A screenshot of the animated rap video "Four Comprehensives," produced by the Xinhua News Agency
Gov't adopts popular culture to instill patriotism in youth
As China's millennial generation and people born after 2000 grow up and start to play an increasingly important role in Chinese society, the government and the Party are harnessing pop idols, Internet slang and new media to attract a younger following. This has also prompted musicians to pen modern versions of revolutionary "red songs."
Catchy jingles, a jumping cartoon version of President Xi Jinping, and middle-aged man rapping about China's latest development plans are just a few ways the government is promoting its policies and national ideology.
An animated rap video produced by the Xinhua News Agency, which explains the Four Comprehensives, a list of political goals for China advocated by President Xi, went viral last month. In the video, a man explains the goals to a girl as they rap and boogie to an upbeat tune.
Since late 2013, a series of animated videos, patriotic pop songs and micro films appeared on China's social media platforms such as Weibo and WeChat, with themes ranging from publicizing government plans to lauding the country's prosperity.
These are not the only attempts the Chinese government has made in recent years to harness pop culture for its goals. The Central Committee of the China Communist Youth League (CCYL), for example, is using Internet slang, comics and mobile games to recruit members, and has invited boy band TFboys to become its ambassadors.
"China's millennial generation grew up with the Internet. Youngsters born after 2000 have an even greater dependence on the Internet. The Party and the central government is hoping to approach and influence these younger generations using their favorite forms such as animation," said He Hui, professor at the School of International Journalism and Communication, Beijing Foreign Studies University.
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The On Fuxing Road Studio was the first studio to use animation to promote government policies when it launched a 5-minute video explaining how Chinese leaders are chosen in October 2013. Of the seven videos it has released so far, three are about policymaking and the achievements of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The most recent one is "Shisanwu," an animated video which explains the government's 13th Five-Year Plan through a folk song performed in English by foreigners.
A spokesperson for On Fuxing Road Studio, who declined to be named, attributed their attempts to China's development and President Xi Jinping's call for more diversified methods of overseas publicity in 2013.
"If China had not been at this stage of development, no one will be interested in these videos. If our national leaders hadn't been encouraging these efforts, this won't be possible either," she told the Global Times in a telephone interview.
Although the On Fuxing Road Studio has not revealed its real identity, the capital's video production professionals believe it has official background.
The name of the studio itself is revealing - Fuxing Road, part of the extended Chang'an Avenue in west Beijing, is home to many ministries and government organizations such as the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC.
Professor He said that since the Party and the government are still experimenting with these new forms, it's understandable that it wants to publish the videos through an ostensibly grass-roots organization to test the waters.
"Playing down its official background can also make the videos more amiable and acceptable, as opposed to the conventional, one-way Chinese publicity which is often too explicit and political," he told the Global Times.
