On this episode of China Uncensored,
China's coming to Broadway!
And by Broadway,
I mean Bǎilǎohuì.
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,
I'm your host Chris Chappell.
Have you heard of CCTV?
I'm flattered, but no,
that's not Chris Chappell Television.
It's China Central Television,
the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party.
Now you might think it's all boring,
hamfisted dissemination of Party propaganda and brainwashing.
You would be wrong.
It also has entertaining,
hamfisted dissemination of Party propaganda and brainwashing.
And I'm not just talking about the annual Spring Festival Gala,
with comedy sketches about Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign.
Haha, gets me every time.
Just like he'll get you.
CCTV's Spring Festival Gala is a throwback
to the good old days when the whole family would pool together
their ration coupons for a New Year's feast
and gather around the village TV.
Nowadays,
younger Chinese have complained
about the show being hokey propaganda
that's out of touch with modern China.
I'm not sure what they mean.
What's more festive than opening your five-and-a-half-hour show
with the nation's armed forces
yelling New Year's greetings in your face?
Anyway, in recent years,
CCTV has tried to mix it up,
like with this talent show called
"I Want to go to the Spring Gala."
Where the lucky winners get to...
go to the Spring Gala.
And perform, I'm assuming.
Frankly, their version of Simon Cowell looks much scarier.
Let's take a look at what this show has to offer.
Ah, yes.
Nothing says fun like a state-run power company
singing a song about the great electrical production capacity
in the remote western regions of Tibet
brought to the people by the careful guidance and oversight
of the Chinese Communist Party
in order to help China's rise in the world!
Yes...clap, for you must.
The song is called Electricity is Coming.
This is my favorite lyric:
Electricity is coming.
You can turn on the lights now.
You can turn on the TV
to see what is happening in the outside world.
Riiiight.
Classic edu-tainment.
Of course in China,
they call it re-edu-tainment!
And guess what?
The State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Corporation did so well,
they won the prize for most innovative performance.
And the prize is a millio...wait.
It appears to be laundry detergent.
Almost as good a prize as what the
Shiqiaotou Town Middle School in Zhejiang Province
gave its top 45 students: bags of pork.
Way to bring home the bacon, kids.
But back to the State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Corporation.
I mean, where do they get the inspiration
to come up with such an innovative song and dance?
Wait, what's that Shelley?
Yes, I know you've taped every Tony Award since 1997.
The one from 2012?
Ok, let's take a look.
Hello! Hello! My name is Elder Smith!
And can I leave this book with you
for you to just peruse?
Hello! Hello! Hello!
Oh my gosh!
The Book of Mormon totally ripped off
State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Corporation!
What? It's the other way around?
That makes more sense, actually.
So a song that was about religious believers
bringing light to the masses in the form of Jesus Christ
is now about the state bringing light to the masses
in the form of China's rise.
I feel like there's a comparative literature thesis
in there somewhere.
When Chinese netizens spotted them uh, homage
to Book of Mormon,
there was a bit of a kerfluffle.
Including mysterious busy signals.
And an internal investigation within the power company
that found that they should have called the "composer" of the piece,
just the "arranger" instead.
Oops.
We reached out to Trey Parker and Matt Stone,
the creators of the Book of Mormon,
for their reaction.
Their spokesman had this to say:
Screw you guys, I'm going home.
That's a good attitude to have.
You know,
a lot of countries make knockoffs.
But in China,
it's more than just the occasional Borio cookie
or fishy t-shirt sold at a night market.
The Chinese Communist Party is actually supporting
the culture of knockoffs—
including when it hurts Americans.
Like in 2015,
when China's highest court ruled against Michael Jordan,
in favor of the homegrown company Qiaodan that,
legally speaking,
did not rip off his logo.
But maybe we shouldn't get too upset.
After all,
copyright infringement is the sincerest form of flattery.
With that in mind,
I'm working on a series of new acts
that are sure to make it into next year's CCTV Spring Festival Gala.
Like this ode to the PLA called
"I'm not throwing away my shot."
And my own arrangement of
"I dreamed a China dream."
I knew I'd get to use my Master's degree for something.
But maybe CCTV is going at this all wrong.
Instead of ripping off degenerate American culture,
maybe it's time to go back to their roots—
what made the Spring Festival Gala beloved in the first place.
Like this gem from 1987:
Now that's some all-original,
homegrown talent.
What's that, Shelley?
This guy is Taiwanese-American?!
So what do you think of the Chinese knock off
of the Book of Mormon by the State Grid Sichuan
Electric Power Corporation?
Leave your comments below.
Thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.
Once again, I'm Chris Chappell.
See you next time!
Wait a minute.
Book of Mormon and State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Corporation
they were both just ripping off Go West!
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