Propaganda in the Form of Entertainment: A Bizarre Evening at ‘Shen Yun’
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In Australia, propaganda is seen as a relic from
yesteryear and something we rarely see, apart from the occasional overly
dramatic Defence Force ad.
Perhaps this is why it is so jarring when Shen Yun – a performance of
traditional Chinese dance currently touring Australia – transforms into an
overt thesis on the Communist persecution of the Falun Gong religious group.
As advertised on its website, Shen Yun is
as a way to “discover the divine beauty of 5000 years of classical
Chinese culture”.
The Shen Yun Chinese
ballet, run by the Falun Gong religion, draws attention to the persecution
the group faces in China, with a few backflips and fan dances thrown
in.
The show is a compilation of traditional ethnic dances, ballet
renditions of Chinese folk lore, and operatic and instrumental
acts.
But there are several more politically charged additions to the
performance. In one dance, a group of monks are threatened by a businessman
dressed suspiciously similar to Mao Zedong, carrying a blueprint
that reads “destroy temple”.
The first act concludes with a group of Falun Gong followers
meditating in a park when “Communist thugs”, as described by the show’s
presenters, dressed in all black with a red hammer and sickle emblazoned on
their backs, acrobatically beat the followers to death.
The last woman left alive crawls towards her child before being
bludgeoned over the head. When this same baby decides to join Falun Gong
years later the heavens open up and God reveals himself to her.
The operatic numbers include a baritone man singing of the
wonders of Zhuan Falun (the Falun Gong holy book) and telling the audience to
cast aside the Communist lies.
Tellingly, none of these scenes made it into the show’s
advertising.
The performance itself is a mixed bag. The rather cheesy CGI
characters flying in and out of stage are impossible to take seriously, while
the amazing feats of acrobatics promised beforehand are few and far
between.
There is no denying the dancers were highly skilled and
beautiful. The Tibetan Drum, Mongolian Bowl, and Flower Fan dances are almost
worth the expensive ticket price.
No matter how good the cause is, sneaking propaganda into a
performance is a sure-fire way to leave the audience feeling tricked rather
than moved. This is especially true when the message was a complete
curveball for many of the audience members.
Shen Yun would have been much more compelling if it just
committed to being a political ballet and advertised itself as
such.
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