China cuts two-thirds of popular television shows

I have been to, and stayed in China several times, and I do not speak much of the language, but I have watched all of their television programs, and some are in english.. Most of the shows are soap operas and news stuff, not much of it is not that entertaining anyways, at least not to me, but there was a few oddball comedy type reality shows that had me in stitches...

A guy would pretend to be part of a big crowd standing at a newspaper-magazine stand and would get a paper and start reading it, then would somehow light it on fire and pretend not to notice, garnering quite a lot of hilarious respnses from people nearby.. they would alert him that his paper was on fire, he would act surprised and put it out, then after 20 seconds or so light it up again... (I hope they didn't axe that one, that would really be cruel)

That was the only "entertaining" show I saw when I was there, but some of the soaps were pretty funny because they seem to be trying to mimic western themes... getting to the point, it is hard to believe they would make such drastic cuts in "entertainment" when they hardly have any to begin with, but this is obviously just my view of it because of the cultural differences... (The hard line communist party leaders there are VERY paranoid of their citizens having "too much" freedom, or freedom of expression) to the point of ridiculousness, which is how I see this cutting of entertainment shows there...

Most folks in China just buy 1 dollar counterfit dvd's from the multitudes of dvd stands on every corner in the big cities and watch them on their dvd players....

Everyone has a dvd player there and not many people that I know there even watch much television except for some news reporting programs...

Originally posted by CaptainInstaban

That´s when they violate laws. These tv shows didn´t violate laws.

It would be the same if the government removed all the sweet and fat food from the bakery, because it is not deemed healthy.

Obscenity laws exist, but are not enforced. The health regulations that are currently in place are there because of what is not deemed healthy to the public.

TV is generally watched in the privacy of your home. With freedom of expression I mean the right to have your own ideas, views, music, poetry, tv etc.

It's a product sold to the public. Regulation of obscenity doesn't infringe on anyone's right to ideas and views. It only regulates expression to the extent of a certain time and place, like many public venues.

Besides, swear words are bleeped out right?

Swear words are the least of my concern.

It´s not about entertainment misses Tyrantia, Is freedom of choice not a human right? Freedom to choose who or what to watch and listen to?

It IS about entertainment and once again, you're acting like you're entitled to it. You remind me of the people who were miffed about some recent show cancellations due to low ratings who claimed that their 'freedom of choice' was being violated.

It´s your responsibility.

...and celebs and public figures have zero responsibility as adults? It's not as simplistic as you're making it out to be. You can raise your child as best as you possibly can, but it's still the parents vs. an entire society. Part of the responsibility of the generation of adults is to ensure a promising future for the next generation.

It is what it is, noone is forcing you to watch it, so noone should be forcing others not to watch it.

Regulating is not forcing you to not watch certain content. That argument is just ridiculous. You don't have a right to any particular TV program.

Delusion....it is by definition.

Then, by your logic, the people who put out trash TV are forcing their will onto those who don't even want it to exist on TV.

That is if you believe that TV is responsible for cultural decline, wich is BS. You really think if every low quality show was scrapped, society would change for the better.

It would certainly improve. Far too many people are concerned with what's fashionable and are influenced by the idiot box- yes, even adults.

I´m not denying the power of the media. But I think people were partying like crazy in Jersey and across America, way before Jersey Shore was aired.

It's the prevalence and society's attitude towards such things that's changed.

What purpose are 'reality' shows even supposed to have? I know they're cheaper to produce, but I can't help but wonder if dumbing down and doping up the masses has been the plan for quite some time.

I never said TV was the only cause of cultural decline, but it's certainly a tool.

Originally posted by Maslo

You have the right to do and say whatever you want as long as it does not objectively damage another (third, unconsenting) person.

Not in public. How are the public obscenity laws and 'hate speech' laws objective?

reply to post by Charmed707


Hate speech (if its really serious - advocating violence and not telling truths) objectively damages the target party. But I believe current hate speech laws are becoming too strict under the PC paradigm. Hate is often a legitimate emotion.

TVs are not public in the classic sense. You have the "off" or "change channel" button, and most TVs are located in private places, and run by private companies.

The only TV in which such limiting of a right to free expression may be justified is public (state owned) TV, such as BBC.

reply to post by Charmed707

Regulating is not forcing you to not watch certain content.

Then what is it??

reply to post by Charmed707

You don't have a right to any particular TV program.

If the producer of that particular TV program wants to sell it, you want to voluntarily buy it, and it does not damage any third (unconsenting) party, you HAVE a right to it.

