Everyone, even those not in China, loves Chinese president, Xi Jinping. At least that’s what the good people at the China’s People’s Daily newspaper want you to think . They’ve produced a video of foreigners supposedly spouting Xi Jinping’s praises as the President of China, and it’s gone viral, but not for the reasons they presumably wanted it to be.
Can you believe that a foreigner would call Xi Jinping “Xi Dada?” How about “Uncle Xi?” If you do, you’re probably the target audience for the Jinping video. If you’re one of the millions who finds that odd, at best, you’re likely one of the ones sharing the video. It’s been dubbed the world’s creepiest propaganda video , but it’s also unintentionally hilarious. The video shows a series of pastel-clad foreigners talking about Xi Jinping to a background of dentist-office-worthy Musak. They aren’t all from the U.S., of course: Australian, French, Mexican, Korean, Japanese, and even Malaysians are recruited to recite Jinping’s praises.
“How much were they paid?”
The most upvoted comment for the video says it all. Of course, this might just make a point that whatever it was, it isn’t enough. A Korean wanting a husband just like Xi Jinping? (She manages to say this with a straight face, too, which is certainly a testament to her having some acting ability.) A blond Californian woman calling him “charismatic?” Then again, if they’re truly desperate visa-seekers, as many commenters suggest, they should be well-rewarded. Somehow.
Twitter wasn’t shy about expressing their opinions about the video, either.
#China authoritarianism’s useful idiots: Slick #propaganda video sings #XiJinping praises http://t.co/ncWwCMHr2B https://t.co/c9XUNnOKsq
— Phelim Kine “? ?“ (@PhelimKine) September 23, 2015
While a cynic might say that propaganda videos are always bad, it’s more of a surprise when you compare it to the other video released in the same time , “When China Met Carolina.” That video isn’t singing Xi Jinping’s praises directly, but it gets the idea across that China is going to help American employees, not hurt them. Propaganda it may be, but it comes across as being something that real people might say and think. If everyone in it is acting, they’re doing a much better job of it.
But the participants in the Xi Jinping video should take heart. If they’re not successful at getting that visa, they may have an excellent career ahead of them in infomercials.
[Photo by Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images]
