No more Simpsons during prime time.

Ironically, although most of the press releases keep mentionng the Simpsons and mickey Mouse, most foreign cartoons on Chinese prime time are Japanese. Not American.

Could this mean no more Naruto...... Noooooooooooo.

Of course, most domestic Chinese cartoons are pure drivel. Kids would rather do homework than watch the same episode of the Monkey King playing for the 50th time.

Congratulations comrades, taking racism with Chinese characteristics on to the next level!

I...don't really think it's racism. I know, for instance, that Canadian television programming requires 60% (don't quote me on this) Cancon (Canadian content). I don't think the Department of Heritage outright banned any foreign show, though.

And are they still showing Monkey King? My God. That was popular when I was a child. Give me The Simpsons (even after it'd gone to seed) any day of the week.

And this is why I don't watch cartoon channels much.

All right. I watched cartoons when I was five. But not since then unless you count National Geographic as a cartoon. Besides, Xi You Ji is silly, with its fake-looking costumes and fake-looking make-up and fake-sounding lines. (And why do all the characters shout "Hei!" when they fight?)

I would have a hard time thinking of any word for it besides racism. Is there any other word to classify this move as? "Cultural preservation"?

I personally would have gone for "misguided attempt to protect an infant industry", but I guess that's pretty clunky - so hey, whatever floats your boat. :wink:

ETA: Hmm..perhaps 'xenophobia' is the term you're looking for.

Kevin,

You have my full support for calling this racism. It is true that most countries will have legislation to ensure a certain proportion of TV programs are of “local content�. However, this percentage is usually applied to the overall content, not to specific categories. It will be very stupid for TV stations, say in Australia (be it commercial or national broadcasters), to stop screening hugely popular foreign productions.

It is racism and it goes beyond protectionism. It is only protectionism if China’s cartoon production is already competitive and/or China’s GDP depends on it. It is racism if the Chinese authority is blaming foreign program for destroying domestic cartoon production. If they can do it to the cartoon industry, they can do it to other industries as well.

I think that if I was a politician in the US and lobbied for banning Japanese cartoons during prime time, I'm pretty sure someone would call me a racist.
I also can't help but think of all the baggage in China associated with "Western" cultural products (well, besides "Growing Pains") and the "decadent" "West" in general.
Also, this is somewhat off-topic, but why did my teachers always include Japan in the "West"? It's always been East geographically. Who decided you have to be ruled by a despot to be part of the East?

there was a similar brouhaha in Germany a couple of years ago as I recall. The government required that xx% of the songs played be in the German language instead of foreign languages.

Racism or culutural preservation?

Tough one for me to call...

That's quite true. Which is why in Canada the stations exile their Cancon programs to the fag end of the off-peak hours, much like a kid with a picky palate shoving his veggies into his mouth in one go.

To be an infant industry is to be an industry that is not deemed competitive enough for the open market. Furthermore, if it is already essential to GDP, then it is not an infant industry. Still, protectionism doesn't work in the long run, and in this case will end ultimately hurting the domestic animation companies, who'll have no incentive to excel.

I'm getting out of this debate over is-it-racism-or-is-it-not. Perhaps my views are coloured by bias.

I think that I need to put my position a bit clearer here. In very simple and unsophisticated terms, what I'm saying is that I don't buy the reason given by Chinese authority for banning foreign cartoon. I don't buy the explanation that this is commercial decision. It is not a commercial decision for "protecting infant industry", because there is no evidence to show that China's domestic cartoon industry is going to be an up-and-coming income earner. It is very costly to support an industry that's not going to have a great potential for an international market. Common sense will say that it'd be better to focus resources on areas where Chinese TV production will have an overseas market. I couldn't see any evidence to justify the expenses.

So in other words, this goes beyond a bad commercial decision in my book. It is an attempt to use "protection of infant industry" as an excuse to justify discrimination against foreign commercial products. I agree that this is not going to work in the long run. The social cost of promoting a deceptive culture is devastating.

Fair enough interpretation.

There are a number of more political reasons to ban foreign cartoons.

Socially speaking, the media that you are exposed to as a child will have a large impact on how you grow up, and if Chinese children are exposed to American and Japanese cartoons, they will grow up with many of the ideas imparted from them (including freedom of thought). Beijing doesn't want this. It would prefer cartoons that promote only their view.

For example, American cartoons promote a consumer lifestyle where 'dating' and 'fashion' often feature largely, and where children are shown openly disobeying or conniving against adults and other authority figure (Totally Spies, Recess, The Kids Next Door are prime examples).

