Comments on: Props to Prop I: PRC http://www.brendanmcgetrick.com/blog/2009/10/07/props-to-prop/ 100% real talk 50% of the time. Mon, 14 May 2012 23:05:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: alex pasternack http://www.brendanmcgetrick.com/blog/2009/10/07/props-to-prop/comment-page-1/#comment-23940 alex pasternack Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:44:32 +0000 http://www.brendanmcgetrick.com/blog/?p=2461#comment-23940 btw, that CCTV video is pretty rad. and it was mostly not foreign-made: http://vimeo.com/6794856. (but is it propaganda?) btw, that CCTV video is pretty rad. and it was mostly not foreign-made: http://vimeo.com/6794856.

(but is it propaganda?)

]]> By: alex pasternack http://www.brendanmcgetrick.com/blog/2009/10/07/props-to-prop/comment-page-1/#comment-23935 alex pasternack Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:52:44 +0000 http://www.brendanmcgetrick.com/blog/?p=2461#comment-23935 it's true we love to throw propaganda on our walls, and then love to fear it. then again, the posters on Westerners' walls are functionally dead. china's might be more fun to look at if not for the fact that it's alive and working quite well (if i could just interrupt myself here -- zhongguo jia you!). I wonder also if what looks good, like here, may be because this government propaganda has been coopted and reedited and captured differently than the propagandists would have wanted (and with the exception of Zhao Meng -- whose work sadly wasn't seen much during the paralympics -- by foreigners). Or maybe because propaganda and the way it's delivered has undergone a serious shift from the former era to now. For instance, now the military hardware on parade comes alongside some pretty gentle soft power messages, like innovation and creativity (not to mention the guns aren't just for intimidation but also for sale). Ironically, innovation and creativity are what propaganda and its nasty cousin censorship love to erode. That, coupled with Chinese history and tradition may be why the Soviet propaganda that designy Westerners love is so much better looking (at least I think so). still, I think that even Westerners who criticize the slippery and slick power of China's propaganda machine sometimes still get a kick out of it. I wonder if designy types would be more into it if it really looked good, not the tacky and over-the-top wedding party-esque stylings of PRC 2.0. but along and apart from these lines (and to further help re-ingratiate all of us): if you're a person in China without a VPN, think of how not being able to access youtube, facebook, twitter, etc, enhances your productivity, and probably makes you smarter and happier. zhongguo jiayou! it’s true we love to throw propaganda on our walls, and then love to fear it. then again, the posters on Westerners’ walls are functionally dead. china’s might be more fun to look at if not for the fact that it’s alive and working quite well (if i could just interrupt myself here — zhongguo jia you!). I wonder also if what looks good, like here, may be because this government propaganda has been coopted and reedited and captured differently than the propagandists would have wanted (and with the exception of Zhao Meng — whose work sadly wasn’t seen much during the paralympics — by foreigners). Or maybe because propaganda and the way it’s delivered has undergone a serious shift from the former era to now. For instance, now the military hardware on parade comes alongside some pretty gentle soft power messages, like innovation and creativity (not to mention the guns aren’t just for intimidation but also for sale). Ironically, innovation and creativity are what propaganda and its nasty cousin censorship love to erode. That, coupled with Chinese history and tradition may be why the Soviet propaganda that designy Westerners love is so much better looking (at least I think so).

still, I think that even Westerners who criticize the slippery and slick power of China’s propaganda machine sometimes still get a kick out of it. I wonder if designy types would be more into it if it really looked good, not the tacky and over-the-top wedding party-esque stylings of PRC 2.0.

but along and apart from these lines (and to further help re-ingratiate all of us): if you’re a person in China without a VPN, think of how not being able to access youtube, facebook, twitter, etc, enhances your productivity, and probably makes you smarter and happier.

zhongguo jiayou!

]]> By: Brendan http://www.brendanmcgetrick.com/blog/2009/10/07/props-to-prop/comment-page-1/#comment-23288 Brendan Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:15:48 +0000 http://www.brendanmcgetrick.com/blog/?p=2461#comment-23288 <blockquote cite=""> brazen attempt to get back in the Party’s good graces after your counter-revolutionary previous post.</blockquote cite=""> LMAO. Busted

brazen attempt to get back in the Party’s good graces after your counter-revolutionary previous post.

LMAO. Busted

]]> By: TD http://www.brendanmcgetrick.com/blog/2009/10/07/props-to-prop/comment-page-1/#comment-23287 TD Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:44:52 +0000 http://www.brendanmcgetrick.com/blog/?p=2461#comment-23287 These are beautiful though These are beautiful though

]]> By: James http://www.brendanmcgetrick.com/blog/2009/10/07/props-to-prop/comment-page-1/#comment-23230 James Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:58:21 +0000 http://www.brendanmcgetrick.com/blog/?p=2461#comment-23230 LOL at this brazen attempt to get back in the Party's good graces after your counter-revolutionary previous post. LOL at this brazen attempt to get back in the Party’s good graces after your counter-revolutionary previous post.

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