The Chinese government's lack of jocularity is part of a bigger push to promote one interpretation of 'appropriate' culture and norms - ones the state ordains.
| 어휘 ordain 명하다, (미리) 정하다
중국 정부의 해학의 부족은 국가가 정해놓은 '적절한' 문화와 규범에 대한 하나의 해석을 촉진하기 위한 더 큰 노력의 일환이다.
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cafeattach/I99o/d1a922673d219bddb03e0b4181715f0c292195ec)
[U] 익살, 우스꽝스러움; [C] 익살맞은 언행
Open Society
China and Eurovision clash over an LGBT performance—and the value of diversity
The annual song contest may be silly, but it is an engine of liberalism and tolerance
개방사회
LGBT 공연에 대한 중국과 유로비전의 충돌 - 과 다양성의 가치
연간 개최되는 노래 경연대회는 바보같지만, 자유주의와 관용의 원동력이다.
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cafeattach/I99o/dbc7478d37a29b1925dfcffaa9afaaa4dd653fa7)
May 11th 2018
BY S.N.
It has showcased a man in a hamster wheel. It has presented a bearded lady in a golden dress. And this year’s final includes a MeToo-inspired anthem by a singer who intersperses lines like “I’m not your toy, you stupid boy,” with chicken sounds (and movements).
| 어휘 hamster wheel 쳇바퀴
intersperse (…속에·사이에) 배치하다
2018년 5월 11일
By S.N.
쳇바퀴 안에 전시된 남자가 보인다. 수염을 기른 금빛 드레스를 입은 한 여인이 나타난다. 그리고 올해의 결승전에는 미투 - "나는 너의 장난감이 아니야, 이 멍청한 놈아"와 같은 가사를 닭소리(와 움직임)을 섞어 만든 어떤 가수가 영감을 받은 노래- 를 포함한다.
The Eurovision Song Contest, an extravagant annual event which has its finale in Lisbon on May 12th, is neither about music nor about Europe. Yes, it helped launch the careers of Abba and Celine Dion.
5월 12일 리스본에서 마지막을 장식하는 화려한 연례 행사인 유로비전 송 콘테스트(Eurovision Song Convention)는 음악도 유럽도 아니다. 그렇다, 이 행사는 아바와 셀린 디온의 경력을 시작하는데 도움을 주었다.
But behind the smoke, elaborate costumes and extraordinary dance routines, Eurovision is really about pushing boundaries, celebrating the idea of multi-culture over mono-culture, and being able to laugh at oneself.
하지만 연기, 정성을 들인 의상과 비범한 춤사위 뒤에 유로비전은 정말로 경계를 강화하고, 단일 문화보다 다문화 사상을 축하하며, 자신을 비웃는다.
This is precisely what has caused a clash with the Chinese broadcasting regulator. Viewers in China who watched the semi-finals earlier this week saw rainbow flags covered by clouds of pixels. Two songs—the Irish performance, which included two male dancers acting out a love-scene, and Albania’s performance by an artist with tattoos—were censored altogether.
이것이 바로 중국 방송 규제당국과 충돌을 일으켰다. 이번 주 초 준결승전을 지켜본 중국 시청자들은 픽셀 구름으로 뒤덮인 무지개 깃발을 보았다. 사랑의 장면을 연기하는 두 명의 남자 댄서들과 문신을 한 예술가의 알바니아의 공연 등 두 곡이 함께 검열되었다.
Although homosexuality has been legal in China since 1997 (and ceased to be an official mental disorder in 2001), a 2016 law has banned the broadcasting of “abnormal sexual relationships and behaviours,” including same-sex relations. A recent crackdown on displaying tattoos is part of a broader effort to “clean up” subcultures. (Hip-hop is another target.)
1997년 이후 중국에서는 동성애가 합법화되었지만(그리고 동성애가 2001년 공식적인 정신장애로 분류되어 금지됨) 2016년 법은 동성연애 등 비정상적인 성관계와 행동의 방송을 금지했다. 최근의 문신 전시 단속은 하위 문화를 "정리"하기 위한 광범위한 노력의 일환이다. (Hip-hop은 또 다른 대상이다.)
The European Broadcasting Union swiftly withdrew any further broadcasting rights from Mango, a Chinese television channel. “This is not in line with the EBU's values of universality and inclusivity and our proud tradition of celebrating diversity through music,” wrote the union in its explanation. The message was clear: it’s all or nothing with Eurovision and there’s no picking and choosing.
유럽방송연합은 중국 텔레비전 채널인 망고에서 더 이상의 방송권을 신속히 철회했다. 유럽방송연합은 "이는 보편성과 포괄성에 대한 유럽방송연합의 가치와 음악을 통해 다양성을 찬양하는 우리의 자랑스러운 전통과 맞지 않는다"고 밝혔다. 메시지는 명확했다; 유로비전과 되든 안되든 해보는 것(주: 방송 전체를 보여주던가, 아예 다 보여주지 않던가)으로 중국의 선택권은 없다는 것이다.
When the song festival was first conceived, in the 1950s, it was an attempt to unify a fractured post-war continent. Then, as now, that sounded wonderfully naive and easy to mock. But then, as now, it also broadcast into living rooms alien ideas, languages and types of people. At first diversity meant odd people singing boring ballads in a different tongue—unusual at a time when all television was national.
But starting in the 1970s, when disco music made its entry, the festival started to become a beacon for gay people and a symbol of European open-mindedness. By 1997 it had its first openly-gay contestant and in 1998 Dana International, an Israeli transgender-artist, won the contest with the pop song “Diva.”
Those who complain about Eurovision’s bad music, tacky costumes and unfair voting blocs (like this) miss the bigger point. Its greatest accomplishment is that it shows how very different people can coexist, share a stage and even have fun in the process. It is a symbol of what tolerance looks and sounds like, listening to someone caterwauling at top volume in an outrageous wig. And at a time when anything that offends anyone seems to be met by a knee-jerk call for a ban, the absence of such calls for Eurovision again speaks to its merits.
The Chinese government’s lack of jocularity is part of a bigger push to promote one interpretation of “appropriate” culture and norms—ones the state ordains. In this spirit the government has been cracking down on all sorts of material which it doesn’t consider to be conducive to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Things have been censored for being foreign, “abnormal” or plain silly (as we wrote about here).
Power to the people
But governments can only go so far in dictating norms, even in China. A case in point was the recent public backlash against Weibo, an online platform, after it started in April to delete posts about gay themes in an effort to “clean up”. The platform’s decision to reverse the policy, after the hashtag “I am homosexual” (which it at first also blocked) went viral, showed that even in China people can push back.
The media too can help open up societies, or at least expose them to otherness. Let’s not be hypocrites; not every European is comfortable with all that is on display at Eurovision. But their governemnts don't try to stop them from tuning in.
Countries such as Russia would love to follow China’s example. But the EBU has made it clear that it won't stand for censorious cherrypicking. On Weibo some people are discussing how badly the Chinese government’s decision reflects on China. As Nicki French, who represented Britain in the 2000 contest, said to the BBC last week: “Eurovision does more for international politics, and international relations, than any politician could do.” It fosters an open society, too.