Popular Propaganda in Pop Culture: How China Sells Its Ideology

The event is organised in cooperation with the Graduate School in Asian Studies

This lecture delves into the dynamics of authoritarian propaganda in the realm of pop culture, particularly focusing on China's approach to disseminating its ideology. It addresses the challenge dictators face in balancing control over cultural elites to propagate specific ideologies while also fostering creativity. The discussion will center around the resurgence of propaganda films in Chinese cinemas from the mid-to-late 2010s, especially after the 2018 administrative reform. By examining novel film industry data and qualitative fieldwork, I explore the Chinese government's strategy in shaping popular culture, highlighting how it collaborates with the private sector to create engaging, marketable propaganda. The lecture also presents findings from an online field experiment, revealing the impact of such entertainment on public opinion, and discusses how propaganda can backfire.

About the speaker:

Linan Yao recently completed my Ph.D. in Political Science at Columbia University and currently hold a postdoctoral position at Vanderbilt University. Her research focuses on the intersection of entertainment and propaganda within the context of Chinese politics, exploring the political economy and communication strategies behind state propaganda.

• Register here