People's Republic of Desire

This was an incredible movie. I'm amazed it was allowed to be published because it reveals so much TRUTH about our reality. I guess they know and are counting on the fact that so many will not understand what is being revealed here. It has an amazing "happy ending" in that our main characters suffered for the past they played in "the system" but woke up on time and refused to play along anymore before they lost EVERYTHING. I'm not as optimistic about the majority of people realizing this in real life. The moral of the story is NOT just applicable to social media stars or even Hollywood celebrities; it applies to YOUR jobs, families, corporations, government, education institutions, EVERY organization and institution that has been built up around us. I pray we can all find peace and truth.

People's Republic of Desire was well-received in its world premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize in the Documentary Feature Competition. The film follows the lives of a young male comedian and a young female singer who have become stars in China's world of live streaming where people are making immense amounts of money by marketing their often-meagre talents in ways that get thousands of fans to send them gifts and pay money to vote for them in competitions. It is a bizarre pay-to-play form of online American Idol competition. It is kind of like a type of mostly not sexual prostitution where people are selling dreams and fantasies to those who are willing to pay. Wealthy patrons often pay thousands of dollars to support them while poor people pay small amounts to watch as they yearn to connect to their favorite star's fame and celebrity. They hope for some glimmer of their reflected glory. The film also follows one of the migrant workers as he obsessively watches his favorite performer. The film is beautifully made and edited with excellent animated displays of the performers screenshots and interactions. This film implies that life in China is becoming more and more virtual as lots of lonely people turn online in search of human connection in a world that is increasingly-driven almost solely by a dehumanizing search for monetary gain. Both the performers and viewers seem desperately lonely and isolated. Virtual reality seems to be triumphing over, well, actual reality. The obsession with celebrity seems reflective of a deeply unhealthy society, but then, again, as an American how can I really criticize? Our idiotic country elected an incompetent narcissistic reality TV star as our President.

There are few documentaries about China that immerse the viewer without judgement. Hao Wu's second film, detailing the online world of live streaming where amateur stars make millions, fans spend their hard earned money giving virtual gifts, and the mega rich pick the winners, is at times touching, sad, and provocative.

Live streamers, like movie stars and performers anywhere in the world, struggle off stage with self doubt and the pressures of keeping their fans engaged (and paying). With footage of their day-to-day frustrations, Hao Wu drops the veneer of fame and reveals the raw, and often times emotional weight of the strivers, the viewers, and those who have "made it." Happiness eludes them all.

As commentary, without the usual heavy dose of preaching, "The People's Republic of Desire" opens up a world most outside of China will never see. As any great documentary does (the film won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize), that view is honest and engaging throughout. For a generation that spends most of its waking life online their present-day obsession has quickly spread to the U.S., South Korea and beyond.

Definitely worth seeing when it makes its week-long run in NYC and LA this November.