ABSTRACT
There is no doubt that in spite of a rapidly expanding market economy in
China today, large portions of the population, especially among the peasantry, migrant workers, ‘‘working sisters’’ (dagong mei), laid-off workers
and other disadvantaged groups, have been unable to significantly raise their
living standards and participate meaningfully in decision-making (see
Chapter 3 by Wanning Sun in this volume). Nor should it be surprising that
the Chinese mass media, especially television, have not been able to do
much to bring about radical changes in this respect. However, what is not
supported by evidence available about the current state of the media in
China is that the ‘‘authoritarian’’ and its cultural ‘‘technology of visuality’’ expresses ‘‘only narrow, elitist, corporate, and state interests’’ and so
contributes to rather than alleviates the suffering of the underprivileged
(Jhally 2002: 334). 1 The current situation of the visual media in relation to
social and political relations in China appears to be rather more complex in
that television programming, production, ratings and policies are at present
undergoing significant transformations that are beginning to impact upon
viewing audiences in the millions. In this chapter, I argue that documentary
films and programs in particular are a good indicator of such changes taking place in China’s vast television arena.
