“Speak Chinese or get out of China.” “This is China, Speak Chinese.” “Speaking our language is the basic respect.” These are quotes from “Produce Camp” fans on Twitter, one of the websites that are banned by China’s Great Fire Wall.
The popular boy group competition show held its fourth season, and it’s “most global” iteration, showing sponsor Tencent’s aim to build an international “idol team.” With trainees from Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Russia, Tencent hopes to expand its overseas audience, make the competition more competitive, and raise the bar for the domestic “idol industry.” The debut stage of “Produce Camp 2021” has attracted a live audience of 52.38 million globally, which is quite a success. The attempt to globalize the show, however, has had the surprising side effect of globalizing Chinese nationalism.
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