Equally, Japanese cartoons often advocate independence and loyalty to friends over loyalty to the state or your social group. Plus they also show Chinese children that Japanese are just like them with the same hopes fears and dreams. Which serves to undermine the idea that Japanese are as cruel and nationalistic as Beijing makes out.

I wonder what the WTO makes of this?

Good point on the socialization argument, ACB.

Alex Lo, a Hong Kong journalist, posited (perhaps jokingly) that this sweeping ban on all foreign cartoons stems from the broadcast last year of episode 347 of the Simpsons, which is a royal piss-take of the Chinese government and which makes a number of not-too-veiled references to the Tiananmen Square massacre and calls Mao a mass-murderer.

The best visual jioke in the episode is a plaque in Tiananmen Square reading, "On this spot in 1989, nothing happened."

It would be so typical of the CCP to ban ALL foreign cartoons rather than to merely ban one, on the grounds that it doesn't want to give that specific cartoon any oxygen of publicity.

:lol: I wonder if I can find that episode online...?

Aramel, doubtless somewhere in the matrix of the 'Net you can find the episode, just I don't know where.

But Wikipedia has a detailed entry on the episode, entited "Goo Goo Gai Pan":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goo_Goo_Gai_Pan

I hope you can access it on the Mainland!

Hm, well if they think the Simpsons are politically incorrect, then they'd faint if they ever saw THIS bit of Russian animation.

Disclaimer: Please don't shoot the messenger, but this clip does support the argument I've raised here before, about how the Russians will never make any real alliance with China. What you'll see here is a very good example of the typical Russian view of the Chinese - it's not really hostile, but it's scornful and contemptuous.

Note how masses of Chinese people keep getting crushed in accidents (caused by other Chinese) and the leitmotif of the all too common (and rightly perceived) Mainland Chinese contempt for human life.

Again, don't shoot the messenger. I don't personally endorse this view of the Chinese (and I'm not Russian), but it's very typical of the Russian view:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Eod7SMtA59E

(ps, I do think the music is rather cool...)

It's a shame Chinese nationalists are so sure the Russians are their friends. In reality the Russians are out for number 1 and will kick China in the back if they think it'll help them.

It's even worse with Korea - they think Koreans LIKE Chinese. Guess they never heard the Korean expression "Han-headed".

You'd think that with all this current hysteria over Japan, they'd pause to wonder why the Koreans, who've been dominated by China for centuries, would have any pressing reason to like China. But then, people make derogatory comments about foreigners almost everywhere. :P

The best visual jioke in the episode is a plaque in Tiananmen Square reading, "On this spot in 1989, nothing happened."

I would have thought they woud ban that episode. Don't they screen this stuff?

Also from that episode, via the wiki site:
* Madame Wu: Lisa, soon you will have a Chinese sister who will surpass you academically.
Lisa: I don't know. I'm considered pretty smart.
Madame Wu: Well, Tibet was considered pretty independent. How'd that work out?
Lisa: How dare you make light of that brutal... (Marge shuts her up)

From Family Guy (Not very PC):

Brian Griffin - Peter, I know it's a dangerous precedent but you might want to tell Lois the truth.
Peter Griffin - What? That I can't provide for my family? That she's always right?
Peter Griffin - That I didn't stand up to a tank in Tiananmen Square?
<Cut scene to Peter standing next to tank man>
Peter Griffin - Screw this! I just came over to buy some fireworks!
<Peter runs off>

Somewhat off-topic, but though I don't like FAMILY GUY, I am liking the show by the same creator, AMERICAN DAD (Dad works for the CIA). I saw pt. 2 of their Saudi Arabian episode and it was just...deeply wrong. And hilarious.

I think that most countries tend to fall into several distinct groups

Group 1 thinks that the rest of the world loves them, and that the only people who don't are a few misguided extremist whose minds have been poisoned against them by foreign lies (China, America).

Group 2 thinks that the rest of the world hates them and that their minds have been poisoned against them by foreign lies (Iran, North Korea, Zimbabwe)

Group 3 Don't bother other people and think that other people aren't bothered by them (Anywhere laid back)

Group 4 Secretly loath themselves and are pragmatic when they find out that other people don't like them, and suspicious when they find out that they do (Britain, Germany)

Group 5 love themselves and think that the rest of the world can go hang upside down from a tree and eat bananas (Japan, France)

I thought the same, but realised that it doesn't necessarily mean that the episode in question has been shown in China. Sojourner said that it was broadcast 'last year' -- which is when it was made and first shown in the US. No doubt the Chinese embassy in Washington would have sent a report about it to the foreign ministry. Since the News Corp empire is usually very China-friendly, it might have been quite a shock.