I never watch TV, sometimes I TiVo good HBO series, or some shows on the Travel channel (like Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern's shows).

However, whenever I happen to have the network channels on, it's ugly. So very beyond ugly and creeping into disturbing. Nothing but horrible, horrible sitcoms and product placement. There are also many, many pharmaceutical commercials, just a ridiculous amount... Anti-Depressants, heartburn medication, sleeping aids, you name it. It's rather strange, because most of these pharma commercials will spend 20 seconds narrating the side-effects, and almost all of them say "suicide" as a side-effect.

Well, I've made a plan. This Sunday, during primetime, I'm going to watch an hour or two of a popular network (mainstream media), and I am going to count how many times, in 1-2 hours, that someone says the word "suicide". I'm also going to count how many times product placement or advertisements are in juxtaposition. I've noticed that they'll tell a particularly 'depressing' story, then cut to commercials, where you'll receive "anti-depressants" and the monotony of "suicide" side-effects will unfold.

I figure I'll get referenced to suicide at least a dozen times in a 1 hour span of time.

Pharmaceutical commercials should be banned from television altogether. That would be a good start. You're supposed to go to your doctor if you have a problem, and under his/her professional guidance, something will be prescribed for you, or put you on the road to treatment. If that's the route you want to take.

Companies are not supposed to hock their wares like snakeoil salesman to 300,000,000 people. This should not even exist.

Originally posted by undo

Originally posted by silo13
'High Five' for China. It's the right move.
Of course I deplore the censorship - but somehow censorship just doesn't seem the right word let's say if 'Dancing with the Stars' was cancelled. I'd call that more - good taste.

peace

i love dancing with the stars! what gives you or anyone else the right to tell me that i shouldn't and censor my viewing?

Calm down dear.

reply to post by Never Despise


There are many things I disagree with in the Chinese culture, but this is one I agree with. I wish our culture (not necessarily our government) would address the degrading effect our entertainment industry is having on us. While each of us can make individual decisions to not get cable or even own televisions, doing so would make us a minority in our own country...one that, dare I say, would be less socially "hip" to what the rest of the country is doing and/or talking about. Personally, I wish for something to happen that would render electronics useless. Commerce, banking, travel and communication would come to a screeching halt for a short time, but we'd figure it out and kick things up again. We may be priviledged, but we're not stupid.

All these replies like "They should do this in the West, most TV is rubbish; blah blah, etc etc."

Anyone stupid enough to let their subconscious be largely altered in a harmful way by the media deserves whatever idiocy they fall victim to. We need choice and free will in order to self-differentiate between what is beneficial and what is harmful. Forced, or even guided "salvation" is not genuine. Do you really trust an elite political class to decide what is good for you?

I'll agree that television is total mind-rot for the great majority, but honestly there are things to be learned even from trash like Jersey Shore. Some things simply exist to serve as an example of what NOT to be doing.

reply to post by Charmed707

Obscenity laws exist, but are not enforced. The health regulations that are currently in place are there because of what is not deemed healthy to the public.

Obviously the tv shows are not breaking any law.

Sweet and fat foods are considered unhealthy too, should they be banned too? They have a negative effect on society.

It's a product sold to the public. Regulation of obscenity doesn't infringe on anyone's right to ideas and views. It only regulates expression to the extent of a certain time and place, like many public venues.

Once again, no laws are broken, if your government would ban these shows, they would have no legal basis, and would possibly be breaking the law themselves.

And yes, regulation is control, and it would infringe on our rights, because there is no law that prevents us from having the right to watch these shows, just as the produers have the right to do these shows, it´s freedom of choice and expression.

What you seem to want is to basically change the constitution and human right laws to santize the world till it is acceptable to you.

Swear words are the least of my concern.

So you wooried about people having sex? Or violence? Or what exactly? Movies have been about violence for the most, as long as I can remember.

It IS about entertainment and once again, you're acting like you're entitled to it. You remind me of the people who were miffed about some recent show cancellations due to low ratings who claimed that their 'freedom of choice' was being violated.

That just show that you really don´t get it.

It´s about the state interfering with public business, when they have no legal right, or any right whatsoever to do so, and people like you saying it´s a good thing that your gov. should do too.

I hardly watch tv because you would have to be an idiot to be entertained by watching it all evening, but the freedom of expression and choice is more important. Where would it end?

Regulating is not forcing you to not watch certain content. That argument is just ridiculous. You don't have a right to any particular TV program.

