the difference between a spoof and an infomercial is…? Chinese bloggers on bureaucracy
John Kennedy at GlobalVoicesOnline provides a fascinating set of translations on what some of China’s top critical bloggers are saying about the recent regulations handed down by China’s State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). The regulations represent, as Kennedy points out, a particularly visible split between bureaucratic and civilian outlooks on life. One set of new rules deals with cutting down on fraudulent TV ads for medical and health products, a good thing given products like these breast enhancement injections.
The other set of regulations attempts to crackdown on spoofs and spoofing culture (see William Moss’ thorough post at CNEt Asia for more). For SARFT (and many other non-bureaucrats, it must be pointed out), spoofing culture is a decadent gateway to all kinds of other disrespectful and unhealthy attitudes–think Stephen Colbert decimating George W. Bush onstage recently, in front of the whole world. Kennedy’s GlobalVoicesOnline post includes this bit from Chinese blogger Han Han, who draws the connections for us between fraudulent ads, Internet spoofs, and the effect of official bans. Maybe the banned TV ads will now become online spoofs…?:
[SARFT has] issued a ban on parodies, and will begin administering online
video. What will the outcome of that be? Under SARFT’s administration,
I saw a commercial on television several years ago, which showed a
down-on-his-luck senior citizen. Someone asked, ‘what’s up with you?’
The old guy said, I’ve got cancer. The ticket-seller on the bus said,
‘that’s okay, a few years ago I also had cancer; got cured at that
hospital just up ahead, and now I’m okay. The driver said, ‘yeah, my
cancer was also cured there. Then one-by-one the bus passengers said
‘we all had our cancer cured there.’
Politics talk not allowed, within three days your breasts can grow as
big as your head, in a month you can grow ten centimeters, as fast as
an animal, have all your zits gone in just ten hours, foreign cartoons
not allowed to show during prime viewing time, etc., all are the
masterpieces of SARFT’s management. Is this what internet video will
look like from now on? Seems that from now on video shorts will only
increase breast size.
(via ESWN)