China yesterday banned reality talent programs and ordered broadcasters to promote more masculine representations of men, in a wide-ranging crackdown on “immoral” pop culture that Beijing believes is leading young people astray.
Talent shows that put hundreds of aspiring young performers through rigorous boot camps and subject them to public votes have become massively popular in China, sparking criticism over obsessive fans and poor role models.
“Broadcast and TV institutions must not screen idol development programs or variety shows and reality shows,” China’s National Radio and Television Administration said in a raft of new regulations.
Photo: Reuters
The regulator ordered broadcasters to resist “vulgar influencers,” inflated financial rewards, and performers with “lapsed morals” and “abnormal aesthetics,” such as “sissy” men.
Faced with falling birthrates, Chinese authorities have tried to instill traditional masculine values in the country’s youth by ramping up gym classes and criticizing male entertainers who model the effeminate looks of South Korean pop idols. Instead, broadcasters were urged to “strongly promote outstanding traditional Chinese culture ... and advanced socialist culture.”
Popular Chinese blogger Feng Xiaoyi last week had his account suspended by Douyin for “promoting unhealthy values,” after some users complained about his “sissy” videos. Video streaming site iQiyi last week said it would cancel all future idol talent shows that are in development.
Chinese authorities began a wide-ranging crackdown on dodgy financial practices and “immoral” conduct in the entertainment sector after numerous scandals implicated some of the nation’s biggest entertainers.
Chinese actress Zheng Shuang (鄭爽) was fined the equivalent of US$46 million for tax evasion last week, while Chinese-Canadian pop star and former idol Kris Wu (吳亦凡) has been detained on rape allegations. At the same time, regulators have vowed to curb the behavior of China’s “chaotic” fandoms, such as what they deem to be irrational celebrity worship.
Beijing TV regulators abruptly took the popular talent show Youth With You 3 off the air in May, after fans resorted to buying and dumping massive quantities of yogurt to vote for their favorite contestants.
Such shows often urge fans to buy sponsored products in order to vote, but the new regulations ban this practice.
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