The United Blue States of America might contest your putting them in Group 1. :wink:

And China, being intensely shizopherenic, really falls somewhere between Group 1 and Group 2.

It's all subjective really.

If you ask a mid-American neo-con he'd probably put the US in group number 2 and blame countries like France and Iran "Who hate democracy', for turning the world against America.

If you Ask a Fenqing, he'd probably do the same, except that he'd blame Japan and America, and then Japan a few more times, then he'd kick you in the shins.

I'm debating where South Korea falls. Do you think that it should be in group 5, or should there be a group 5B for countries who say that they don't care other people think of them, but go ape when they find out that half of the world still considers them a developing contry?

I'd say 5B. South Korea has its own postcolonialist Complex.

Also, I propose a Group 6: Countries that love themselves and can't conceive of the rest of the world possibly not loving them (and they'd be pretty much right, the smug bastards - i.e. Canada, Sweden)

Largely, all inoffensive countries go in group 3.

... well, they would be right, at least to me. But then I'm technically a citizen of the former, so I'm probably biased. :)

Suggested advertisement for immigration to Canada: "All the benefits of living under the US military umbrella, and self-righteous smugness too! Come to Canada: Because it's technically not the USA!"

Or: "Canada: for bigots who want to project their bigotry onto their neighbours."

Or: "Canada: All the guns and violence you would ever want, WITHOUT the Second Amendment."

*chortles*

Perhaps I should amend the category to being "Group 6: Countries that love themselves for not being America."

Since y'all be having fun with youtube, let me join the party. Here's the old "Joe Canadian" ad by Molson's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyCEJOGMVjk. It used to play at all the NHL games, to much patriotic fervour among the hockey fans. Then the actor playing Joe moved to Tinseltown. And there were many raised eyebrows and indignant harrumphs Up North.

ETA: I still love Canada though. But I seem to be unable to hate any country that I've lived in for a long time.

According to the CIA Canada isn't a democracy.

https//www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html

I've always quite liked Canada, I once considered living their predominantly (three guesses where).

Canada has roughly the same standard of living as the US, but with 1/4 of the murder rate (0.01 per 1000 head of population, as opposed to 0.04 for the US) and a murder by firearm rate of 0.005 per 1000 as opposed to America's 0.02 per thousand.

It's total assault rate is pretty much the same as Americas (7.1 to 7.5)

Alarmingly, it's rape rate is double America's (0.7 to America's 0.3), and its is number nine in the world for unpaid diplomatic parking fines (135 to America's 17).

Of course, Canada is also where Dashan come from but I suppose that your safe from him so long as Dashan and friends is still popular in China.

1) Toronto
2) Montreal
3) Vancouver

...or hey, maybe it was Newfoundland! :wink: *imagines ACB with a Newfie accent* (mind-boggling)

Interesting rape stat. Hm...I wonder why?

Vaaaaaancooooouverrrrr (Or Montreal)

I'm not certain about the rape stats, but they are very scary indeed.

I think that some of it is probably due to increased reporting rather than an actual 2 fold difference.

The reporting rate for rapes within marriage and rapes involving sex workers is probably lower in the US than Canada, as is reporting of rape in ethnic comunities (particularly in inner city black and Hispanic comunities where there can be little trust or faith in the mainly white police force).

Could we just go back to the Simpsons for a minute. When the Simpsons are broadcasted on TV in China, are they in English with Chinese subtitles or have they been dubbed into Mandarin?

Well...here I am at 7:14 PM on the 3rd watching Tom and Jerry on the "Hua Ya Dian Shi" channel. Umm...wasn't that kind of negative influence to have been cleansed from the airwaves by now? I'm confused. :?
How about other parts of China? So VERY Chinese...selective enforcement, I guess...

I dunno, they ban all sorts of crazy things for all sorts of stupid reasons... Like the time several Chinese cities banned electric bikes because they thought the bikes made them look "Third World". I'm guessing it may also have something to do with ego; maybe some bureaucrat doesn't like the fact that the foreign cartoons are obviously so much more popular than the domestically produced ones. Which really do stink, even purely animation wise. I've seen student films with smoother animation.