Does the name "Big Brother" hold any of its Western context in China? I'm wondering what level of irony can be applied to China labeling itself "Little Brother" in its propaganda.
No I definitely agree with that, I guess the cultural propaganda from non-western countries is usually just more clumsy and ham-handed than something like captain america
I think one factor is that in countries like China where the state has an effective monopoly on information there is no incentive to improve. In the West the government would be openly ridiculed but obviously this cannot happen in China.
Secondly, from my experience I feel that we detect propaganda more easily when it's foreign rather than in our own country. Perhaps because we are so used to "our own" that we cannot notice it anymore.
For example, as a European I find Captain America as unsubtle as Chinese propaganda. If you're an American and come to the UK perhaps you will find coverage of the Queen and the Monarchy equally unsubtle.
Yeah...I think Americans have a hard time thinking of their government spreading propaganda because America equals freedom/propaganda is only done in bad countries/etc etc. So people get some mild cognitive dissonance when they become fans of Captain America.
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[ 0.59 ms ] story [ 35.4 ms ] threadFor example children will call their parents' friends or acquaintances "uncle" or "aunt".
The same goes for "big brother" for someone older and "little brother" for someone younger.
This is not not new.
The thing is that when it comes from China it is immediately seen as negative without knowing their culture and point of view.
That being said, socialist countries have a long tradition of not so subtle propaganda campaigns.
Secondly, from my experience I feel that we detect propaganda more easily when it's foreign rather than in our own country. Perhaps because we are so used to "our own" that we cannot notice it anymore.
For example, as a European I find Captain America as unsubtle as Chinese propaganda. If you're an American and come to the UK perhaps you will find coverage of the Queen and the Monarchy equally unsubtle.