Danmu as archi-text and meta-text: a semiotic analysis of online video consumption shaped by viewers’ (translational) comments

ABSTRACT This article approaches danmu-mediated online video consumption on both a conceptual and an empirical level. On the conceptual level, moving along the line of paratextual studies, it first introduces Yiheng Zhao’s semiotic theory and his categorization of co-texts, and then situates the conceptualization of danmu as both archi-text and meta-text within this framework. On the empirical level, following an interest in viewers’ translational practices, it investigates how video consumption is shaped by three types of translational meta-texts on danmu, i.e. interlingual translation, fun subtitles, and soramimi (homophonic translation). Case analysis reveals that participatory viewers’ translational meta-texts could facilitate subsequent viewers’ understanding of the intended meaning of the video, but they may also lead to a different interpreted meaning and open up an outward path of semiotic engagement, effectively transforming video viewing into a subtitling game or even a massive semiotic ritual or performance art showcased on screen.