- Culture
- 07 Jul 17
Stars like Donnie yen and Jackie Chan appear in the some of the videos.
While some cinemas give you free popcorn, a soft drink or some M&M's with your ticket, movie goers in China are getting something really special : State-sponsored Propaganda!
That's right, from the July 1 onwards, media regulators from Beijing have ordered all cinemas in the country to show four short propaganda clips before any release .
The 3 minute videos in question espouse the traditional agitprop one might expect. They speak of the "core socialist values" that any sensible man or woman must have to live a prosperous life in the country, and of President Xi Jinping vision of the "Chinese Dream". I'm sure any dissenting opinions will be reasonably [Redacted]
Not to be outdone, this bite size pieces of pro-nation information also stars some of the country's most famous faces, most notable of which being on-screen, martial arts legends Donnie yen and Jackie Chan. In the videos, produced by the mouthful organisation the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT), the celebrities are backed by by sweeping film score as they quote chairman Mao and spout ancient Chinese proverbs .
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One actress, Li Bingbing (Transformers: Age of Extinction) even states at one point: "No matter what you do, as long as you don’t disappoint our country, our society, our people and your family, then you are helping to realize the Chinese dream.”
According to the country's Global Times, the cinemas were ordered to show the videos by the state without any explanation.