China has fined leading comedy company XIAOGUO Culture a massive 14.7 million yuan (US$2.13 million) for "endangering society" due to a military joke made by one of the company's actors, which led to the fine. The heavy punishment underscores Chinese authorities' strict control over artistic and comedic innovations.
A talk show audience member from ChengDu, Chen, expressed her disappointment that the Chinese government was limiting the freedom of artistic creation to maintain social harmony.
Over the past decade, China's media and artistic expression have faced heightened control through stricter censorship. Chinese director Jia Zhangke highlighted in a Sina interview that Patriotism films now dominate the market. He attributed the lack of diverse creations to the "uncertainty" faced by filmmakers who are unsure about what will pass Chinese film and television.
In the field of artistic creation, China's censorship system plays the role of gatekeeper. From the subject matter to a single line, the smallest mistake can risk delaying or preventing a film from being aired. This has consequences not only for artists but for everyone who long for a vibrant and innovative cultural landscape.
We interviewed Lei, a director who has been working in film and television for 15 years, and he expressed the reason why many investors choose to work on safe projects because they cannot afford to take the risk that an innovative subject matter might not pass the censorship process.
“The current creative environment for film and television is not one in which you can film whatever you want, but rather whatever will pass muster. “Lei said “From 2011 to the end of 2012 I worked in Hengdian as a cameraman plus a director of photography for a total of seven drama sets, and in the end only five plays were broadcast on TV, all of them anti-Japanese themes, and the rest of the two plays were not followed up after filming.”
Artistic innovation stimulates creativity, promotes new perspectives, and enriches culture. Social progress requires strengthening hard and soft power. In renewing artistic production, China is currently lagging.
Chinese authorities strictly control artistic creation, viewing it as an ideology rather than an industry. Artistic innovation is challenged by China's increasingly strict censorship.
In China, the foremost challenge to artistic innovation is ubiquitous censorship.
A recent incident in Chengdu, in which a stand-up comedian's performance was abruptly halted, serves as a stark reminder of the problem. "Excessive interference by the authorities", complained Chen, an avid fan of stand-up comedy who witnessed the incident.
"I've seen live shows in the United States where performers dare to say anything," Chen said, “In China, stand-up comedy requires content approval from regulatory bodies before it can be performed. During the performance, regulatory officials are present to monitor, leaving no room for improvisation. But stand-up comedy is an 'offensive' art form, with its brilliance lying in the ability to touch upon the blind spots, pain points, and taboos of everyday life, offering fresh perspectives. Filtering out the spontaneity of the performers and their language through layers of scrutiny makes it impossible for the art to shine.”
More challenging than government censorship is the growing trend of self-censorship, where artists judge their work before publication to ensure that it fits within the political and moral boundaries of their country.
" The most concerning aspect of self-censorship is that it involves altering content that reflects real societal issues, solely because it might have a negative impact on China's legal stability," said Lei. "Ultimately, this results in a completely transformed work, and it's uncertain whether it will pass censorship. To comply with China's film and television censorship system's safety parameters, creative conflict is minimized, making it less engaging."
Fear of consequences poses the most significant challenge to artistic innovators.
Zheng, currently working in TikTok's operations department, was involved in the production of a short documentary called "Clearing Out Beijing's Low-End Population." This documentary depicted the eviction of migrant workers by the government during the harsh winter. While the documentary garnered significant attention within the industry, it was unfortunately quickly banned.
"We began preparing for this project at the end of November 2017, primarily because we could empathize," Zheng explained. "Every member of our team considers themselves part of Beijing's low-end population. Non-locals, unstable low incomes, and ordinary educational backgrounds characterize our group. Four days after the documentary's online release, it garnered over 100,000 views, and we received collaboration offers from numerous companies in the industry. However, on the sixth day, the platform removed our documentary. We received a notice from the cultural authorities, stating that our work had disrupted social order and gave us a warning, along with suspending our social media accounts. We lost our source of income. Defying the censorship system meant jeopardizing our livelihoods. We cannot afford to take that risk."
Artists facing limitations within China's censorship system struggle between innovative ideals and harsh realities. Frustrated by the censorship, some tried to resist in pursuit of creative freedom.
Ru Ru, a photographer who took part in the "A4 Revolution" demonstration, was interviewed by us. She recorded the demonstration with his camera as people marched chanting "Freedom of Press, Freedom of Art".
"To be honest, I've never seen people in our country fight so passionately for freedom. Although it was a late-night event, more and more people joined in, and I saw many fellow professionals there," Ru Ru mentioned. "I realized that there are so many people who long for a diverse creative environment and are willing to challenge an inflexible system. I saw hope. Many at the scene understood that the chances of success for this movement were low, but they still participated."
China's expanding censorship system casts a shadow over the future of artistic innovation, with its impact extending far beyond its borders.
Audience member Chen expressed concern about the country's image: "China's control over artistic freedom and reduced importation of foreign works make it seem as if China is unwilling to engage in open cultural exchange. How can the world understand China? How can China establish image as a cultural powerhouse?"
"As the censorship system strengthens, artists may engage in self-censorship to avoid controversy," Lei predicted. "The creative environment of the future is likely to become increasingly inactive, making it difficult to witness groundbreaking works that challenge societal norms."
"Artistic expression is a fundamental human right, and now we are repressed. Many people will lost the ability to question and explore, and society will become stagnant," emphasized Ru Ru, underscoring the importance of supporting artistic freedom.
China's growing censorship system threatens its international image, artistic innovation, and the cause of artistic freedom. By defending artistic freedom, we can protect China's international reputation and foster a thriving, diverse artistic landscape.
Finally, Zheng mentioned that he hasn't given up on making documentaries.
When asked why, he said, "Due to censorship limitations, it's becoming more and more hard for documentaries to survive in China. I feel responsible for the audience, I don't want to see everyone in this society watching the same films having the same aesthetic."
There are many others like Zheng, despite these limitations, continue to create and ensure that a variety of sounds enrich the audience's film experience.
"The significance of my persistence is also to encourage my peers who think like me that at least there are people doing this.","Unfortunately, I can't consider it my job anymore." Zheng said.
In the face of China's growing censorship system and its impact on artistic innovation, we must ask ourselves: Imagine what kind of works we could see if artistic innovation had been under growing censorship? How can we make sure that we keep being creative and innnovative in our art, even when there are rules and limitation in place?
References:
- APF. (2023, 5 17). HKFP. Retrieved from: https://hongkongfp.com/2023/05/17/china-fines-comedy-company-us2-million-over-stand-up-joke-about-the-army/
- Entertainment, S. (2022, 7 8). SINA NEW S. Retrieved from: https://ent.sina.cn/film/chinese/2022-07-08/detail-imizmscv0602703.d.html
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