China cuts two-thirds of popular television shows

Originally posted by undo
reply to post by Char-Lee

 

that's the phrase the chinese used to remove those tv shows.
they've banned video games like mmos. all religions must have state approved texts, which are
edited by the government to remove any thing it deems threatening to its power and you must
attend a state approved religious service in which everything said by the religious leader, is
edited. you can't have a bible study or cast a circle or pray to allah in the privacy of your home.
in other words, they are COMPLETELY OUT OF FREAKIN' CONTROL. power mad! off the deep
end. darth vaders on steroids

Well I have no interest in discussing Chinese power or control other then the subject here and that is TV programing and removing some of it.

My degree is in Social and behavioral science and I have looked at this carefully and the results of zero control on behavior and environment.

I dont watch TV by free choice because most of it is garbage. The problem with Communism is that it always tries to enforce good instead of letting people choose bad and good themselves and thereby grow. Sad to read all the approval of this.

I didn't read everyone's responses to this thread, but when this came out I wondered if it was not in preparation to totally cut off Chinese TV.
With everything that is going on, the Arab Spring, tensions in the gulf, and yep, even western influences, China has no choice really but to crack down before they do have another Tienanmen Square.

The Chinese Gov. is brutal, and I find it funny that people have forgotten sometimes that China keeps stability through force, and always has.

Originally posted by acmpnsfal
I get how people in the west may want this to happen in their countries but who decides what tv shows are cut? I mean clearly not everyone watches every tv show, its impossible. Also, how do you define a show as contributing to cultural decay? I mean a shows like (insert country here) Idol, sure the auditions are mostly for comic relief imo, but what about the people who actually make it? Young people are inspired by the people who make it continue working on their craft. Shows like desperate housewives provide a lot of criticism of american suburban culture anyway. Greys Anatomy gives people an inside look at the medical profession. And I could go on and on about pretty much any show. I have yet to see a show that does not have some substance to it, outside of shows like crank yankers or impractical jokers. Those are clearly just for laughs, but who doesnt like to laugh?? If we start cutting down tv shows to just what we think people should watch....we would be getting into very murky territory....for the worse.

******* Idol in no way reflects the music industry - at least no music industry I would ever want to be a part of. By the way, I spent 20 years in that industry.

Desperate Housewives? Puleeze. What a ridiculously inane show. If you want American Suburban satire - try The Simpsons.

Greys Anatomy gives people an inside look at the medical profession?? Well, about as much as General Hospital does I guess...

Face it: TV has become conceptually bankrupt. They have dumbed it all down to save money (doesn't cost much to make a 'reality TV' show you know), and a whole generation is growing up brain-dead because of it. Dump 90% of it and start again I say.

reply to post by jimbo999


riiiiight. what filter are you using?

nothing smart or effective about it.

A small minority with so much power over the masses is wrong in any frame of mind so I cant understand the logic in applauding it.

I travel to China with work 4-5 times a year and i know people there are fed up with corruction and officials telling them what to do!

I married my wife in China where I met her 5 years ago and she feels the same way.

saying that Im not for an instant pretending were all not under the same situation, its just that Chinas rulers dont pretend to its people they are free, they say it how it is!

It is absolutely hilarious and (quite frankly predictable ) that anyone can get behind this censorship as a good thing. And OF COURSE it is the West's fault LMAO! The blatant hypocrisy on this site is just mind boggling. If the USA cut 2/3 of the the TV programs everyone would be up in arms trashing the West.

~Very good point Scott

If they are removing shows due to content; wouldnt that lead over to other stuff like their game and movie industry and even books?
I understand that to much television is a bad thing but when you start picking and choosing, won't they have to make some sort of decision making process that might affect other types of entertainment?

reply to post by Never Despise


I'm with you man, alot of parents use the television as a baby sitter...its pretty sad.

Originally posted by boymonkey74
Heck more than two-thirds of our TV in the west is utter rubbish, maybe they are going to put on programmes which teach their populace? wouldn't that be better for the people? instead of putting stupid talent shows involving people with no talent.
I agree with the OP on this one, China has done the right thing.

edit on 5-1-2012 by boymonkey74 because: (no reason given)

You are right the people are to stupid to choose for themselves. So governments should just choose for the people. Heck they should also help raise our kids and be our bosses at work.



