厭世文化下的流行卡通角色： 以「蛋黃哥」及「角落生物」為例

近年來，性格懶散、外形圓滾滾及軟趴趴的卡漫角色漸受歡迎，這樣的流行與當今社會文化氛圍有何關聯？目前學界的相關研究甚少。本研究以大數據為依據，聚焦兩個受到歡迎的角色：蛋黃哥 (Gudetama) 與角落生物 (Sumikko Gurashi)，探討此二者與「厭世文化」興起之關聯。以戲劇學者Lajos Egri (1888-1967) 所提出的「角色三面向」彙整出此二者的角色設計元素，再參照Martin Barker (1946-) 的理論，解析角色文本所反映的觀者意識形態、文本的傳播功能及社會立場。研究發現如下：（一）蛋黃哥及角落生物的設計元素體現了厭世文化的特性。角色文本設定與消費大眾（觀者）現實境遇的相似性，為觀者建立了滿足需求的管道。（二）角色在設計上的視覺元素影響觀者對角色的接納與喜愛。這些設計元素包含：擬人化的動物或物品、簡化的表情、簡約的線條及配色、甚至「可愛」等特質。（三）角色文本的社會立場，如：台灣的哈日文化、卡漫和禦宅市場、網絡媒體使用、多元文化融合及全球化的社會發展趨勢，為其奠定了流行基礎。

關鍵字

角色設計；大眾文化；文本分析；哈日

並列摘要

In recent years, cartoon characters with lazy personalities, chubby and slouchy appearance become more and more popular. How does this popularity relate to the current social and cultural contexts? At present, there are only a few relevant studies. This study focuses on two characters, Gudetama and Sumikko Gurashi based on big data, to find out their relationship with the culture of misanthropy. This study uses Lajos Egri (1888-1967)’s theory on characters to analyse how Gudetama and Sumikko Gurashi were designed. This study also uses Martin Barker (1946-)’s observation between cartoon and society to further understand the ideology of viewers, media effects and social contexts. The findings are as follows: (i) The design elements of Gudetama and Sumikko Gurashi reflect the characteristics of misanthropy. The similarity between characters setting and the social background of audiences establishes a channel in which audiences’ needs were satisfied. (ii) Design elements affect characters’ popularity. These design elements include: how anthropomorph these characters are, simple facial expression, plain lines and colors, and "cute" characteristics. (iii) Japanese culture, “Otaku” markets, the use of online media, the integration of diverse cultures and globalization, lay the foundation for the characters’ popularity in Taiwan.