Kelly HuIn addition, YYeTs prefers those who schedule their work time well and are capable of
“self-learning, active exploration, and independent problem solving” (YYeTs.com 2014). It also
notes that it welcomes those who are good at emotional management while under pressure and
who do not feel the need to fight back, as they may experience a lot of hostile attacks from
those outside the group, especially when their subtitles attract audiences with diverse opin-
ions. Questions are directed at potential candidates, such as whether they have the minimum
required Internet connection speed and what online media players they use. To enhance their
effectiveness and increase their popularity, subtitle groups emphasize the flexible accumulation
of talented workers who are expected to be rational and useful.
From a broader perspective, the subtitle groups develop passionate fans into disciplined
workers; individual effort is mobilized for the goal of collective power and achievement.
Through such a process, Chinese subtitle groups fully maximize the advantages of capital
accumulation in the following ways. First, the cultural capital of the valuable Chinese language
subtitles is transformed into the economic capital in a manner that is well in tune with current
monetization trends in online entertainment. Second, with high quality translations, regular
schedules, and a rapid release speed, famous subtitle groups establish the symbolic capital of
a good reputation. Third, the mobilization of fans by networking with potential talent and
online audiences all over the nation and overseas through Internet technology has enabled
the accumulation of social capital. Next, I will discuss the ways in which the power of online
self-branding is exercised by subtitle groups, enabling them to step into the formal cultural
economy.
Flexible accumulation: Between formal and informal cultural economy
David Harvey proposed the notion of “flexible accumulation,” describing the way in which,
since the 1970s, new modes of capitalism on a global scale function differently from Fordist
industrial mass production. Flexible accumulation is characterized as follows:
It rests on flexibility with respect to labor processes, labor markets, products, and pat-
terns of consumption. It is characterized by the emergence of entirely new sectors of
production ... and, above all, greatly intensified rates of commercial, technological, and
organizational innovation.
(Harvey 1992, 147)The ways in which Chinese subtitle groups operate are often based on flexible accumulation:
they mobilize fan labor and carve out new spaces of consumption, which are then made avail-
able to online audiences; they engage in collaborative partnerships with big video websites;
and they build intimate links with other elements of the Internet technology economy, such as
online forums, media players, download managers, P2P software, and cloud storage. The desire to
achieve the goals of quick release and wide circulation of completed subtitled products overlaps
with the market logic of online video, which also seeks to reach wider audiences. According to
Mylonas, “new capitalism relies on innovation of P2P production, the reflexivity of P2P net-
works for distribution [and] cooperative work” (Mylonas 2011). It is useful to understand how
Chinese subtitle groups involved with P2P sharing and production invent their own ways of
flexible accumulation, which appear to be as daunting as those required for running a business,
but without the capitalist market imperative to generate revenue. In the following, I discuss how
several large subtitle groups use flexible accumulation, while also being strongly influenced by
the local online viewing economy and the state’s surveillance policies.