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Text: Lalala
Editor: Lalala
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu Ailing won 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal, creating a number of historic achievements. This talented girl has become the new idol of Chinese athletes in one fell swoop and is known as the "goddess of the whole people".
Only a few months later, she fell into the sea of public opinion, and was questioned and criticized by some netizens, and even abused. Why did a generation of rising sports stars suddenly detonate such a big controversy?
Extraordinary performance at the Beijing Winter Olympics
We still remember that cold winter night in Beijing. On the ice and snow field, a girl in an orange sportswear made a stunning appearance. She is Gu Ailing.
In the final of the women's freestyle skiing big air event, as the smallest participant, Gu Ailing reversed the championship with a thrilling performance and won the first Olympic gold medal for Chinese athletes in this event.
When she boldly attempted the extremely difficult 1620-degree spin in the penultimate round and completed it brilliantly, the audience was boiling. She broke with tradition and went above and beyond. This long-sought-after first gold medal has finally arrived at the deserved-best of the best.
In addition, Gu Ailing also won a silver medal and a gold medal for the Chinese team at this Winter Olympics. As the main force of the Chinese freestyle skiing team, she shows her strength to the world. After the game, this clever and cute little girl shined in front of the camera, showing a positive, sunny, lively and cute image.
The upbringing of a child prodigy
Gu Ailing was born in 2003 in a Chinese-American family and her ancestral home is Beijing. Since childhood, he has had unique skills and has developed well in all aspects.
Her mother, Ellie, graduated from Oxford University and worked as an executive at a high-tech company in Silicon Valley, and her father was a lawyer. Gu Ailing has been well nurtured by her family since she was a child, and under the careful cultivation of her family, she has cultivated many hobbies such as skiing, piano, and horseback riding. Among them, skiing has always been her greatest passion.
She started practicing at the age of 3 and joined the U.S. Junior Ski Team at the age of 8, becoming the only female athlete on the team. With her extraordinary talent, she has won nearly 60 gold medals in various junior competitions.
In addition to sports, Gu Ailing's academic performance is also amazing. She has an IQ of over 130 and was admitted to Stanford University with a high score of 1580.
Even after the heavy ski training, she was able to maintain an excellent learning state. On social platforms, she also shared her excellent college transcripts. For this genius girl who combines "beauty and wisdom", everyone is envious.
The business value of quickly becoming popular
After winning the championship, Gu Ailing quickly became the favored fragrance of major brands. She not only has outstanding athletic achievements, but also has an outstanding appearance of Chinese and American mixed race, coupled with a clever and cute personality, which has become the comprehensive quality of the brand.
In just one year, she has become the spokesperson of more than 20 brands, including Aiways, Uniqlo, Box8 box ice cream, and Visa wallet. According to estimates, her business worth reached 280 million yuan.
It can be said that the success of the Beijing Winter Olympics has made Gu Ailing a world-famous star overnight. Wherever she went, her every move was sought after by the media and the public. And she herself seems to be accustomed to and enjoy this role of "popular little diva".
Soon after becoming popular, Gu Ailing received strong criticism from the Internet. The reason was that she announced that she would help the United States bid for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics as an ambassador for the Olympic bid, which caused dissatisfaction among many patriots. Some people questioned her Chinese nationality identity, thinking that she "abandoned the chaos from the beginning" and "bought air".
Soon, more doubts and negative voices surfaced online. Some suspect that she became a Chinese citizen "in order to obtain more resources"; Some people are jealous of her business income of up to 280 million, thinking that she is a "greedy nouveau riche"; Some people also say that she became popular by "packaging" and is "Ding Zhen, a sports family".
Next, any negative news about Gu Ailing will be infinitely amplified: she asked her assistant to carry the suitcase as "tsundere"; Her private jet is "making money at home and spending abroad"; She thanked "China" on social platforms and was questioned for "treating herself as an American".
In the face of these doubts and criticisms, Gu Ailing was mostly silent, but she also responded several times. She admits that she is a "mixed-race child who does not have 100% Chinese ancestry", and said that she wants to use her efforts to win the recognition of more people. However, these responses are only "good and bad", and have failed to effectively reverse the wave of doubts in the field of public opinion.
Why did the criticism arise?
As for why Gu Ailing, a "miracle girl", suddenly became the "target" of public opinion, analysts interpreted it from multiple angles.
Her special identity doomed her to be difficult to be recognized by the whole people. Her naturalization of Chinese nationality, who is half American ancestry, will inevitably make netizens in both countries have "incomplete" doubts. In the eyes of some people who hold a strong "pure-blood" concept, she is destined to be an outsider.
After becoming popular, she showed a side that was too "little star". With high income, popular endorsements, assistants, and private jets, netizens can't help but be jealous and disgusted by this. Especially when ordinary people were struggling under the epidemic, she enjoyed a life of abundance, which caused class disgust.
She suddenly lost her original "humble and simple" persona. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu Ailing gave the impression of being a diligent and studious, sunny and active athlete. However, as she became popular rapidly, cracks began to appear in the overly publicized "personality".
Her every move in public seems to reveal a haughty atmosphere of "I am a powerful person and different". This made some netizens disgusted with her.
She represents the reality of growing social class divisions. As a mixed-race child of a wealthy family, Gu Ailing was born with various favorable conditions that are difficult for ordinary people to achieve, which to a certain extent stimulates the yearning and disappointment of the younger generation for the "bottom counterattack". So when she became popular, those former envy and jealousy burned all over the online world.
It can be said that Gu Ailing, the "miracle girl", has too many social contradictions: bloodline issues, class differentiation, traffic supremacy, excessive packaging, etc. She has become a mirror of these social realities in the sports world, and it is no wonder that it has caused bitter criticism and controversy.
But is this Gu Ailing's fault alone? Or should we reflect more on the pathologies of society as a whole? These are worthy of our deeper reflection.
Priorities need to be viewed rationally
In any case, we should not blame all the criticism on Gu Ailing personally. Adolescent girls will inevitably have some immature words and deeds, but she does show a positive and self-improvement spirit. We should look at her growth process and contributions in a comprehensive and objective manner.
After all, Gu Ailing has won honor for the country with her outstanding sports achievements and brought a positive impetus to the domestic ice and snow industry. As a leader of contemporary youth, we should applaud her self-confidence, positivity, and courage to pursue her dreams.
It's just that the whirlpool of public opinion has cast a shadow on this originally talented girl, and it has also made us have to reflect on our excessive expectations and strict requirements for a generation of new stars.
After all, Gu Ailing is just a 19-year-old young man. Even though she has achieved impressive results on the sports stage, she is still growing and training. We can give her appropriate tolerance and tolerance, and we should not harshly accuse her or use bad words. This not only violates the basic bottom line of civilization and rationality, but also loses the spirit of openness and tolerance of the Chinese nation.
Perhaps, after a period of time, when the turmoil gradually subsides, we will be able to re-examine and recognize the unique value of this outstanding teenager with a broader vision and a broader mind.
And she herself will definitely become more and more mature in the growth of her experience and contribute more to the country and society. At that time, the criticism and controversy against her will definitely be self-defeating, and people will fall in love with this dazzling "miracle girl" again.
From Gu Ailing, we see some issues worthy of reflection in the development of contemporary Chinese society, such as national identity, class differentiation, media orientation, traffic worship, and so on.
As a young sports star, her growth is far from over, and we should be more understanding and tolerant, and look at her contribution and development with an open vision, rather than being afraid of harsh criticism and criticism like "treating her badly".
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