UP WITH “POPAGANDA”! | 另类事实, 另类呈现
By Yifu Dong, BR’17
ORIGINAL
如果每天都呼吸新鲜雾霾, 人们显然就不想再知道嘴里含着银勺的小孩怎么在有空气过滤的圆顶下玩, 或是富人怎么把老婆孩子往国外送。大多数人一定还是愿意相信,政府深深地关心着老百姓,每天都想着怎么调整空气质量指标,让人至少能感觉到呼吸越来越放心。
在中国,谎言是现实中不可或缺的一部分。热爱现实,就应该也热爱谎言。所以当我得知“天府事变”组合用英文说唱的形式表现爱国主义的时候,心中还是很激动的。英语世界的人们终于可以聆听到中国宣传的福音。
“太阳最红,毛主席最亲。”这样的歌名最好了,虽然并不能确定中国的组合在用“最”字之前,需不需要获得身在平壤的最亲爱的领袖们的许可。歌曲的内容倒是不敢恭维,毕竟都是不折不扣的文革语言。如果没记错,中国好像一度否定过文革。当然,这种语气、这种情怀在当下还是很吃香的。
最感人的一段要属“事变”的孩子们希望毛主席能和他们一起目睹中国日新月异的发展。但愿他们能顺利地转移至来世, 或是给毛主席做个心肺复苏。他不就在纪念堂里躺着呢嘛!
“天府事变”的其他歌揭露了伪善且邪恶的自由民主势力围攻祖国的阴谋:什么台湾省、香港特别行政区、大日本帝国以及美帝国主义,统统都是敌人。音乐视频中最显眼的要属中国的各种武器。这些敌人,一颗导弹足以解决,总不会让一群满嘴英文唱着说唱的孩子去冲锋陷阵。
这种结合流行文化的宣传手段的确让人耳目一新。然而,这种形式最大的挑战在于,英语和中文不太一样,英语的词句还是有实际意义的。但是有这样几位年轻人捍卫中国版的现实,多么令人骄傲。
TRANSLATION
If alternative facts shape reality, there is no reason not to embrace them. For example, since I already have to inhale pure smog every day, I hate to hear about wealthy toddlers riding horses under air-filtered domes and wealthy men funneling their wives and children abroad. I would much rather hear that the government cares about me deeply and is busy adjusting their air quality standards in order to make my days feel less hazardous.
In China, lies are an integral part of reality. I love reality; therefore, I love lies. And that’s why I screamed when a Chinese rap group, called CD Rev, started rapping Chinese patriotism — in English! I am thrilled that the English-speaking world finally gets to bask in the gospel of
Chinese propaganda.
“The sun is the reddest; Chairman Mao is the dearest,” declares the title of a song. I’m not sure if any Chinese band is allowed to use superlatives in the title of a song without express permission from the dearest fatties in Pyongyang. The content of the song is like an orderly pile-up on a snowy highway — it audaciously revives the theme of the Cultural Revolution, a campaign that the Communist Party itself has repudiated. Wow, this takes not just guts but also an absence of brains. This rare combination can get you very far in China today.
Most heartwarming is when the boys wish Chairman Mao were here today to witness China’s development. I can only wish them a smooth transfer to the afterlife or maybe successful CPR on the embalmed Mao mummy lying inside the “Maosoleum” in Tiananmen Square.
Other CD Rev songs, such as “The Force of Red,” pierce through the hypocrisy of evil democratic forces laying siege to the Motherland. China’s enemies seem abundantly clear in the songs: Taiwan Province, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Great Japanese Empire, and Imperialist America. The best part of the music videos is their display of the different angles of the same Chinese missile over and over and over again. That’s right. They can totally destroy all their enemies with a single missile. Or do they need a few rappers to die for the country?
This new “popaganda” approach, which Chinese state media also emulate, deserves a lot of credit for making lies relatable to ordinary Chinese people, especially the youth. The biggest challenge, however, is that China’s official worldview is difficult to translate for a foreign audience because, unlike Chinese, evil English words still carry a little meaning. But shouldn’t we all be proud that some young people are actively defending China’s version of reality?
