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Harmless Entertainment, An Economic tool, or Government Brainwashing: Even Children's Cartoons are Political in China
posted Monday, 20 March 2006
While China might be a net exporter as far as finished goods like clothes, shoes, and electronics are concerned, there remains at least one area at least in which China is a net importer - Children's animation.
Strange as it may seem, especially for a country that is so closed to foreign media, of the estimated 5,000 hours of children's animation shown on Chinese television each year, only about 500 hours are domestically produced, with the rest being made up of material imported from America, Europe and other Asian countries.
Largely, this situation exists because China's animation industry remains under-developed and underfunded, and because China has yet to exploit its domestic talent, but this might all be about to change.....
In line with recent announcements, that it plans to increase the number of hours of children's animation currently on television to an astounding 16,700 hours per year, or 45 hours per day, Beijing has also announced that the forthcoming opening of 'The Tianjin Sorun Digital Media school', a joint venture designed to train China's next generation of animators.
Scheduled to open this fall, The Tianjin Sorun Digital Media school is a joint venture between the Sorun Corporation, a Japanese IS consultancy and venture capitalist, Digital Hollywood, a Japanese digital media college, and Tianjin's Nankai University.
According to initial media releases, the school is to be based on the grounds of Nankai University, and is to provide four year courses, covering everything from the latest digital animation techniques to business and marketing skill, which have been specially designed or adapted for the school by Digital Hollywood.
Reports indicate that Sorun is fronting approximately $US1.8 million, or 81 percent of the cost, with Digital Hollywood and Nankai supplying 9.5 percent each, and the latter of the two supplying the grounds on which the school is housed.
Mixed Views
News of the schools opening has been greeted with a variety of reactions from observers, with opinions ranging from optimistic: That the new animation schools is legitimate expansion of China's domestic creative industry, and a welcome move into new territory, to the pessimistic: That Tianjin-Sorun is 'a thinly veiled protectionist measure', designed to work with restrictive new media regulation (see below), in order to force foreign competitors our of China's marked.
Looking closely though, observers have however noted China's reliance on imported children's animations, and the opening of Tianjin-Sorun, might have a number of deeper implication for China. Implications that cover both the country's economy, and it obtuse socio-political situation.
The Economic Front
Though only a small factor in China's wider economy, fact that China is currently reliant on imported Children's cartoons does, nonetheless have an impact.
Not only is animation made outside of China animation that China must buy in at a cost to its economy, but it is also animation that is not the property of China, and so cannot be exported in order to bring valuable foreign currency in to the Chinese economy.
As such,the founding of institutes like Tianjin Sorun have a three fold advantage for China
- They will allow China to reduce the portion of its entertainment budget that is being spent externally to China (a budget that will need to be dramatically increased to import sufficient to cover the domestic shortfall on the 16,700 Hours target).
- They will stimulate an underdeveloped area of China's domestic economy, providing work for animators, script writers, voice actors and other industry workers, as well as those involved in distribution and marketing.
- They will allow China to become an exporter of animation, allowing it to recoup costs incurred by importing entertainment, and to spread Chinese culture further around the world.
In addition to this, were China to develop a strong animation capability, it could also potentially become a outsourcing and finishing hub; A professional producer of animation for other countries that have their own creative talent; for character design and script witting, but whose labor costs make producing 'in between' cells; cells used to express complex movements but do not requiring high levels of detail, an expensive task.
For years, neighboring South Korea has had an a substantial production and post production industry, with Korean animators producing 'in between' cells for Fox's "the Simpsons", and Studio Ghibli's “Princess Mononoke”.
South Korea also exports a wide variety of its own domestic animation, including such features as Mangchi (Hammer Boy) and Toy warrior.
Even North Korea has advanced beyond China in terms animation, having both a strong domestic market and an established Animation 'finishing' industry that uses modern techniques and equipment rarely found in China.
Though not widely advertised, North Korea's SEK Studio produced many of the 'in between' cells for Disney's "The Lion King" and “Pocahontas”. Both of which are believed to have been managed by outsourced companies in Europe/Asia, due to America's trade sanctions against the communist state.
| "Our company, staffed with highly skilled creators and equipped with high performance computers, is capable of responding to any orders" Kim Thae Hong, Chief, Studio No. 3, SEK Studio, North Korea |
Socio-Political Front
While importing so much animation bring little to the Chinese economy, it brings a lot to Chinese society, and not all of it is welcome. With foreign animation comes foreign influences; something that Beijing is, unsurprisingly, rather concerned about.
