Media as a Signal: Understanding a Society & Nation’s Direction

I watched a very interesting Chinese sci-fi movie called “Wandering Earth 2”. It was very well done and unlike most western science fiction, hopefully utopian. A better tomorrow. A better future. I’m so sick and tired of watching Hollywood movies that show only the dark side of technology: Dystopian worlds where the future is worse than the past. 

The question for me is whether this is a reflection of prevailing sentiment in the populace or actually the cause of it. But it still serves as a valuable barometer of different societies. 

I remember watching Japanese movies during the decade of 2000-2010 and they were just damn depressing, talking about suicide, bullying and hopelessness as it reflected a malaise in Japanese society at that time. Thankfully this has changed in the last 8-10 years as things have really turned around in Japan in reality and reflected by the movies and shows I’ve watched these last few years. 

It’s interesting in general that science fiction movies, television shows and books in China tend to be more hopeful & optimistic. Yes, I recognize there is some censoring and propaganda but it’s definitely much more future oriented. Very much like Star Trek used to be before the 2000s and thankfully we have new shows like “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.”

There is a dark side too of this. There have been a rash of bombastic, militaristic movies from China over the last 10 years like “Wolf Warrior 1 & 2”, “The Eight Hundred”, “The Battle of Lake Changjin”, “Operation Red Sea” and others that show Americans and westerners are evil enemies (Japanese too, although they were pretty evil in World War 2). The Chinese are shown as brave, pure and good, sacrificing to save innocent Africans and civilians while beating the bad Westerners. It reflects an assertiveness and confidence in their society. And my guess is helping to get the people prepared for a future war footing. 

We see the popularity of Marvel action shows and movies, reflecting American and Western need for heroes, when we have so few of them left. Our political and business elites have become either incompetent, cowardly bureaucrats or grifting opportunists that we cannot count on. A far cry from the hope and optimism of the 90s. 

So for anyone who says watching movies and tv shows is a waste of time. I’d counter that you should watch them, especially ones from around the world. It will give you a better indication of what other societies are thinking. Are they optimistic or pessimistic about the future? What their fears are and what their political leaders want them to think. This is very important in a new highly competitive and dangerous geopolitical world.