China has banned some reality talent shows and ordered broadcasters not to promote “sissy” men, in the latest attempt to reshape the culture of the country’s huge entertainment industry that authorities believe is leading young Chinese people astray.
“Broadcast and TV institutions must not screen idol development programmes or variety shows and reality shows that feature the children of celebrities,” China’s broadcast regulator, the National Radio and Television Administration said, in new regulations announced on Thursday.
The regulator also ordered broadcasters to resist “abnormal aesthetics” such as “sissy” men, “vulgar influencers”, stars’ inflated pay and performers with “lapsed morals”.
According to the regulator, the new rules are designed to rectify the supposed problems of artists’ violation of law and morality and chaos in the “fans community”, and to create an atmosphere of love for the party and the country, and respect for morality and art.
Idol development shows have become a huge phenomenon in China in recent years, in part because producers of these programmes have been introducing innovative formats from countries such as South Korea and Britain, and have successfully localised them in the Chinese market.
Programmes such as Youth with You and Produce 101 have presented the public with the making of boys’ and girls’ groups, transforming trainees – mostly young Chinese people from ordinary backgrounds – into celebrities through fierce competition and rigorous mentorship.
According to the top 10 data compiled by the Maoyan Research Institute – a spin-off of a local entertainment service provider – Produce 101 is one of the most-watched shows in China.
As much as 52% of the audience for Produce 101 were born after the 1990s, the research found, adding that young male viewers also paid great attention to this talent show, which produces girl groups.
But there have also been controversies associated with these popular reality shows and ardent supporters who follow other celebrities, the authorities believe.
After the Canadian-Chinese pop star Kris Wu was detained on rape allegations a few weeks ago, many of his loyal fans reportedly designed a “prison break” to “save” him. He denies the claims.
The authorities then vowed to curb the behaviours of China’s “chaotic” fandoms, such as what they deem to be irrational celebrity worship.
The regulator appears also to be concerned about the broader societal culture shaped by young Chinese people’s consumption of celebrity news and entertainment shows, and its potential to run against the current value promoted in China.
In Thursday’s announcement, the regulator asked Chinese media to “resolutely resist showing off wealth and enjoyment, hyping up gossip and privacy, negative hot topics, vulgar ‘internet celebrities’, and the bottomless appreciation of ugliness, and other pan-entertainment tendencies”.
Coinciding with this announcement, the regulator on Thursday also released a list of 24 what they considered to have been the best programmes in the first quarter of this year. The titles included a number of programmes related to China’s leader, Xi Jinping, as well as one called “revealing how the BBC produces anti-intellectual reports”.
“The CCP has always had a complicated relationship with popular culture,” said Michel Hockx, director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. “On the one hand, the party represents the people and wants culture to be popular. On the other hand, they really don’t approve of what the people seem to like. They consider much of popular culture to be ‘vulgar’.”
He added: “The problem is that the popular culture industry also makes an important contribution to the economy, creates jobs, etc. And a lot of people like it, so it’s not a question of just banning everything and replacing it with things that the party likes.”
According to the accounting firm PWC, China’s entertainment and media industry is expected to bring in roughly $436.8bn (£316bn) in revenue by 2025. The figure for this year is expected to be approximately $358.6bn.
Celebrities are increasingly being caught up in the changes. Last month, the Chinese actor Zheng Shuang was fined $46m for tax evasion. Around the same time, the actor and Fendi brand ambassador Zhao Wei appeared to have been deplatformed, with her name removed from all works on major entertainment platforms, including the popular Chinese TV show My Fair Princess.
Thursday’s announcement has now become one of Weibo’s hot topics, with the related hashtag being viewed at least 240m times. Opinions are divided. “I support it firmly, the regulator should have done that earlier. I never understood why some people who are nondescript, difficult to detect whether they are men or women, all of a sudden became popular, and how they earn 1bn yuan for a year,” said one.
“Why does National Radio and Television Administration have to regulate personal aesthetics? Isn’t it discrimination? How do you measure masculinity?” asked another. “Is it that you are only masculine if you look like the security guard in the subway in Xi’an?”
