iPhone Girl: Assembly, Assemblages and Affect in the Life of an Image

In August 2008 the world’s attention was on China. The Beijing Olympics were reaching their climax, having already put into circulation a myriad of explosive images. A minor scandal followed the Zhang Yimou-directed opening ceremony when it was revealed that Lin Miaoke (林妙可), a pretty young girl, had lip-synched over the voice of the ostensibly less attractive Yang Peiyi (杨沛宜)1 in a contemporary Singing In The Rain scenario (Spencer, 2008). In this volatile image-world of national spectacle, image was everything and images of beautiful young girls and women fueled the desire for the national in a global world, just as the image of woman has functioned in so many other contexts as a universal sign, producing desire for whatever product or nation-state is being promoted (Figure 6.1a).