CCTV’s New Year Gala Draws Critique: More Monkey, Less Propaganda

今年春晚外媒怎么看？

本文摘自华尔街日报。

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Every year, more than 700 million Chinese people turn on their televisions to watch the state broadcaster[国家广播电台] usher in[开启;迎来;引入] the Lunar New Year[农历新年] with comedy sketches[喜剧小品], star performances[明星表演] and disturbingly flexible acrobats[ˈækrəbæt][杂技演员].

This year, many Chinese viewers say the program put them to sleep.

China Central Television[CCTV], which airs the variety show[杂耍;综艺节目], a Chinese version of the Super Bowl half-time extravaganza, dialed back on the usual lively stand-up routines in favor of nationalistic zeal. One segment of the show zeroed in on[全神贯注于(问题或主题);瞄准(目标);向…移动] China’s goal to become a moderately prosperous country, featuring robots and military might[军事实力]. Another included a mini-repriset ofSeptember’s military parade[阅兵] in Beijing marking the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II.

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▷ extravaganza [ɪkˌstrævəˈgænzə]

【注释】

a) a large, exciting and expensive event or entertainment

b) Halftime at the Super Bowl, the Oscar awards ceremony, or the opera Aida performed at the Baths of Caracalla — each of these is an extravaganza, a big, splashy, extravagant entertainment or celebration.

n. 铺张华丽的娱乐表演

a musical/dance extravaganza

场面宏大华丽的音乐剧/歌曲汇演/舞蹈盛宴

a 3-hour extravaganza of country music

长达3个小时的盛大的乡村音乐会

▷ zeal [zi:l]

【注释】

a) great enthusiasm or eagerness

b) Zeal is dedication or enthusiasm for something. If you have zeal, you're willing, energized, and motivated.

n. 热忱,热情;激情

reforming/missionary/religious zeal

改革/传教士般的/宗教热情

a zeal for money-making

赚钱的热情

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In years past, CCTV’s show included performances from big stars such as Canadian singer Celine Dion[席琳·狄翁] and the popular Beijing-band the Peasant Workers[农民工;草根?]. Comedians Miao Fu[苗阜] and Wang Sheng[王声]poked fun at[取笑;调笑;作弄;戏弄] China’s anticorruption campaign[反腐运动] in last year’s show, portraying themselves as corrupt officials with mistresses[有情妇的贪官].

But this year, content focused largely on songs like “Beautiful China[美丽中国]” and “Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China[没还有共产党就没有新中国].”

Many Chinese viewers took to social media, demanding that the show not go on. Zi Rufang, chief editor[总编辑;主编] of Yunnan Discovery, a magazine ran by a research institute at Yunnan’s provincial government, said the broadcaster needed a circuit breaker[熔断机制],referring to a stock-market mechanism triggered when trading hits a certain low point.

“Finally, the New Year’s gala has become a big propaganda film[宣传大片],” said Chinese filmmaker Zhou Zhongqiang on his microblog.

“This is the most boring New Year’s Gala I’ve seen in 23 years,” said Xiao Junge, a viewer in Guangdong, on his microblog, posting photos of his family members all asleep on the couch[发布全家在沙发上睡着的照片].

CCTV didn’t respond to requests for comment[央视没有回应置评请求]. The broadcaster has said in recent years that it is shaking up its content, cutting back on celebrity performances for its annual Spring Festival programming. Pictures or news of the broadcast on its microblog were posted with the comment function disabled[评论功能被关闭].

State media supported CCTV’s gala. People’s Daily posted two articles on its front page,claiming the gala showed positive energy[展示正能量].

Political propaganda[政治宣传] generally plays a role in the show each year. Last year included a song, “I Give My Heart to You,” that featured video shots of President Xi Jinping meeting with citizens around the country.

Some of the pushback appeared generational[一代的;两代之间的;生育的,世代的], with older Chinese chastising[tʃæˈstaɪz][严厉训斥;责罚]younger viewers for dismissing[(从头脑中)去除;不再考虑;抛弃;排斥] the CCTV show. 

CCTV has lost especially younger viewers to Web programming and has said it is trying to create content to attract Web audiences. Even when Ms. Dion[席琳·狄翁] hit the stage in 2013, many younger viewers fell away. CCTV’s move toward a more nationalist gala is in line with[跟…一致,符合;本着] a broader government-led push to control messaging and maintain order[控制言论信息、维持社会秩序] during the holidays.

In Shanghai, authorities snuffed out[消灭,消除(分歧等)] the traditional New Year fireworks, sending 300,000 volunteers into the streets to ask citizens to refrain from[忍住;制止;控制;克制不要] setting off the Roman candles and Palm and Pistol displays that usually decorate the skies.

Astrill Systems Corp., which sells virtual-private-network, or VPN, subscriptions, advised its users that its protocols were being blocked over the Lunar New Year[农历新年]. Other companies offering ways around China’s Internet restrictions also said their services were strained.

New Year’s TV viewers already knew to dial back expectations[降低期望值] as CCTV had announced this year’s show would include a rerun of last September’s military parade[阅兵]. But one social media user said of the announcement. “The only thing I want to watch is the Monkey King.”

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▷ dial back

(idiomatic) To reduce one's energy or intensity, or to restrain oneself.

It means to reduce the strength or intensity of something.

eg. It was very hot in my home, so I dialled back the heating system.

eg. Tom is very angry, and his friend says 'Hey, Tom, dial it back a bit'.

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– Laurie Burkitt and Olivia Geng