Deformed society
Venality is one of the most important causes of many social problems. When there is a lack of honesty, supervision, and restraint, we cannot have an open and transparent system of government. In China, recent events have caused people to be more deeply suspicious of what they are told in the media. Many deep social problems are related to system maladies which include an unfair distribution of wealth, vested interest class barriers, and so on. Nonetheless, the Chinese people believe that mainstream society will—over time—improve things. Despite all of the problems and cover-ups, these issues can be exposed discussed, so things are moving in the right direction. However, as soon as nobody cares, society will no longer progress.
Usually, movie posters are like a cultural synthesis and they always have strong connection with human society. They use vivid graphics with simple text to narrate a story which often reflects social affairs. This project détournes a selection of movie and cartoon posters, connecting them with some recent Chinese social phenomena that have frightened or shocked the Chinese public. The purpose of these détourned designs is to satirize these events in a way that might awake the Chinese public and encourage the government to build a safe and equitable society.
Usually, movie posters are like a cultural synthesis and they always have strong connection with human society. They use vivid graphics with simple text to narrate a story which often reflects social affairs. This project détournes a selection of movie and cartoon posters, connecting them with some recent Chinese social phenomena that have frightened or shocked the Chinese public. The purpose of these détourned designs is to satirize these events in a way that might awake the Chinese public and encourage the government to build a safe and equitable society.
THE LAST TICKET TO HOME
“The Spring Festival Travel Rush, also known as Chunyun in Chinese, or Spring Festival Travel Season /Transportation Peak is considered to be the largest annual migration. It is the special period when China faces an extremely high traffic load, which often results in great transportation problems, especially on the railway services.” – Travel China Guide
The new poster of 30 illustrates the problem of purchasing train tickets in China during the Chinese Spring Festival. “30” to Chinese people, is shorthand for “New Year’s Eve”. Following the change of the Chinese economic model and the land revolution by Deng Xiaoping after 1976, more and more peasants left the fields to find a career in cities. This rapid migration to big cities has stressed public transit. In particular, the season of the Chinese Spring Festival and these peasant – workers who are travelling home to celebrate the festival with their families, causes a shortage of train tickets. Even though one may get a ticket, it is still difficult to get on the train, and the journey to the train ramp is like a war. Thousands of people are struck in waiting lines without food and drink; in fact, some people are injured in the train station by the crush of the crowd. The poster illustrates this situation. The ticket symbolizes the train and it is a metaphor to communicate to the audience the fact that the ticket to home is sometimes no different from a ticket to hell.
“The Spring Festival Travel Rush, also known as Chunyun in Chinese, or Spring Festival Travel Season /Transportation Peak is considered to be the largest annual migration. It is the special period when China faces an extremely high traffic load, which often results in great transportation problems, especially on the railway services.” – Travel China Guide
The new poster of 30 illustrates the problem of purchasing train tickets in China during the Chinese Spring Festival. “30” to Chinese people, is shorthand for “New Year’s Eve”. Following the change of the Chinese economic model and the land revolution by Deng Xiaoping after 1976, more and more peasants left the fields to find a career in cities. This rapid migration to big cities has stressed public transit. In particular, the season of the Chinese Spring Festival and these peasant – workers who are travelling home to celebrate the festival with their families, causes a shortage of train tickets. Even though one may get a ticket, it is still difficult to get on the train, and the journey to the train ramp is like a war. Thousands of people are struck in waiting lines without food and drink; in fact, some people are injured in the train station by the crush of the crowd. The poster illustrates this situation. The ticket symbolizes the train and it is a metaphor to communicate to the audience the fact that the ticket to home is sometimes no different from a ticket to hell.
poster of the movie "300"
détournement: "30"
TOP SECRET
“China’s high-speed railway network, once a source of great pride for the Communist Party, has turned into an embarrassment. A collision between two trains on July 23rd near the coastal city of Wenzhou not only killed at least 35 people but also unleashed a torrent of online criticism of the network and the railway bureaucracy.” – The Economist
Also using a train theme, this poster is based on the original movie poster Top Secret, and it symbolizes the 7.23 Fatal Bullet Train Crash. News of this accident was blocked by Chinese government media, which demonstrates the lack of freedom of the press in China. The Chinese Communist Party’s position is to “harmonize” all the social problems and build a perfect society without any bad news. When it was fully exposed, the 7.23 Fatal Bullet Train Crash shocked the entire country. The Chinese national railway administration agency seemed to do nothing after the crash except cover their mistakes and hide the tragedy from the public. At least 39 died and 210 others were injured in the crash. The poster uses the logo of the national railway administration-agency and accompanies the text “Top Secret”. The closed lips symbolize how the government tends to suppress the truth and keep bad news a secret.
“China’s high-speed railway network, once a source of great pride for the Communist Party, has turned into an embarrassment. A collision between two trains on July 23rd near the coastal city of Wenzhou not only killed at least 35 people but also unleashed a torrent of online criticism of the network and the railway bureaucracy.” – The Economist
Also using a train theme, this poster is based on the original movie poster Top Secret, and it symbolizes the 7.23 Fatal Bullet Train Crash. News of this accident was blocked by Chinese government media, which demonstrates the lack of freedom of the press in China. The Chinese Communist Party’s position is to “harmonize” all the social problems and build a perfect society without any bad news. When it was fully exposed, the 7.23 Fatal Bullet Train Crash shocked the entire country. The Chinese national railway administration agency seemed to do nothing after the crash except cover their mistakes and hide the tragedy from the public. At least 39 died and 210 others were injured in the crash. The poster uses the logo of the national railway administration-agency and accompanies the text “Top Secret”. The closed lips symbolize how the government tends to suppress the truth and keep bad news a secret.
poster of the movie "Top Secret!"
détournement: "Top Secret!"
BYSTANDER OR PERPETRATOR
“A teenager was arrested on Sunday in Hubei Province, for knocking down a woman. However, he claims that he was only trying to help her, reported China.org.cn.” – Radio 86 All About China
The new poster for Superman aims to critique the Chinese “trust crisis” social problem. This crisis is an economic problem in China, where the relationships between people are no longer based on trust but on money. There are several recent events in the news that have brought this crisis to the public’s attention: one person tried to help the victims of a car accident. Rather than receiving a hero’s reward, this person was slandered and defamed by the families of the victims. In another instance, a bus driver attempted to help a senior citizen after a car accident, and he was blackmailed by the victim of the family and threatened with a lawsuit, claiming that the bus driver was the one who hit the victim. The new vision of the Superman poster explores the social problem and uses the figure of Superman to represent the kind man who is willing to help people unconditionally. Superman, who is normally confident and powerful, is detourned by giving him a doubtful face. The text “Save” with a question mark indicates that in China, even Superman would think twice about whether to help people who are in trouble.
“A teenager was arrested on Sunday in Hubei Province, for knocking down a woman. However, he claims that he was only trying to help her, reported China.org.cn.” – Radio 86 All About China
The new poster for Superman aims to critique the Chinese “trust crisis” social problem. This crisis is an economic problem in China, where the relationships between people are no longer based on trust but on money. There are several recent events in the news that have brought this crisis to the public’s attention: one person tried to help the victims of a car accident. Rather than receiving a hero’s reward, this person was slandered and defamed by the families of the victims. In another instance, a bus driver attempted to help a senior citizen after a car accident, and he was blackmailed by the victim of the family and threatened with a lawsuit, claiming that the bus driver was the one who hit the victim. The new vision of the Superman poster explores the social problem and uses the figure of Superman to represent the kind man who is willing to help people unconditionally. Superman, who is normally confident and powerful, is detourned by giving him a doubtful face. The text “Save” with a question mark indicates that in China, even Superman would think twice about whether to help people who are in trouble.
poster of the cartoon "Superman"
détournement: "Save?"
FOOD SAFTY
“Ink, dye, bleach, wax and toxic chemicals: These are just a few of the substances that have been found recently in food products in China, reigniting fears over food safety despite repeated government pledges to crack down on tainted eats.” – The Wall Street Journal
The détournement of the poster Popeye explores the social problem of “food safety”. The Chinese national food quality test agency has been unable to adequately monitor the safety of the food supply. The recent reports on “poison eggs” or “poison milk” have caused many people to worry about the safety of what they eat. There have been reports that some children’s food products are not passing food quality testing, leading to negative health effects. The “poison eggs” and “poison milk” issues are evidence of how unethical some
Chinese food processing companies are, and how powerless are the food test authorities. My détourned poster for Popeye presents the cartoon figure as a victim of poisoned food. The spinach—which in the cartoon is known to provide the healthy energy to Popeye—has been poisoned, sickening the otherwise invincible the carton hero.
“Ink, dye, bleach, wax and toxic chemicals: These are just a few of the substances that have been found recently in food products in China, reigniting fears over food safety despite repeated government pledges to crack down on tainted eats.” – The Wall Street Journal
The détournement of the poster Popeye explores the social problem of “food safety”. The Chinese national food quality test agency has been unable to adequately monitor the safety of the food supply. The recent reports on “poison eggs” or “poison milk” have caused many people to worry about the safety of what they eat. There have been reports that some children’s food products are not passing food quality testing, leading to negative health effects. The “poison eggs” and “poison milk” issues are evidence of how unethical some
Chinese food processing companies are, and how powerless are the food test authorities. My détourned poster for Popeye presents the cartoon figure as a victim of poisoned food. The spinach—which in the cartoon is known to provide the healthy energy to Popeye—has been poisoned, sickening the otherwise invincible the carton hero.
poster of the cartoon "Popeye"
détournement: "I Yam Not What I Yam!"
THE SCHOOL BUS
“An overloaded school minibus crashed head-on with a truck in rural western China on Wednesday, killing at least 18 kindergarten children on their way to class as well as two adults, officials said.” – CBCNEWS
The School Bus reflects the real-life story of a school bus accident in Gansu, China. According to the law, small-sized school buses are not permitted to transport more than 9 people; in this well-known tragedy, there were 62 children in the small school bus, plus two adults. The overloaded school bus was on the highway for only two miles when it was struck by a truck. Twenty-one children died and all the survivors were injured. This event triggered a critique of Chinese school buses, and netizens began to discuss the role of the school authorities in the safety of school buses. There are 2.33 billion students in China and 9 million students need to go to school by bus; however, there are only one million school buses. As a result, schools need to put more students in a single vehicle, which is against the law.
“An overloaded school minibus crashed head-on with a truck in rural western China on Wednesday, killing at least 18 kindergarten children on their way to class as well as two adults, officials said.” – CBCNEWS
The School Bus reflects the real-life story of a school bus accident in Gansu, China. According to the law, small-sized school buses are not permitted to transport more than 9 people; in this well-known tragedy, there were 62 children in the small school bus, plus two adults. The overloaded school bus was on the highway for only two miles when it was struck by a truck. Twenty-one children died and all the survivors were injured. This event triggered a critique of Chinese school buses, and netizens began to discuss the role of the school authorities in the safety of school buses. There are 2.33 billion students in China and 9 million students need to go to school by bus; however, there are only one million school buses. As a result, schools need to put more students in a single vehicle, which is against the law.
poster of the movie "The Big Bus"
détournement: "The school Bus"
To conclude, this project explores some abnormal social phenomena as evidenced by several recent news events. Although the Chinese government seeks stability over everything else—bad news is suppressed—but freedom of speech is a precondition of a progressive society. Détourned posters could be a visual and legible way to communicate with an audience, to highlight and satirize these social problems.
References
Abrahams, J., & Zucker, J., & Zucker, D. [Poster]. (1984). Retrieved from http://www.moviegoods.com/movie_product_static.asp?master_ movie_id=7729&sku=433840
CB.COM.CN. [Image]. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.cb.com. cn/14024824/20110725/250870.html
CNS. (2011, October 18). Caring bystander or perpetrator. Radio 86All About China. Retrieved from http://radio86.com/news/caringbystander-or-perpe trator
Da, L. [Image]. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.aboluowang.com/ news/2008/0920/-59433.html
Davis, J. [Poster]. (1976). The Big Bus. Retrieved from http://www. impawards.com/1976/big_bus.html
Intralink Film Graphic Design. [Poster]. (2007). 300. Retrieved from http://www.impawards.com/2007/three_hundred_ver10.html
J.M. (2011, July 25). Interrogating the party. The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/07/chinas-highspeed-train-crash Rob. [Poster]. (2008).
Superman. Retrieved from http://artsandspacecrafts. blogspot.com/2008/11/my-superman-poster.html
Segar, E.C. [Poster]. (1971). Retrieved from
http://www.infamouskidd. com/wp-content/up loads/2011/11/popeye.gif
Spring Festival Travel Rush in China. (2011). Travel China Guide. Retrieved from http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/springfestival-rush.html
The Associated Press. (2011 November 16). Chinese school bus crash kills 20. CBCNEWS. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ story/2011/11/16/china-bus-crash.html
LV, J.Z. [Image]. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.lotour.com/ snapshot/2007-2-7/snapshot_57209.shtml
Abrahams, J., & Zucker, J., & Zucker, D. [Poster]. (1984). Retrieved from http://www.moviegoods.com/movie_product_static.asp?master_ movie_id=7729&sku=433840
CB.COM.CN. [Image]. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.cb.com. cn/14024824/20110725/250870.html
CNS. (2011, October 18). Caring bystander or perpetrator. Radio 86All About China. Retrieved from http://radio86.com/news/caringbystander-or-perpe trator
Da, L. [Image]. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.aboluowang.com/ news/2008/0920/-59433.html
Davis, J. [Poster]. (1976). The Big Bus. Retrieved from http://www. impawards.com/1976/big_bus.html
Intralink Film Graphic Design. [Poster]. (2007). 300. Retrieved from http://www.impawards.com/2007/three_hundred_ver10.html
J.M. (2011, July 25). Interrogating the party. The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/07/chinas-highspeed-train-crash Rob. [Poster]. (2008).
Superman. Retrieved from http://artsandspacecrafts. blogspot.com/2008/11/my-superman-poster.html
Segar, E.C. [Poster]. (1971). Retrieved from
http://www.infamouskidd. com/wp-content/up loads/2011/11/popeye.gif
Spring Festival Travel Rush in China. (2011). Travel China Guide. Retrieved from http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/springfestival-rush.html
The Associated Press. (2011 November 16). Chinese school bus crash kills 20. CBCNEWS. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ story/2011/11/16/china-bus-crash.html
LV, J.Z. [Image]. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.lotour.com/ snapshot/2007-2-7/snapshot_57209.shtml
