Yes, the talent shows are now in China. The Chinese version of America’s Got Talent was officially introduced to China in July 2010 by Fremantle Media. Shanghai-based Dragon TV, the producer of “China’s Got Talent”, has long been determined to import all the major features of the talent show to China, and to find the Chinese equivalent of Susan Boyle, who gained her fame when competing in “Britain’s Got Talent”.
There are no age cut-off limits excluding contestants from the show since the very beginning of its entry in China. There are neither rules nor selection criteria. The show is fully motivated to use the means from entertainment programs to do branding for the dreams, talents, stories and performance of ordinary Chinese citizens. Therefore, it inspires the talented and the ambitious in China, it has also helped draw attention to the hopes and challenges of disabled and otherwise disadvantaged Chinese.
“Big dreams of the Disadvantaged”
“China’s Got Talent” successfully carries on the fundamental philosophies from its Western counterparts, i.e., encouraging Chinese grassroots to realize their big dreams, and to create miracles through determination and hard work.
Liu Wei, the champion for the first series of the show, is a musician who lost both arms in an accident when he was 10 years old. When he turned to 18, he became fully determined to pursue a career in music by using his toes to play the piano. He played James Blunt’s “You Are Beautiful” at Shanghai Stadium, where the final competition of the show was held. His determination and his performance have impressed both the judges and the audience. As the first champion of China’s Got Talent, Liu Wei not only won the opportunity to perform with famous Taiwanese star Jolin Tsai, he has been offered many other opportunities to keep pursue his passion in music.
Liu Wei is only one among the large number of people who belong to the disadvantaged social class competing in China’s Got Talent. Zhu Xiaoming, who was regarded as the “male version” of Susan Boyle in China, became famous thanks to his courage and boldness. Nation-wide recognition also went to the 45-year-old bicycle repairman, Jiang Renrui, who carried a self-made fabrication on his back to present a lifelike imitation of a peacock displaying its plumage. According to Professor Zhang Yiwu from Peking University, the disadvantaged have presented a typical Chinese dream on the stage of the talent show. No matter how difficult life could be, the pursuit for a fulfilling and dignified lifestyle will never stop.
Video of Liu Wei
Video of China’s male version of Susan Boyle, Zhu Xiaoming
“China’s Got Talent” or “People Who Moved China”
A lot of critics, both from the Chinese media and the Chinese cyberspace, claim that unlike its Western counterparts, “China’s Got Talent” has long been inclined to magnify the background story of the contestants, such as disability, poor economic condition, or family members who are suffering from fatal diseases, rather than the talents they possess. They argue that if people win the show because of tenderness from the audience and the judges, the show will in essence become “People Who Moved China” rather than “China’s Got Talent”.
In the story of Susan Boyle, although she came from a low income family and lived in a governmental welfare apartment for a very long time, she talked very little about her background when competing in “Britain’s Got Talent”. She finally lost the competition to Diversity, a street dancing group, simply because the latter was more talented than her.
In Western talent shows, talents, such as good voice, impressive dancing and creative ideas will determine the success of the contestants. However, background stories seem to be more powerful in China. We could say that the logic behind “Britain’s Got Talent” or “America’s Got Talent” is the admiration towards the most talented people; but when the show arrived in China, the key to success is the sympathy towards the disadvantaged. Consequently, negative opinions about the show are saying that it has been kidnapped by moral standards, and it is unfair for people who are the most talented but do not have a sad story to tell.
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Sources:
http://opinion.cb.com.cn/12714523/20101013/156088.html
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001034983
http://www.mrtoyy.com/2011/01/talent-show-or-story-show/
http://opinion.hexun.com/2010-08-04/124483214.html
http://blog.cntv.cn/html/74/1015674-1384430.html
http://tv.ifensi.com/article-310188.html
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i think its a natural adaptation to Chinese culture. here, in the west, the talent sells the act and the background stories come after fame. the background stories are largely untrue and used as a tool to create extra value for the performers product by tying the story in with relevant performance or sponsership material.
in China, service and how something is served creates the most value for any product, followed by the characteristics of the actual product such as talent/quality. therefore, its only natural that the background story helps to serve the product better. its obviously working too as the “…Got Talent” show with the highest viewer ratings – 500 million.
my personal issue lies with every “…Got Talent” show, and that is that people become products regardless of who they’re sold. still, all the best, and i hope they can ultimately encourage others to believe in themselves too