Top: Streamers going to rich neighborhoods to attract local viewers and donations after China implements policy of forcing all Internet content to show their approximate location
Bottom: largest art school examination in the world, where ~14,000 applicants invited to the exam must compete for ~800 spots
Most jobs are normal and like the western world. While there are tons of valid criticisms like the protest one you mentioned, “strict homogeneity” is not one of them and just gives tankies more ammunition. There are way better arguments you can make from these images.
If you believe there are better arguments to be made, go ahead.
The streamers are up until, sometimes, past 3 am to make money off the rich. So much for your communist China. People need to lug all of their valuables with them to make fools of themselves to entertain the rich and powerful, comfortable and happy in their warm mansions, while the streamers have to shiver in cold temperatures just to make a few hundred bucks at most. A man is dressed as a literal clown, and the girls have to wear short clothes in winter.
And the bottom, yes, is commercialised, mass-produced art where you’re stuck in lines, competing with who can be the better artist (if there even is such a thing)—no food, no drinks, cramped with no escape. If your art is not arty enough for the elites, then you are the ‘worse kid,’ which is an ideology in China where there is always a better child—Failure is not an option.
I have yet to see both of these images be recreated in the Western World.
If you believe there are better arguments to be made, go ahead.
Well, you just did that. I was pointing out that your use of those images is misleading, and as critics, we should take the moral high ground.
So much for your communist China.
Not sure what you think about me. As an anarchist, I don’t have socially positive views of China.
commercialised, mass-produced
No. Albeit with a completely misguided target of technical skill, the admissions test is not a factory. And food and drink are, of course, allowed.
then you are the ‘worse kid,’ which is an ideology in China where there is always a better child—Failure is not an option.
Honestly, it’s just involution: Everyone always looks up to the better children and apply to the best school, whose exam is what we see here. However, failure is, in fact, an executable option. Just as there is always a better place, there is also always a worse place: a worse school to apply to instead of the one with a 2% acceptance rate, a worse place to live with a much better upkeep, a worse job where you can still apply your skills with the same comfort… The aforementioned streamers can always choose to pull up stakes and find other types of less gruelling careers, yet they’re not comfortable enough with the low-key: Unfortunately, investments in mental health education are way too low to counter the ingrained Chinese culture of overachievement, and that is a very big problem. Such involution is also a problem in the United States, especially in higher education, but we have much better access to online support.
As an anarchist, I don’t have socially positive views of China.
would’ve fooled me. You’re the only one defending the images and saying the same happens in the West. You’ve yet to show any examples of the above happening in the West, and just so we’re clear, the West includes Europe, Oceania–You know, anything western, not just the US
No. Albeit with a completely misguided target of technical skill, the admissions test is not a factory. And food and drink are, of course, allowed.
Mass-produced in the sense that for the test, they are mass-producing art to please their elites. Likewise I can’t find any image of any food or drink being used.
The aforementioned streamers can always choose to pull up stakes and find other types of less gruelling careers, yet they’re not comfortable enough with the low-key
I’m not saying the same happens in the west. Indeed, these are occurrences unique to China. I’ve never understood the appeal of the shopping streams, so I can’t say for sure what’s behind the first image. Meanwhile, misguided focus on technical skill over the essence of art combined with draconian educational values are behind the second image.
they are mass-producing art to please their elites
The only people who see the art are the 9 judges who have their internet-capable devices confiscated until they judge everything. They have to filter out the images and compare them meticulously for accuracy instead of pleasantry. After that, they have to do it again for the arts Gaokao. Nobody else sees the art, and even if they did, I doubt anyone would be pleased by what aims to be carbon copies of the same image. The stupid system harms the only people who see the product as well.
Likewise I can’t find any image of any food or drink being used.
I don’t see how that article reflects your claim. In fact, it says that passerbys ask the streamers, “Why don’t you find a normal job?”. At most, it does say that some were drove off livelihoods and forced to stream by the COVID era, which involved stupid restrictions that the government finally relaxed a few months after the article. There are also a lot more white-collar jobs. That said, I’ve never been to Guilin, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Hair salons in Hangzhou reopened at most by mid-2021, though it may have intensified in late 2022, which is right after I left.
would’ve fooled me. You’re the only one defending the images and saying the same happens in the West.
Such “us vs them” mentality is why my country and so many others are currently so divided and leads certain people to believe in authoritarian rule of utmost hierarchy.
You think I’m against you for trying to rationalise what’s happening in China as normal? I’m not. I find it weird, but I also don’t care.
