HONG KONG: Imagine the script of Downton Abbey, the lavish UK television period drama, tickled to launch subtle barbs at the administration of Theresa May and, say, her handling of Brexit.
Tales of dynastic emperors holding on to power, prompting revolts among those long-gone citizens, might be expected to chafe with a leader who has secured the ability to rule for life.As one academic delicately puts it, “[The government] doesn’t want people to think that they have the opportunity to replace the leader or to struggle with the power base or change it. This kind of idea, if it circulates in the countryside or the cities, would be a little dangerous.
According to iQiyi, the Netflix-like platform that hosts the show, it was streamed an average 300 million times a day and has been viewed more than 21 billion times. The stories resonate with everyday life, in the court or today’s workplace — back-stabbing is every bit as common in offices as it was in dynastic harems — and they revive the glory of Chinese culture.
That highlights another schism: Any educational purpose of TV shows is at odds with the profit motive of producers.
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