Publicly, a number of senior Chinese officials have voiced the concern that imported animation has been introducing Chinese children to 'bad habits' and 'unhelpful images', and have called on Beijing to increase China's domestic animation output in order to 'create a healthy environment' for Chinese children, which is 'conducive to learning and social responsibility'.
They have also called for the production of more children's cartoons for use in education, and which promote Chinese history and culture 'in a child friendly manner', so as to counteract fears that too many cartoons will harm children's schoolwork, and concerns that too much exposure foreign culture will hamper their understanding and appreciation for their own.
Privately, though the same officials have also voiced that the import of foreign animation has been teaching Chinese children about alternative perspectives on society. Creating expectations of social norms and conditions that either do not exist in China, or which Beijing desires to suppress, and encouraging Chinese children to begin to 'think like foreigners'.
In light of these concerns, both those expressed in public and private, Beijing recently leveled the decree that 60% of all animation broadcast in China should be domestically produced. A target that is difficult to meet, without disenfranchising viewers, given the low level of domestic production.
Chinese officials have also and made moves to ban television stations and networks from broadcasting foreign animation during popular prime time slots, and to limit children's exposure to particular animation that they feel carry 'harmful messages' or encourages children to 'disrupt social order'. Both of which are euphemisms for free thinking and the raising issues that the government would prefer were not raised.
Cultural Conundrum, or Cultural Control?
While the importation of foreign culture in children's media has been of concern to many people in many countries for quite some time, it is a particularly particularly problematic issue in China because its the countries two primary sources of animation are America and Japan. Both of whom have very different social circumstances from China, and both of whom carry ideals, through their animation, that clash with the ideals that Beijing commonly wishes to instill in its children.
On the 'soft' side, characters in US cartoons are often seen to promote 'overt consumerism' and to 'magnify trivial issues in order to avoid tackling real world problems', while Japanese animation, known internationally as Anime, typically promotes loyalty to friends and family over other figures of authority.
On the 'hard' side, American cartoons often encouraging civil disobedience and freedom of speech, and promote individuality among children, in the face of opposition for figures of authority.
Diverging significantly from the US cartoons, which often 'dumbs down' situations to make itself suitable for all age groups, Japanese Anime commonly encourages 'early maturity' in children. With its characters undertaking roles, and entering into situations, that are older than is considered appropriate for their age group in China. As such, they often include depictions of youth romance and marriage, which are considered inappropriate in China.
Additionally, US cartoons often encourage children 'to be more assertive' and 'to make a stand' when they feel that they are being unjustly treated. Something that is directly discouraged by Beijing. Which prefers Chinese children to be totally compliant, and to respond only to the 'injustices' that are specifically pointed out to them by the state.
Similarly, Japanese Anime also often includes favorable depictions of homosexuality and deep same sex relationships. Something that Beijing regards as being 'disruptive to social order' and which is largely forbids.
Cutting Room Floor
While 'objectionable scenes', such as those depicting sex, violence, or the direct promotion of democracy, can be removed or toned down through selective editing during the dubbing process, many of the other areas that Beijing considers to be 'unhealthy', including most of the above hard and soft topics, are very difficult to remove from an imported animated franchise while keeping the franchise intact.
Such areas tend to be contained in the form of 'creping social trends and imagery' that can slip past censors unless they are specifically looking for them, and their removal often require entire episodes to be deleted from a franchise, or to have their plots rewritten. Which is both time consuming and expensive to do, particularly given that popular animations can run to 50-100 episodes and often require such edits and rewrites throughout their length.
This problem is compounded by the fact that China's domestic dubbing industry is not tightly integrated into its censorship apparatus. Which leaves the dubbing and editing process in the hands of people who concerned with accuracy and relevance, and who would often only remove the most obvious components.
Additionally, some imported animations are dubbed overseas, in Chinese-Taiwan, and thus are difficult to rewrite or re dub while keeping continuity. Creating further problems.
In both of which cases, censors are often left only with the options of retaining or scrapping an entire franchises, that they likely have not had time to view to any extent, rather than individually tailor it to meet state needs.
Wider Phenomena?