If this was us vs them, which I also believe is stupid, you would’ve been booted. I’ve dealt with a lot of pseudo-mods, usually admins, who do exactly this and it’s frustrating everytime I have to unban the user and explain to the admin that disagreement doesn’t mean ban. You can check out the modlog for this.
Top: Streamers going to rich neighborhoods to attract local viewers and donations after China implements policy of forcing all Internet content to show their approximate location
Bottom: largest art school examination in the world, where ~14,000 applicants invited to the exam must compete for ~800 spots
Most jobs are normal and like the western world. While there are tons of valid criticisms like the protest one you mentioned, “strict homogeneity” is not one of them and just gives tankies more ammunition. There are way better arguments you can make from these images.
If you believe there are better arguments to be made, go ahead.
The streamers are up until, sometimes, past 3 am to make money off the rich. So much for your communist China. People need to lug all of their valuables with them to make fools of themselves to entertain the rich and powerful, comfortable and happy in their warm mansions, while the streamers have to shiver in cold temperatures just to make a few hundred bucks at most. A man is dressed as a literal clown, and the girls have to wear short clothes in winter.
And the bottom, yes, is commercialised, mass-produced art where you’re stuck in lines, competing with who can be the better artist (if there even is such a thing)—no food, no drinks, cramped with no escape. If your art is not arty enough for the elites, then you are the ‘worse kid,’ which is an ideology in China where there is always a better child—Failure is not an option.
I have yet to see both of these images be recreated in the Western World.
Well, you just did that. I was pointing out that your use of those images is misleading, and as critics, we should take the moral high ground.
Not sure what you think about me. As an anarchist, I don’t have socially positive views of China.
No. Albeit with a completely misguided target of technical skill, the admissions test is not a factory. And food and drink are, of course, allowed.
Honestly, it’s just involution: Everyone always looks up to the better children and apply to the best school, whose exam is what we see here. However, failure is, in fact, an executable option. Just as there is always a better place, there is also always a worse place: a worse school to apply to instead of the one with a 2% acceptance rate, a worse place to live with a much better upkeep, a worse job where you can still apply your skills with the same comfort… The aforementioned streamers can always choose to pull up stakes and find other types of less gruelling careers, yet they’re not comfortable enough with the low-key: Unfortunately, investments in mental health education are way too low to counter the ingrained Chinese culture of overachievement, and that is a very big problem. Such involution is also a problem in the United States, especially in higher education, but we have much better access to online support.
would’ve fooled me. You’re the only one defending the images and saying the same happens in the West. You’ve yet to show any examples of the above happening in the West, and just so we’re clear, the West includes Europe, Oceania–You know, anything western, not just the US
Mass-produced in the sense that for the test, they are mass-producing art to please their elites. Likewise I can’t find any image of any food or drink being used.
They usually can’t, hence why they’re doing it.
I’m not saying the same happens in the west. Indeed, these are occurrences unique to China. I’ve never understood the appeal of the shopping streams, so I can’t say for sure what’s behind the first image. Meanwhile, misguided focus on technical skill over the essence of art combined with draconian educational values are behind the second image.
The only people who see the art are the 9 judges who have their internet-capable devices confiscated until they judge everything. They have to filter out the images and compare them meticulously for accuracy instead of pleasantry. After that, they have to do it again for the arts Gaokao. Nobody else sees the art, and even if they did, I doubt anyone would be pleased by what aims to be carbon copies of the same image. The stupid system harms the only people who see the product as well.
If you look at https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-grueling-hyper-competitive-exams-decide-futures-chinese-art-students, there’s an outstanding example of tea near the bottom-left corner.
I don’t see how that article reflects your claim. In fact, it says that passerbys ask the streamers, “Why don’t you find a normal job?”. At most, it does say that some were drove off livelihoods and forced to stream by the COVID era, which involved stupid restrictions that the government finally relaxed a few months after the article. There are also a lot more white-collar jobs. That said, I’ve never been to Guilin, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Hair salons in Hangzhou reopened at most by mid-2021, though it may have intensified in late 2022, which is right after I left.
Such “us vs them” mentality is why my country and so many others are currently so divided and leads certain people to believe in authoritarian rule of utmost hierarchy.
You think I’m against you for trying to rationalise what’s happening in China as normal? I’m not. I find it weird, but I also don’t care.
If this was us vs them, which I also believe is stupid, you would’ve been booted. I’ve dealt with a lot of pseudo-mods, usually admins, who do exactly this and it’s frustrating everytime I have to unban the user and explain to the admin that disagreement doesn’t mean ban. You can check out the modlog for this.