Ruoyun Bai, Staging Corruption: Chinese Television And Politics

Abstract

BOOK REVIEW:

Reading Bai Ruoyun’s book Staging Corruption: Chinese Television and Politics is even more fascinating while watching the 55-episode anti-corruption television drama In the Name of the People (Renmin de mingyi 人民的名义). This top-rating serial, created to spotlight Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption, attracted millions of viewers. Many saw it as resurrecting a genre that had been in decline since 2004, when the government suddenly slapped a ban on the topic. The popularity of the serial serves as a footnote to how important the anti-corruption genre has been in public discourse, as well as its continuing relevance to Chinese society today. One can’t help but admire Bai’s foresight in writing a book that illuminates the evolution of the anti-corruption genre and how this issue is embedded in Chinese society. Overall, I found Bai’s account insightful, ingenious, and interesting.