Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by heavyset_go 2377 days ago
This video goes into reasons why videos like this exist and are in ample supply: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8PgCUap1Vg

Public displays of criminals, trials and punishments are not uncommon in China, and serve as a "legal education" for the public.

1 comments

Well, in western world, you’ve got CSI and all cop’s show that sell you the same.

« Bad guys always caught, police can know whatever you’ve done »

I’ve always (and that’s not ranting. I really have) wondered if it was on purpose.

>I’ve always (and that’s not ranting. I really have) wondered if it was on purpose.

Of course it's on purpose. No one would watch a police procedural drama where the police always lost, were inept, or only won their cases due to corruption or malfeasance, or where the criminals were never caught and cases never resolved. Showing the heroes defeating the villains isn't propaganda, it's just good storytelling.

What about The Wire? I think there's room for more nuanced portrayals, it just needs to be created by people who respect their audience.
The Shield, Dexter...

But I’d agree they are not procedural shows.

And TBH, on my point of view, manichean stories are not that good storytelling. On the contrary (but there’s room for everyone taste)

I'm not sure what western TV dramas have to do with the Chinese government putting people in tiger chairs and forcing confessions out of them over posts on the internet.

Fictional TV shows are hardly comparable to video in the OP.