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Year of the Pig!! Hold up, not in China??
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| LazFX |
I see that the US isn't the only one bending over back wards for the religion of Peace.... :rolleyes:
| quote: | China bans ads featuring a cartoon pig because the two percent Muslim population is offended Morning Edition, February 6, 2007 · China's preparing for the year of the Pig, an especially auspicious year which begins on Feb. 18. But the run-up has been anything but lucky for pork fans. Pigs have been banned from appearing in any ads on the state-run broadcaster, CCTV, after an order that is now surrounded by confusion.
The order means that ads for consumer treats such as sausage snacks have been yanked from airing. A brand manager for Tenlow snacks says ads for his company's pork snacks deliver positive messages.
"Both adults and children believe pigs are a lucky symbol, which bring fortune and wealth," Tenlow's Wu Ying said. "Their plumpness means prosperity."
This cartoon pig used in Tenlow's ads would hardly seem subversive. But CCTV has ordered major advertising agencies not to use pig images, cartoons or slogans "to avoid conflicts with ethnic minorities." That's a reference to China's 20 million Muslims, about 2 percent of the country's population.
At a popular mosque in Shanghai, there's general approval of the ban. Given the Muslim taboo on pigs, these believers say that seeing pig images on TV would make them feel very uncomfortable.
"China's building a harmonious society," Hassan Bai Runsheng, the mosque's imam, said. "We see a decision like this in the context of creating a harmonious society between Han Chinese and ethnic minority groups."
Even big multinationals are aware of the sensitivities. A Coca-Cola ad features a cute, Babe-like piglet braving mean city streets to get home for the Chinese New Year. But the company shot a second version using pandas to show in Muslim areas.
For those who didn't take such measures, economic losses beckon.
"It is really messing with people's commercial activities," said Paul French, Access Asia's China representative. "It'd be like [in] the second week of December telling people, 'You can run whatever advertising you want, but no images of Father Christmas.'"
French said he's received the edict but, to confuse matters, not everyone's been given the same orders.
"Some people are told 'No live pigs, but you can have animated or cartoon pigs,'" French said. "And some people say 'No pigs whatsoever.'"
To add to the confusion, one agency told NPR that the pig ban had subsequently been relaxed, while others say it's still in place. CCTV refused to grant an interview on the pig ban.
Whatever the situation, the thinking behind the ban is telling.
"The underlying reason goes to the very core of what it is Chinese government views as its patriarchal responsibility to maintain harmony of the entire society," said Tom Doctoroff, China CEO for the JWT advertising agency.
Doctoroff says it can be difficult to predict what might fall foul of the censors.
"We one time had a Pizza Hut ad ... [where] we had this kid standing up on a desk and extolling in fulsome tones the glory of the pizza to attract the other kids," Doctoroff said. "This ad did get censored because the child, the student, the 8-year-old, was viewed as an alternative center of authority."
Other no-nos include using religious figures, for example Buddhist or Taoist monks. And national icons like the Great Wall should be treated with caution. Paul French said edicts — like one issued last year about dragons — should be viewed against the backdrop of China's rising power.
These orders perhaps mirror how the Chinese government would like to see itself: as the protector of minority groups, the guardian of national icons and the ultimate arbiter of harmony. But that role may no longer be possible.
A tune called "the pig song" shows why. It's devoted to describing the pig's dripping snout, its curly tail and its big ears. Posted on the Internet two years ago, it became a surprise hit, it was downloaded a billion times. Even if Beijing had wanted to ban it, modern technology — in the form of the Internet — would have made that impossible.
From the outside, China's government might appear monolithic. But the saga of the pig ban shows how it's struggling with multiculturalism, riddled with insecurity and beholden to commercial pressures, as perhaps never before. |
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Frankly I am getting tired of this, countries seem to be bending over backwards for Muslims,,,,, I mean China, of all places. Bending over for a focking religion! I'd really like someone to quote where it says in the koran that muslims must not look at cartoon depictions of pigs. This islamo-sensitivity stuff is really getting juvenile. :rolleyes: |
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| Q5echo |
that sounds crazy for China, but they really really want to be considered more progressive economically at least.
thats something only they can get their heads around and affect on their terms. it'll be fun to watch. |
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| LazFX |
| quote: | Originally posted by Q5echo
that sounds crazy for China, but they really really want to be considered more progressive economically at least.
