slavetothecause

Compared to most other nominally objective, documentary style TV fare being produced in China, 舌尖上的中國 is probably amongst the least political in nature. In particular, some other productions which similarly explore the lives of regional common folk tend to explicitly discuss the integration of local or national government policy and its (pretty much always positive) effect on on their livelihoods. 舌尖上的中國 avoids doing this, aiming to only talk about the people themselves and the food they make, though in an unfailingly optimistic light.

Nonetheless, all mainstream broadcast media in China passes through SAPPRFT (since reformed into a new media regulatory body whose name I forget) approval, so whether or not the production is purposefully trying to forward a government position or is merely meeting it by coincidence, the fact that the show is still broadcasting means SAPPRFT has no quarrel with its content. Take that for what you will, but consider that comparable food travel programs like the late Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown - a show unafraid of wading through headily controversial political subjects - often came to a similarly universally optimistic tone about the virtues of the common folk whom Bourdain interacted with.

Perhaps its more useful to simply conclude that while the government’s presence in Chinese mainstream media is close to ubiquitous, this does not mean one has to invalidate every part of it as astroturfed or artificial. Even in these circumstances, a lot of genuine, quality content can be produced, and I would consider 舌尖上的中國 ( at least the early seasons) to be one of those gems.

I read somewhere that Megabots has been talking with Suidobashi about the ground rules for the upcoming match. Seeing as this probably won't be a fight to the death (of the pilots at least), have any basic rules of engagement been discussed with them or considered? If projectile weapons are involved, how does your team plan to make them effective at incapacitating a solidly built robot opponent without risking serious injury to the pilot inside? I suppose the same concern goes for melee weapons as well; would you designate certain portions of your opponent off-limits to attack, like the cockpit?