I've always been intrigued by the power of propaganda and censorship to completely shape the average person's world view. If all you ever watched was Fox News, you'd be absolutely certain that Obama was a Kenyan Muslim anti-Christ. That's how propaganda works.
So, rather than look at whether 3 Body Problem is "good" per se, this op-ed in the NYT explores Chinese viewer reaction to the show, after generations of life in a closed media system. The novel that the show is based on was written by a Chinese author, Liu Cixin, and much of the book centers on Chinese characters, so you'd think the TV show would be a point of pride. But…
Instead of pride and celebration, the Netflix series has been met with anger, sneer and suspicion in China. The reactions show how years of censorship and indoctrination have shaped the public perspectives of China's relations with the outside world. They don't take pride where it's due and take offense too easily. They also take entertainment too seriously and history and politics too lightly. The years of Chinese censorship have also muted the people's grasp of what happened in the Cultural Revolution.
Because much of China is now economically advanced, modern, first world, I think we really fail to see how much they are totally cut off, not just from Western thought but even from their own history.
Previously: Please Lord let `3 Body Problem` be good
