Althouse: "How does an eight-year-old from Minneapolis become so famous in China that he gets mobbed every time he visits?"

April 2, 2019

"How does an eight-year-old from Minneapolis become so famous in China that he gets mobbed every time he visits?"

Asks BBC. The answer: "The expressions of Gavin Thomas are used as memes in China where people are sometimes too polite to say what they really think."

"Hi, I'm Gavin Thomas. I'm pretty much 8 years old."

11 comments:

Wince said...: He should put each of his baby teeth that comprise the popular "fake smile" meme up on eBay (or Alibaba) in China.

Or sell them as a mounted set.

Forget the $1.00 left under his alt-right MyPillow.; 4/2/19, 8:39 AM
Quaestor said...: I'm pretty much 8 years old.

Gavin will do great things if he can keep such unforced charm.; 4/2/19, 8:44 AM
iowan2 said...: Hmmm, I was sure delayed posting signified Althouse inc, was working the kinks out of the non-moderation, moderation?; 4/2/19, 8:45 AM
AZ Bob said...: I am fascinated by the reasons the Chinese are attracted to the boy's expressions. How does Ann find these stories?; 4/2/19, 8:53 AM
Sydney said...: I find it hard to believe people in China are polite, given my experience at department store sales, especially at the makeup counter when they are giving away free gifts. I always seem to be elbowed by Chinese people at those things. And they don't believe in waiting in line.; 4/2/19, 9:03 AM
William said...: I think it would be pretty cool to fly into some foreign country and be treated as a superstar and then go home and be a regular person. I wouldn't mind being a superstar on weekends but the daily grind of fame is probably more wearing than anonymity.; 4/2/19, 9:05 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: It's a fake smile and he doesn't know it, because children are told to smile for the camera and they do it. He's not doing it out of guile; he's doing it out of obedience. He was told to smile, so he did. He doesn't mind doing it, but he doesn't know the difference between a real smile and a fake one.

I did it every time I got my picture taken, till age 8 or so, and I didn't even think twice about it. I was told to smile and I would hold my breath and make an excruciating face-crinkling grimace, with an ear-to-ear, all-teeth-baring grin, because I thought that was how it was done. I was actually encouraged to do it, because my family thought it was funny. Later on, photographers, especially school yearbook photographers, would do or say something "funny", or usually embarrassing, to get a "natural" smile out of us, but that smile was almost always more nervous than joyous.

A social smile isn't just a Chinese thing, and it's not just the patriarchy telling females to smile, as the video proves. People in general are told to smile, and they do it.; 4/2/19, 9:21 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: I don't mean all of Gavin's pics, but the ones in which he's facing the camera and is obviously being told to smile.; 4/2/19, 9:53 AM
Darrell said...: They see him as one of the Chinese demons--a Trickster.; 4/2/19, 12:21 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "I am fascinated by the reasons the Chinese are attracted to the boy's expressions. How does Ann find these stories?"

It's at BBC.

I look at mainstream media and select.; 4/2/19, 1:09 PM
AZ Bob said...: Following Althouse relieves me of having to follow the mainstream media. Thanks, Ann.; 4/2/19, 4:47 PM