![]() Since their emergence in the early 2000s, the most fascinating element of reality talent shows has always been the power they give fans to decide who wins and who loses. The more I saw, the more upset I became then, in early May, it all came crashing down. “Youth With You 3” represents the cutting edge of China’s hyper-commercialized, hyper-populist fan culture, where corporations and brands exploit and manipulate viewers in the guise of empowering them. When I complimented some of the performers in a chat group, saying they seemed like good bets to make the final roster, my friends were quick to disabuse me: The performances don’t matter, they informed me: only the fans do.Īt first, I didn’t understand what they meant, but as the show progressed, I grew genuinely disturbed at what I was watching. Only, what if the rules and games and mentors didn’t matter? “Youth with You 3” was the first talent show I had watched in eight years, and it was a shocking lesson in just how much China’s entertainment culture has changed in that time. ![]() The winners are then grouped into China’s newest boy band. Sure, the cast of 119 was bigger than I was used to, but the rules were instantly familiar: Four musical mentors guide aspiring male idols through a series of challenges and performances after each round, some are eliminated until there are just nine contestants left. Shi Wenxue, a cultural critic who is based in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday that production companies and celebrities have a responsibility to guide young people, whose value system is still in formation, to avoid such behavior.At first glance, “Youth With You 3” didn’t seem that different from the reality shows I used to watch a decade ago. The law can be used against ongoing misconduct, but it may not be applicable to punish the milk dumpers in this case as they wasted food before the law took effect, legal experts said.Īn anonymous legal expert told the Global Times that the use of the law should be based on specific cases and in this case, even if the company did not promote big eaters, its program led to the waste. The program producer may be ordered to suspend its business and the people in charge will be held accountable. The new anti-food waste law stipulates that individuals and organizations that make and circulate programs that promote big eaters will face a fine of between 10,000 ($1,545) and 100,000 yuan. ![]() The behavior misled young people and eroded their values. The Xinhua News Agency also posted a commentary on Tuesday, criticizing the production company and the sponsor who forgot their social responsibility when they decided to use such promotion method. "They forgot how many children in rural areas cannot afford one bottle of milk and their well-off lives make them forget how precious food is … The production team and the milk company should all be punished under the new law," one netizen commented on Sina Weibo. Piles of bottled milk are poured into sewers. The mechanism led young fans to purchase large amounts of the milk they couldn't drink, so they just scanned the codes and poured the milk into sewers.Ī video showing piles of bottled milk, possibly hundreds of boxes, being dumped directly into sewers went viral online in late April, which was widely criticized. Mengniu, a major dairy brand in China, is the biggest sponsor of the show. Many criticisms were targeted at the competition mechanism of the show, which encourages viewers to buy and consume bottled Mengniu brand milk as they need to scan the QR codes inside the caps of the bottles in order to vote for their favorite trainees. The show has been under criticism online before the suspension was announced. The production and broadcast platform of the show, iQIYI said Wednesday on Sina Weibo that it accepts all the criticism and will correct mistakes. The notice did not specify reasons for the suspension, but it confirmed there were problems found after authorities investigated, based on public complaints, and it urged the production team to rectify the problems. The suspension was announced by the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau on Tuesday. ![]() The scandal sparked heated criticism on social media, with many netizens calling for legal penalties for those who poured the milk into sewers, and the production team for designing this method even after China adopted the anti-food waste law on April 29. The production of hit Chinese variety show Youth With You Season 3 was suspended after the show, where trainees compete to become idols, was involved in a scandal of wasting large amounts of milk, amid the country's strengthened efforts in eradicating wasting food. Promotion material of Youth with You 3 Photo: Sina Weibo
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |