From “Sweet Wild Boy” to “Sharp Cigarette King”: A Brief Analysis of the Logic Behind the “Ding Zhen Ghostly Meme” Carnival

Bakhtin’s carnival theory highlights a folk-rooted “universal human spirit.” Postmodernist influences have diversified and deconstructed carnival in online spaces. Ding Zhen’s rise, driven by media promotion and commercialization, shaped three carnival spaces and four dimensions of thought, symbolizing satire and resistance. However, escalating negative energy risks collective bewilderment, fragmenting culture and spiraling carnival out of control.