What do you do when you are upset? Running? Or karaoke?

Frankly, I will watch a few episodes of BoJack Horseman to my heart’s content.

Critically acclaimed as “the funniest and saddest show on television”, the American BoJack Horseman finds its popularity in the hegemony of the “loser” culture. The story revolves around the life of a washed-up Hollywood star who suffered from childhood traumas, reflecting sharply the common chaos (such as gun violence, promiscuity, drug and alcohol abuse) in American society. BoJack Horseman encompasses eccentricity, darkness and ennui. Furthermore, it does not have any floor at all in its venture to dig up the mental dirt of different characters. This has even led netizens to crown it as “the Modern Guidebook for Healing Traumas”. Those lines on the weariness of life, unscrupulousness, and overwhelming negative energy never fail to strike a chord with the audience’s past and fresh traumas.

The recent “demotivational culture” is prevalent, as can be seen from the popularity of the American series 2 Broke Girls and the English series Patrick Melrose. Young people who are grouped in the “world-weary generation” are already immune to the motivational quotes, pep talks and rose-tinted articles. By the same token, they are no longer willing to whitewash and beautify unpleasant incidents in their lives; instead, they are more ready to self-ridicule and unveil their own misfortunes. Funnily enough, some netizens even read anti-motivational quotes before sleep, print loser quotes on their calendar, and tag themselves with a “Buddha-like” label which catalyses a slacker attitude towards life. This can only be seen as a tribe of the “demotivational culture”. In short, the trend of “subtle happiness” has been gradually replaced by “subtle disappointment”.

Nihilism and pessimism are not unique to the 21st century, and therapeutic creative works in a diverse range of styles are found in almost every era. Take literature as an example. What was known as le mal du siècle in the end of 19th century had given rise to French Symbolism, of which Charles Baudelaire was a representative. Soon its influence had extended to Portuguese writing, including Camilo Pessanha, a poet of Macao. Later Pessanha produced Clepsidra, a symbolist masterpiece manifesting gloominess. Besides, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, a pioneer of Existentialist literature, also completely changed the path for development of modern novels with its absurdity marked by decadence. More significantly, existentialist literature was brought to a high point with the pessimistic and dubious emotions that emerged after the Second World War. Such “Aesthetics of Decadence” was then introduced to Asia, first exerting influence on Japanese literature. Chinese literature, of course, was no exception. In the early 20th century, for example, writers of the Creation Society such as Yu Dafu had been influenced by the Japanese “I-Novel”. His works were filled with vocabulary such as “depression” and struck a melancholic tone, which in turn inspired writers of the New Sensationalist School in Shanghai to attach importance to pathetic aesthetics and decadence. These examples demonstrate that a particular emotion in a particular era often has its lingering impact even decades later.

The uniqueness of the contemporary “demotivational culture” lies not only in its call for self-resolution of negativity, but also in presenting fresh business opportunities for cultural and creative products through the internet promotion of the culture. For instance, the works of the Japanese writer Osamu Dazai have once again gained popularity in the Chinese publishing market. The author was a prominent figure of the Decadent School, known for his quote “My life is a continuous process of making fool of myself”. In addition, the poems of Takuboku Ishikawa, who could be regarded as a representative poet of the “Loser School”, are also being rediscovered. Furthermore, Taiwanese poetry collections featuring the theme of world-weariness are also sold in great numbers. On the other hand, the internet is flooded with demotivational stickers such as the “Ge You Slouch”, “Bobby Hill”, “Sad Frog”, “Gudetama”, giving rise to parody products. The catering sector is a case in point-the Japanese UCC “Black Coffee of Negative Energy” as well as the “Hopeless Yogurt” from Chengdu have gone viral with their internet publicity, aimed at promoting their products through a demotivational lens. Similarly, ORZ Cha, a teashop renowned for its demotivational theme, is booming. Its best-selling drinks include an oolong tea entitled with an anti-motivational quote “You are not totally bereft, you still have a disease”, and the “My ex-boyfriend is leading a better life than I do” black tea.

One cannot avoid wondering, how should the cultural and creative industry position itself in the business market? Should it be a mere “supplier of sensations” and serve as a tool for profit-making? Or rather, should it generate persistent social and cultural values from what is deemed as “useless”? In other words, against the backdrop of the “demotivational culture” which promotes “the meaningless life”, how should cultural and creative companies strike a balance between ethics and profits? If, however, companies only pay attention to the latter, on what basis can they deserve the grand title of being “cultural and creative”?

Above all, the significance of “demotivational culture” is drawn from its therapeutic role as well as its function of reminding us that we are helpless and powerless in society, and that it is unnecessary to constantly pretend to love our lives. It is fine to be demotivated at times, for it allows us to sit back and ponder on the meaning of life. Finding an outlet for our negative emotions, moreover, enables us to have the strength to keep going. Just as BoJack Horseman’s suggestion after moaning about his discontented life, that “The only thing to do now is just to keep living forward”. Finally, as we sell the idea of “demotivational culture”, it is high time for enterprise to be responsible and mindful of their roles, if they are inducing consumers to swallow poison with a smile or providing a cure to the customers for their sorrow.