incited expressions of public ‘performance anxiety’. Through an analysis of each star’s reception vis-à-vis interviews, newspaper articles, and online user comments, this article proposes that certain structures of affect related to shame, anxiety, and arousal are also connected to sensorial experiences of taste, smell, touch, and sight.

Keywords:

• Chinese celebrity studies
• sexual performance
• affect, sense, and
• sensation
• star reception

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Celebrity Studies’ two anonymous readers and Kathleen McHugh for their insightful suggestions and feedback on this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mila Zuo

Mila Zuo is a doctoral candidate in Cinema and Media Studies at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Her dissertation is entitled ‘Transnational Chinese Bodies Performing Sex, Health, and Beauty in Cinema and Media’. Her research interests include transnational cinemas, body cultures, and celebrity studies.