Ironically, although it is a well know proponent of social censorship, China is not the most active when it comes to concerns that imported media might be spreading 'unhealthy' messages to its children, and it is not the largest censor of imported children's animation. This honor actually falls to the US.
However, while both parties do censor children's animation, this is about where the similarity ends; Whereas much of the animation censorship in China is state motivated and state mandate, most imported animation censorship in the US self censorship and financially motivates.
King of the Prudes?
With American companies being keen to able to deliver imported animation to as wide a market as possible, they are often unwilling to include any content which may cause offense to conservatives, or which might trigger a boycott among of programs or merchandise by free spending parents.
As such, anything that may be deemed 'controversial or contentions' is often emoved.
Elements commonly cut from imported children's animation in the US include.
- Sex, (including non-sexual activities associated with love, romance or dating, or the showing of underwear)
- References to puberty (excluding pimples)
- Curse words (including mild curse words)
- Violence involving physical contact (for example, martial arts) or wounding with blades
- Foreign religions
- Smoking
- References to the death of friends or family members
- References to history made from perspectives that differ from that of the US
- Deep social issues.
References to taboo topics of the day; including school shootings, terrorism and environmentalism, are also removed on an irregular basis. As are guns that fire physical ammunition, or depictions of bladed weapons.
Similarly, many animations imported into the US are often 'dumbed down' when they are distributed, or dubbed into English.
This is done because US animation audiences are commonly several years younger than their foreign counterparts, and they generally lead more sheltered lives, making them unlikely to watch the same shows, or be able to deal with the same issues, at the same ages as the original intended audience.
In some instances such rewrites and 'dematuring' have resulted in the removal of up to 1/3 of footage form an imported animated franchise, the rearranging of episodes so as to lessen/greaten the emotional impact of certain plot lines or to increase the prominence of certain characters, or even the wholesale re branding of foreign franchises to make them appear to contain American characters and to be set in American cities.
Mostly, these rewrites and extensive edits are seen as being impossible in Chinese markets because the of the limited number of networks and stations who available to to buy broadcast rights for each animated franchise, and because rampant piracy makes it difficult to make an profit on DVD and merchandise sales. None of which are a problem in the the fully realized and commercial US markets, where costs incurred through censorship can often be recouped through the additional market coverage that censored show can obtain.
Unlike China thought, America also has issues with its domestic animation, and there have already been a number of outrages in the US regarding the values that they taught to children's by animation.
As such, several prominent conservative parents groups have accused 'liberal elements' of hyjacking the American animation industry and using it as 'a stealth platforms' to promote 'unhealthy ideas'.
Examples of this include complaints that Walt Disney has been placing hidden sexual messages and subliminal social cometary in its feature films, and accusations that the popular children's cartoon characters, including Nickelodeon's 'Sponge Bob Square Pants', are being used as back door through which children can be 'indoctrinated into the acceptance of homosexuality' and other 'undesirable' tendencies.
| "While we want everyone to respect other people's beliefs, we do not consider it appropriate for children's television to be used in an effort to indoctrinate children to accept homosexuality," Ed Vitagliano, Researcher, American Families Association (US pressure Group) |
While of these complaints are not usually taken seriously outside of conservative circles, the impact of bad publicity, and fears over loosing ground in the conservative sector of the market, often leads to the kind of censorship, as listed above, that is deployed by the animation importation and dubbing industry.
View Comments/Add a Comment (5)
1. Bill left...
Wednesday, 22 March 2006 3:19 am :: http://billscott1974.blogspot.com/
Wow, I never looked at animation as a tool to brainwash. This was very
interesting and it has opened my eyes. Thank you for posting this. I will
make sure my kids are not brainedwashed by political cartoons.
2. ACB left...
Wednesday, 22 March 2006 3:43 am :: http://angrychineseblogger.blog-city.com
If you're American, it's actually things being the other way round that you
have to worry about.
3. kei & yuri left...
Saturday, 25 March 2006 2:13 pm :: http://haring.com
Before animation we never appreciated how important tentacles are to a
healthy adult's relaxation. Who knew? Well, the octopi, obviously...
4. ACB left...
Saturday, 25 March 2006 5:25 pm :: http://angrychineseblogger.blog-city.com
There's more to animation than Legend of the Overfiend,
5. The Angry Chinese Blogger left...
Sunday, 30 September 2007 4:29 am
FYI, in relation to the above, that wasn't a children's cartoon, it was
adult rated.