The Hypermodern

The New Year

Every time I mention starting a blog, I’m met with a cocked eyebrow and an insinuatory, “You’re starting a blog?”

I can understand why blogs are met with such skepticism. It’s the same reason why I used to roll my eyes when someone said they had a LiveJournal or listened to Linkin Park. It’s a bandwagon thing, and unless you were on the bandwagon before it became a bandwagon, you’re a poser. So I quickly make the distinction that it’s an intellectual blog, and that I’m not the only writer. Although, as you’ll see, this is only marginally true.

The idea for an English-language blog about expat life in Beijing first came to me while I was researching an article about the Beijing Playhouse. I looked at a few sites that had written about the Playhouse but got little more information than where it was, what was showing, and how much tickets were. But I wanted to know the history of the Playhouse and what drove the actors to devote massive amounts of time (rehearsals are four hours a night for five weeks) to perform English-language theatre in a country where only a distinct minority could understand it. So when I did the interview that’s what I found out (article will be posted here when finished).

Despite the preponderance of English-language blogs and periodicals, there is a lack of in-depth reporting in China. Whether it’s due to caution or censorship (official or otherwise), I’m not sure. This is more an observation than a criticism, but it is a gap we here at “The Hypermodern” hope to fill.

“The Hypermodern” is ostensibly aimed at the expat community in China with Beijing as the epicenter. But more generally, I hope this blog will appeal to anyone who wants to learn more about life in China, aside from the sometimes popular and sometimes antagonistic articles found in major papers.

But life in China is not just Peking Duck and Peking Opera. Most people underestimate the amount of Western culture in China. Japan, and to a lesser extent Korea, are seen as Westernized Eastern nations but anyone who’s walked down a Chinese street knows that Haier and Lenovo have as much stake in the Middle Kingdom as McDonalds and Louis Vuitton. And though only ten or so American films are shown in Chinese theaters each year (apparently none now), the majority of Chinese have large collections of (pirated) American DVDs. My point is, reportage on China is often inextricable from mention of America—especially when there are some 380,000 expatriates in China, and especially as these two superpowers head toward an uncertain future.

Thus, the content on this blog will be devoted to China and America, with writers on both sides of the Pacific commenting on events at home. Content itself will be separated into two categories: original content in the form of articles and reviews, and blog content in the form of comments on outside articles and short blurbs about whatever.

A word about the writers. he talent on this blog is composed mostly of amateur writers, which is not to say the output is amateurish. The writers for “The Hypermodern” are some of the most intelligent people I know. However, we are all novices when it comes to blogging. Do not be alarmed if we don’t get it right the first time—be alarmed only if the quality of writing on this site does not improve in the coming months.

I’ll refrain from further speculation as to the future of this blog because it’s anyone’s guess. I hope that this blog finds an audience. I hope there are people out there interested in and intrigued by what we have to say. I hope that this blog can foster intelligent discussion on issues on both sides of the Pacific. Wish us luck.

© 2008 The Hypermodern.