Page 1 of 2
1
2
LastLast
  1. #1

    By Jove ! The only add more annoying than Evony one, Shen Yun, is really propaganda.

    Sure, you might say, in 2019, ballet might be a dubious vector for agitprop, but even in Québec, I see adds for the national ballet Shen Yun plastered everywhere. I assumed it was a more or less open Chinese propaganda outlet…

    Far from it.

    https://www.businessinsider.com/shen...edium=referral

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Saninicus View Post
    Dude they were here in Texas as well. Looked to me like a Chinese Circus Soleil.
    Yep. But you have to give them credit, I was sure it was Chinese half propaganda.

  3. #3
    Well, it is propaganda and a spectacle ''celebrating 5000 years of history'' looks awfully like propaganda.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by sarahtasher View Post
    Well, it is propaganda and a spectacle ''celebrating 5000 years of history'' looks awfully like propaganda.
    Or it's simply a celebration of 5000 years of history, you sound very racist

  5. #5
    Merely a Setback breadisfunny's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    flying the exodar...into the sun.
    Posts
    25,923
    sarah do you look for stuff to bitch about or are you just naturally offended by everything? is your day not complete when you can't find something to get outraged about?
    r.i.p. alleria. 1997-2017. blizzard ruined alleria forever. blizz assassinated alleria's character and appearance.
    i will never forgive you for this blizzard.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by breadisfunny View Post
    sarah do you look for stuff to bitch about or are you just naturally offended by everything? is your day not complete when you can't find something to get outraged about?
    Actually I have to wonder if it's more about numbers, and starting the most threads that get closed.

  7. #7
    So it’s still propaganda just with a stated anti communist party message.
    /shrug
    Okay? I don’t agree with the anti science and anti atheist message but I’ll take that if it comes with a big middle finger to the Chinese government.

  8. #8
    The Unstoppable Force PC2's Avatar
    7+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    California
    Posts
    21,877
    I mean you could say Shen Yun is propoganda. But it's really just a Chinese minority culture that got cleansed in China so they look for international outlets for keeping it alive.

  9. #9
    I didn't see any propaganda angle in it, but good lord did I get sick of hearing the ads on the radio every time commercials came up (which is frequently as my default radio station is KCBS so I keep up to date on traffic as I drive). It became only the second ad that made me instinctively turn my radio off. The first ad that did that was the Kars 4 Kids ads. Ugh.

  10. #10
    Merely a Setback breadisfunny's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    flying the exodar...into the sun.
    Posts
    25,923
    Quote Originally Posted by Shadowferal View Post
    Actually I have to wonder if it's more about numbers, and starting the most threads that get closed.
    hubcap's got her beat in that regard. number of threads i mean. i honestly sometimes wonder if sarah just wonders onto here when she/he it's off it's meds or something.
    r.i.p. alleria. 1997-2017. blizzard ruined alleria forever. blizz assassinated alleria's character and appearance.
    i will never forgive you for this blizzard.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Sialina View Post
    Or it's simply a celebration of 5000 years of history, you sound very racist
    Spontaneously, would you believe the franchise ''Nation and Destiny'', from Pyongyang Film Studio, to give an honest view of the reunification ?

    (I don't wan't to spoil this 62 part (!) North Korean epic, but brace yourself : there is only one Korean nation, and one destiny)
    Last edited by sarahtasher; 2019-04-04 at 08:57 PM.

  12. #12
    Merely a Setback breadisfunny's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    flying the exodar...into the sun.
    Posts
    25,923
    Quote Originally Posted by sarahtasher View Post
    Spontaneously, would you believe the franchise ''Nation and Destiny'', from Pyongyang Film Studio, to give an honest view of the reunification ?
    sounds appropriate to have a chinese studio doing the production for a CHINESE FILM. almost every nation embellishes it's history a bit what do you expect?
    r.i.p. alleria. 1997-2017. blizzard ruined alleria forever. blizz assassinated alleria's character and appearance.
    i will never forgive you for this blizzard.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by breadisfunny View Post
    sounds appropriate to have a chinese studio doing the production for a CHINESE FILM.
    I specifically said in the OP that I thought this was mild chinese propaganda (say, Battle Los Angeles style, except with people dancing instead of shooting) but it's in fact Falun Gong propaganda.

