| My project investigates the lifestyle of the "Ghost Fire Youth" (Guihuo Youth) and, through the theories and discussions of youth subcultures by the Birmingham School, seeks to summarize and characterize the phenomenon of youth subculture in the Chinese context of Generation Z. By drawing on Heidegger’s concept of the “they” (das Man) and Sartre’s notion of “authentic existence,” and by examining the survival mode of the Ghost Fire Youth, I aim to explore whether subcultural participation can serve as a means for young people in modern China to seek authentic existence, resist alienation, and achieve self-creation within the everyday work dominated by the “they.” Through making artifacts associated with the Ghost Fire Youth and simulating their subcultural practices, I hope to better understand youth subculture in the Chinese context. |