Hitler and Stalin would be so proud today. To bad a few generations ago the men and women could actually think for themselves.



ATS would be a thing of the past. Cant have people thinking now can ya.

reply to post by Never Despise


you know what, if they leave real news and other stuff I am fine with that decision. 2/3rds less brainwashing by the media would be great! In fact let's just get rid of that remaining third and enjoy something else in life for a change.

At one point, the USSR had banned the Beatles. It was too subversive to their culture...

This is great, now all we have to do is follow along and start cutting three-fourths of our shows!!! The only T.V. I remember actually watching was more 60's 70's 80's and 90's shows. Will we ever cut these shows heck no the population has fallen into a Bieber/Kardashian nut craze. I guess I will bring a memory when T.V. was great..



Family Ties was the great show with a great catchy theme song! Bring this back!!!

Well if they cut Jersey Shore and that kind of garbage on western TV and replaced it with ``how to survive an economic collapse`` show or something like that, wouldn't it be great?

But China is gonna use that to brainwash their citizen... bet on it.

reply to post by paperface


It has nothing to do with personal choice. It's the illusion of choice that so pervades western society. Everything you find on TV is utter propaganda anyways. I think people need to start realising that the whole purpose behind the mass propagation of TVs in the 50s was to spread propaganda in a more efficient and effective manner. Whether or not someone gets to watch this week's episode of "American Idol" is beyond the realm of caring for me anyways. If people want to make a stink about having less crap to watch on TV, all the power to them, but they need to realize that this illusory "freedom of choice" that everyone keeps saying we have is just another form of control. We really don't have any freedoms when it comes down to it. If you think you're free, try going to a public place and saying anything that is unpopular knowledge and watch how people react. We aren't even close to being free, we're self-regulated slaves if you want to get down to the nitty gritty.

People on the Internet complaining that TV is garbage. Oh the irony. lol

reply to post by Never Despise


China is finding that with the more freedom of private sector programming, the more dumbed down there population comes. This is a cultural, economical, political and western exposed issue. They have control over every aspect of there population and will do whatever they deem required to keep it in check.

Anyone who complains about freedom with regard to China must understand that nothing about China represents freedom. It will never represent freedom so long as the people do not rise up against the communist regime.

We in the west are quick to judge the Chinese citizens because they put up with it but the fact is that a fair number seem to embrace some of it. It may not work for us but it seems to work for them.

One can only hope that one day China will become a free nation for all to appreciate and enjoy in there own terms.

reply to post by Never Despise


So... were justifying government intervention now over personal responsibility? I've stuck with moderation since I was in middle school.

I don't care if this is a 'step forward' when the step something people decided to do for themselves. If the urge for 'entertnainment' is still there, they'll be hungry for something else.

Well w/e. I'm gonna say goodbye to the conspiracy sections of ATS and go back to being a lurker again.

reply to post by Never Despise


Go China Go!!! For a bunch of atheists, they are following what Bible Preachers have been saying for years now!! Get rid of that useless TV!.

There's a reason Television shows are called..."programs" you know....

Yeah yeah I see both points.

Usually, I would just call that censorship and whatever...but man China is right. Westernization is a global problem, even here in the...West. I would hope the Canada government would cut on the most bull# TV shows here, Jersey Shore and the likes. These kinds of TV reality shows are really a disgrace to the whole civilization.

I mean, I know people should have the rights to watch whatever they want, I agree, and I would defend that, but the propaganda and brainwashing is so intense that I don't mind at all censoring these stupid TV shows. Probably will never happen here or in the US, our (secret) government are those who put them on air...

Programming.

Brainwashing.

China probably did the right thing. Now I wonder what will be the new shows. I'm sure, of course, there is more to this story than what we see, but still...westernization, I hate you. Let's get real, face the truth. Censorship is horrid, but imo, it's better than brainwashing.