thats something only they can get their heads around and affect on their terms. it'll be fun to watch. |
In a way it is a good thing, but I see that Christians had to endure a crap load of stuff in China. But with these muslims, they do this?/ I guess China is getting all close with the Arab countries due to thier increasing thirst for oil. |
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| star-traveller |
| It's very wise they doing that. It's bad not all people are able to understand that. |
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| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by LazFX
I guess China is getting all close with the Arab countries due to thier increasing thirst for oil. |
thats exactly why. their thirst for energy will bring the Middle East to them revolving around China's (Asia's i should say) needs much like it revolves around our needs now. |
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| Fir3start3r |
Wow doesn't take much when the Religion of Peace® wants something now does it?
And why did they have a sudden change of heart at this time again?
Is China actually scared or do they figure that if they appease they won't have to deal with it; if they don't attract attention, the Religion of Peace®'s anger will be pacified and the extremists will be someone else's problem.
You guys are right on one point; they need energy and definitely won't disturb things even at the expense of their own beliefs.
I'm sure at one point they're going to slip up though so it should be interesting to see how much they backpetal when that time comes... |
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| Lira |
For Mohammed's sake, enough of this Islamophobia!
Do you guys think this is any different from gays complaining about that Snicker's advert? This is not about Islam, but about diversity as a whole. China has tried to avoid the "Han homogeneity" for quite a long time - the fact that some of you seem to be offended by this is just a display of the same phenomenon being triggered by similar causes. |
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| LazFX |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
For Mohammed's sake, enough of this Islamophobia!
Do you guys think this is any different from gays complaining about that Snicker's advert? This is not about Islam, but about diversity as a whole. China has tried to avoid the "Han homogeneity" for quite a long time - the fact that some of you seem to be offended by this is just a display of the same phenomenon being triggered by similar causes. |
Good question!
and you have made me question my own views with it...... damn you Cypher!!! ;)
be back with the answer |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
For Mohammed's sake, enough of this Islamophobia!
Do you guys think this is any different from gays complaining about that Snicker's advert? This is not about Islam, but about diversity as a whole. China has tried to avoid the "Han homogeneity" for quite a long time - the fact that some of you seem to be offended by this is just a display of the same phenomenon being triggered by similar causes. |
You know what I find ironic about this whole thing?
That with China's lanudry list of human rights issues they won't tackle the most BASIC fundimental problems first before bowing to something that really should after that.
I'm not stating that it shouldn't be done, but the timing and their current situation sure make their current act one of real convenience. |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fir3start3r
You know what I find ironic about this whole thing?
That with China's lanudry list of human rights issues they won't tackle the most BASIC fundimental problems first before bowing to something that really should after that.
I'm not stating that it shouldn't be done, but the timing and their current situation sure make their current act one of real convenience. |
Don't governments tend to do what's convenient first?
| quote: | Originally posted by LazFX
Good question!
and you have made me question my own views with it...... damn you Cypher!!! ;)
be back with the answer |
It's simple, really, we cannot know what bothers a group if the group in question remains silent: that works both for minorities and the majority. That's why often minorities seem to be whiny, for example.
The sole fact that you're complaining about their complain, as redundant as it might be, shows that their objection is wrong to you, as portraying pigs should be all right, and that we're all free to portray pigs as desired, right?
If you lived in a Muslim country, and you wanted to draw your bloody pig in peace, wouldn't you feel like complaining against censorship? |
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| Lilith |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
Don't governments tend to do what's convenient first?
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If you get a chance, watch a documentary called The Dying Rooms which has China's convenience all too well illustrated. |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
Don't governments tend to do what's convenient first?
It's simple, really, we cannot know what bothers a group if the group in question remains silent: that works both for minorities and the majority. That's why often minorities seem to be whiny, for example.
The sole fact that you're complaining about their complain, as redundant as it might be, shows that their objection is wrong to you, as portraying pigs should be all right, and that we're all free to portray pigs as desired, right?
If you lived in a Muslim country, and you wanted to draw your bloody pig in peace, wouldn't you feel like complaining against censorship? |
Possibly, but when you're talking about a country that displaces thousands of people and paints their grass green just to host the Olympics, one has to wonder what the hell is going through their heads MOST of the time...:p |
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