....LALALALALALALA.......

Then, by your logic, the people who put out trash TV are forcing their will onto those who don't even want it to exist on TV.

That makes zero sense, since we have basic rights that gives us the right of free expression by default. People that don´t like it have absolutely no right to prevent it if no laws were broken.

Are you familiar with the concept?

It would certainly improve. Far too many people are concerned with what's fashionable and are influenced by the idiot box- yes, even adults.

Maybe it´s because they are idiots.

And who cares if people want to be fashionable.

Can you give me some exact examples of what is wrong with tv?

What purpose are 'reality' shows even supposed to have? I know they're cheaper to produce, but I can't help but wonder if dumbing down and doping up the masses has been the plan for quite some time.

Hasn´t that always been the plan?

I think the problem has more to do with bad educatiional systems, the way society is setup were people have to work all the time and don´t have enough time for there children, greed, poverty and inequality.

Although tv is a brain washing tool, I think these shows are more of a reflection of todays society, and/or it caters to this society that is overworked and has problems, with no energy to watch anything else but mindless entertainment. Off couse it´s focused on sex, cause that´s what everybody is thinking abouit naturally, anyways.

And some people just are not very smart, but who are you to decide what they watch?

Point is, censorship of legal material is always wrong.

If the state should regulate one thing in this case, they should make sure that quality television is available on a public channel, so that people have a choice, not supress other material.

Originally posted by alienreality
That was the only "entertaining" show I saw when I was there, but some of the soaps were pretty funny because they seem to be trying to mimic western themes... getting to the point, it is hard to believe they would make such drastic cuts in "entertainment" when they hardly have any to begin with, but this is obviously just my view of it because of the cultural differences... (The hard line communist party leaders there are VERY paranoid of their citizens having "too much" freedom, or freedom of expression) to the point of ridiculousness, which is how I see this cutting of entertainment shows there...

Most folks in China just buy 1 dollar counterfit dvd's from the multitudes of dvd stands on every corner in the big cities and watch them on their dvd players....

Everyone has a dvd player there and not many people that I know there even watch much television except for some news reporting programs...

You nailed it on the head my laowai friend !
Most of the garbage here is Taiwanese and Korean soap crap about big rich businessmen making money and keeping face, that's the culture in Asia though, don't do business then you're not very smart.
I CANNOT STAND THOSE SHOWS. Seriously they are exactly the same as some of the American garbage but more directed into the big boss, business theme instead of the good employee, professional worker theme.

I have about 60 channels of pointless mind numbing stuff on CCTV (China Central Television) then my ChinaTelecom IPTV box which gives a whole range of other mindless crap which we got for free!. Only 2 Channels are in English Pearl TV and ATV World there is CCTV 8 or 12 I think is the dedicated English channel but not sure, anyway with ATV and Pearl they broadcast from Hong Kong, if and when I'm watching and the news comes on with something interesting that happened in the mainland, suddenly mindless ads will replace the news story they want to censor, though most people have gotten used to it and know the deal.
My wife and I went for about 4 years with just a DVD player (for my 3 year old son) and no channels, you know what? My wife actually learnt more about domestic Chinese affairs by exploring on the internet and going out of the potatohead zone than she would of watching the local news!

All my other expat friends over here don't watch TV at all, just buy DVD's, go on the net or play xbox or PS3.

reply to post by vardlokkur


china is not cutting all entertainment, they are cutting back and replacing them with different programmes, all forms of entertainment would still be viewable, however there would be more choice of different types of programmes.

yes i wish they did that in the west, cut back on some of the mind numbing entertainment and replaced it with stuff that educated people regardless of the subject. the soap lovers would still get to see their programmes there just would not be as many of them, giving more choice to the rest of the population because all the air time is not jam packed with mindless crap that does nothing but turn people into vegatables.

if you are all for choice, you would back this being done in the west to make more room for different programmes, giving people more choice without taking away the choice to watch crap. all they are taking away is how much crap is on each day.

reply to post by lifeform11

if you are all for choice, you would back this being done in the west to make more room for different programmes, giving people more choice without taking away the choice to watch crap. all they are taking away is how much crap is on each day.

If you are for choice, then why not offer other programmes as an alternative without infringing on the crap? Make no mistake, this is not about choice, but about control.

reply to post by Maslo


if their tv is the same as over here, they would need to cut down on the rubbish entertainment inorder to fit in the alternatives, which is what china are doing.

reply to post by Never Despise


Agreed

we are what we watch
our brain is doing what it sees