  14. #14
    I am Murloc! shadowmouse's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Dongbei, PRC ... for now
    Posts
    5,909
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shen_Yun_Performing_Arts

    Gah! I've said before, the two of their recruiters that I've encountered over the years were flat out bat shit crazy, and although their propaganda outside of China is carefully managed to downplay the cult aspects (particularly some of the less pleasant ones) some of the stuff that happened here was far less than benevolent.

    From the Wiki:
    Walter Whittemore wrote on The Ledger that "We paid a premium for seats that would provide us an excellent view of Chinese tradition. Instead, we contributed unwittingly to a religious movement that denies evolution and science, claims the earth was inhabited by aliens, demonizes atheists and homosexuals, and condemns mixed marriages."
    He left out the part where members sometimes go completely off the deep end and hack their family up with a cleaver because those demons need to be purged. Less than benevolent.
    With COVID-19 making its impact on our lives, I have decided that I shall hang in there for my remaining days, skip some meals, try to get children to experiment with making henna patterns on their skin, and plant some trees. You know -- live, fast, dye young, and leave a pretty copse. I feel like I may not have that quite right.

  15. #15
    Yeah, the Falun Gong are cultish and crazy in the way that religions are. They started a riot where I lived several years ago with their pressuring the local Chinese immigrants to join/convert and had to be confined to marked section of the street so they wouldn't harass people.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Saninicus View Post
    No clue how acrobatics can be considered propaganda. I guess everyone has their own definition.
    Cultural imperialism is a real thing and outside of this story it's possible that Chinese cultural events spreading into North America is a sign they are laying the ground for cultural influence.

  17. #17
    I am Murloc! shadowmouse's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Dongbei, PRC ... for now
    Posts
    5,909
    Quote Originally Posted by Raybourne
    it's possible that Chinese cultural events spreading into North America is a sign they are laying the ground for cultural influence.
    Nah, already happened and it was forgotten. For a possibly amusing, non-history book presentation of the times, look at Barbara Hambly’s Bride of the Rat God. If you aren't interested in reading a whole book:

    http://www.jazzageclub.com/fads/the-...n-of-mah-jong/
    http://fiveminutehistory.com/10-fasc...t-chinoiserie/


    Source: https://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/...ry-071513.html
    With COVID-19 making its impact on our lives, I have decided that I shall hang in there for my remaining days, skip some meals, try to get children to experiment with making henna patterns on their skin, and plant some trees. You know -- live, fast, dye young, and leave a pretty copse. I feel like I may not have that quite right.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by bungeebungee View Post
    Nah, already happened and it was forgotten.
    This isn't really relevant

  19. #19
    I am Murloc! shadowmouse's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Dongbei, PRC ... for now
    Posts
    5,909
    Quote Originally Posted by Raybourne
    This isn't really relevant
    In what sense? Define your terms. You chimed in on a thread discussing a cult's propaganda to say that Chinese cultural events are possibly a sign of (presumably) Chinese cultural imperialism. Aside from missing the point that the cultural performance under discussion is not sponsored by China, you're missing the point that alongside the Yellow Peril there have also been periodic waves of popularity for Orientalism. They come and go, so no ... Ming the Merciless isn't going to come and overwhelm Western culture.
    Last edited by shadowmouse; 2019-04-05 at 12:21 AM. Reason: attribution
    With COVID-19 making its impact on our lives, I have decided that I shall hang in there for my remaining days, skip some meals, try to get children to experiment with making henna patterns on their skin, and plant some trees. You know -- live, fast, dye young, and leave a pretty copse. I feel like I may not have that quite right.

  20. #20
    Can't speak to the Shen Yun thing, but I will say that China is excellent at their soft and hard power usage.

    Their hard power tends to be very subtle and at the moment limited to Tibet and the South China Sea.

    Their soft power though has been aggressive ever since they figure out that every nation on the planet is fucking nuts about pandas.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •