China's Livestreaming Craze

[Randy W]

from the Sixth Tone

 

Hao Wu’s documentary, “People’s Republic of Desire,” explores China’s dystopian livestreaming industry, which preys upon both its performers’ desire for fame, and its viewers’ need for companionship.

“The appeal of the male livestreamer lies in his ability to be an alpha male. But a lot of the female livestreamers sell sex appeal,” says the director.

 

 

 

Winston also covered this, and even visited with the first girl who pops up on the preview below

 

http://image5.sixthtone.com/image/5/16/642.jpg

 

"People's Republic of Desire"

 

Watch from Vimeo ($$) - https://vimeo.com/ondemand/peoplesrepublicofdesire

 

I downloaded it myself while it was free - not sure that it's worth paying for. It portrays it as a large virtual rave club

 

Inside the Dystopian Reality of China’s Livestreaming Craze

Filmmaker Hao Wu discusses the issues brought to light by his documentary ‘People’s Republic of Desire.’

 

 

Some spend money — sometimes a few yuan, sometimes thousands — to buy Shen whimsical trinkets like digital roses and lollipops, which she later cashes in for herself.

Later, the chatroom comments take a sinister turn. “Take your clothes off!” reads one of them. Others call Shen a “fucking tramp” or a “stinky whore.” At first, Shen bats away the trolls with sarcastic jokes or a withering put-down. But eventually, she cracks. “Yes, I’m a whore,” she responds.

The scene plays out in “People’s Republic of Desire,” a deeply dystopian documentary that explores the people behind China’s craze for online livestreaming — a market that might be worth 112 billion yuan ($16.7 billion) by 2020, according to online statistics portal Statista. The industry continues to boom despite a pair of scandals in 2017 that saw several companies investigated for underreporting taxes and broadcasting pornographic material. (The government responded to the latter issue by banning a range of content, including suggestively eating bananas.)

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/WWdg8d18Tfs

[Randy W]

Winston's video - it's unclear how "large" that segment actually is

 

serpentza

Published on Feb 8, 2019

 

I feel incredibly sad for a large segment of the Youth of China today...

 

 

 

 

 

China's Awkward and Disconnected Youth