Long be4 the NBA thing @qz has been working on a story abt how celebs & companies modify messages to survive Chinese market. We talked to marketing execs, directors, pop stars... The self-censorship is about money, power, uncertainty. Full vid: 1/x
First thing: most censorship from China is no longer top down for years. Instead, self-censorship machines are built on every level, from productions to publication. Everyone is being extra cautious about what can and cannot say—even before it’s actually being censored. Why? 2/x
It comes down to 1. the rapidly increasing number of taboos (e.g. you can’t show tattoos on TV or bright hair colors) 2. the total unpredictability abt what will be banned or not 3. the devastating, disproportionate consequences if u cross that Schrödinger's red tape 3/x
How does that...even work? I came across WeChat groups for top CN TV producers. In the group, ppl exchange information abt who’s being banned and what latest taboos are all the time—it’s all “reliable rumors”. The entire industry largely runs on guesses and speculation 4/x
A director who’s going thru the process told me: no foul language (tho the movie is abt wild middle schoolers), no school romance, teenagers’ subtle crush must end w/ breakups, no bad portrayal of law enforcement, if there’s Internet cafe, it must be shut down in the end 5/x
The tricky part is, even ppl from authority who issued the “no Internet cafe” advice, are not sure if that’s the right call, cuz there’re no written rules. What they’re doing is guessing & risk management—in case one higher official find one unfavorable detail 6/x
It happened b4. Director Guan Hu’s film “800” was shut down hrs be4 its prermier as SH inl film festival’s opening night—the film was approved & licensed, but certain officials allegedly thought it celebrates KMT more than CCP. It almost ruined production company Huayi Bros. 7/x
everyone on each step addresses the imagined “red line” by censoring themselves & others. Internet companies outsource other private companies to discover “sensitive” content; TV studio hire former censors as consultants; artists use puns until puns are decoded—many gave up 8/x
Meanwhile, Chinese social media fuels self-censorship. I won’t get into details of how GFW changes this generation’s mentality. To sum up: CN social media warriors are more than happy to VPN out and nitpick ppl who say things that don’t align with CN narrative 9/x
NOT ALL CHINESE ARE BRAINWASHED OR ULTRA NATIONALISTIC. But nationalism discussion is pretty much the only kind now that could go super viral without being limited (unless it turns into collective action). Social justice issues are often blocked when it gets too big 10/x
So, CN nationalists, assisted by gov’s silence, became the loudest, most righteous group in 3-5 yrs. The discourse is crude (you’re anti-China! You’re a separatist!) but effective. The problem: there’s no fair debate when the other side is constantly deleted or even jailed 11/x
“Government couldn’t care less if Selena Gomez met Dalai Lama. But it gladly rides the public opinion wave to ban her over an instagram photo she posted,” says a source. Online nationalists quickly rose to a prominent force in censorship. 12/x
After my rambling, here’s what we have: 1. a super unpredictable censorship environment 2. an extremely volatile & loud internet base 3. a HUUUGE market where no counter-narrative gets to thrive. What do we have here? Voila, a recipe that could silence anyone anywhere 13/x
The chilling effect is extremely potent. Maybe you are okay with losing your own job over a critical tweet abt China, but are you prepared for your employer, family members, colleagues, the big project you worked for 10 yrs to pay a price for this tweet, too? 14/x
No one should or needs to have an answer. But as long as you start to ask questions like this—welcome to the mental prison that most Chinese live in for decades.
End thread for now
End thread for now
