A new series on Netflix called ‘3 Body Problem’ is causing a stir on social media due to the opening scene, which depicts a struggle session early in China’s Cultural Revolution. The series is actually a work of science fiction, but the opening scene is very realistic.
A physics professor has been declared an enemy of the revolution. He is hauled in front of a rage-filled mob by leaders of the Red Guard, Mao’s revolutionary youth brigade. He is forced to wear a dunce cap. His wife is brought on stage and forced to denounce him and side with the mob to survive. The professor is then beaten to death.
FOX News reports:
Netflix showrunner says parallels between Chinese cultural revolution scene & cancel culture ‘hard to ignore’The showrunner for Netflix’s new show “3 Body Problem”, David Benioff noted the parallels between a scene depicting China’s Cultural Revolution and modern cancel culture.Netflix’s new sci-fi epic ‘3 Body Problem’ is based on the Hugo award-winning story of the same name by Chinese science fiction author Liu Cixin. While the story is about humanity preparing for an alien invasion, with an emphasis on interstellar physics, the show’s opening scene went viral for depicting a controversial historical event. The scene takes place amid China’s communist revolution, where a physics professor is interrogated and beaten to death before a crowd by Red Guards for refusing to comply with Chinese communist beliefs.”This isn’t a commentary on cancel culture,” Benioff, who was the showrunner for HBO’s “Game of Thrones” told The Hollywood Reporter. “But we do tend to move in cycles in terms of human history, and we’re going through a certain period of the cycle right now. There are many very significant differences between the current time and the Cultural Revolution. But there are also some similarities. It was never something where we were like, ‘We should do this show because we want to make a commentary on that.’ But it is interesting that the parallels are there and are hard to ignore.”Alexander Woo, who is also one of the series’ three showrunners alongside Benioff and Dan Weiss, noted to The New York Times that this era is “a part of history that is not written about in fiction very much, let alone filmed.”
You can watch the scene below, but note that the violence is pretty graphic:
Mao ordered the Red Guard to attack ‘the olds’, and they went about erasing history and customs, tearing down statues in the process. People who did not comply were confronted and physically assaulted. Sound familiar?
Do you think nothing like that could ever happen here? Does everyone remember this iconic moment from 2020?
When you have the time, I highly recommend watching Tucker Carlson’s interview with Xi Van Fleet. She survived Mao’s Cultural Revolution before escaping to America. Her first-person account of that moment in history is as fascinating as it is terrifying. She also offers a grave warning to America that this is exactly where we are headed if things don’t change.
Featured image via YouTube.
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