Introduction and Thesis

Chinese reality television has experienced rapid development in recent years, and they became a huge part of people’s lives, especially taking up their leisure time. Beside the entertaining function, a lot of reality shows had more meanings: some of them expose audiences to unknown cultures in China, and some of them serve educational purpose to the audiences. According to the South China Morning Post, some programs are so popular that a large portion of young people even do not want to hang out with their friends at night but are willing to watch the shows and relax.[1]

The main problem of Chinese reality television is the lack of originality and creativity. A large number of them are adapted version from other countries, especially from Korea. Reality shows such as Where Are We Going? Dad, I Am a Singer, and Produce 101 are all adapted from Korea. Based on the data, China has adapted as many as 34 Korean shows.[2]

Largely due to the lack of originality, these shows had not received high evaluation from the public. Aside from them, one of the most popular Chinese reality television—The Voice of China—is a controversial program that has generated many debates and received a lot of criticism for not being realistic. However, by examining closely at its production process and program’s values, I argue that The Voice of China is not merely an entertainment show or simply a singing competition. It is rather successful and worthy of watching because it critically reflects the larger cultural context in China and signifies the real effort for the development of Chinese reality shows.

[1] Alice Yan, “Chinese Television Screens Dominated by Copycat Reality Shows Featuring Local Celebrities,” South China Morning Post, September 11, 2016.

[2] Nian Liu, “South Korean Media Accused Chinese Television Shows of Massive Plagiarism. But What is the Border of ‘Plagiarism’?” Sohu, October 10, 2010. Accessed November 24, 2019. https://www.sohu.com/a/258553449_100156659