Commentators need to be independent_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Commentators need to be independent

By the time I arrived in Beijing, I got one-on-one interviews with well-known filmmakers. None of them pressured me to spin for them, but when I started writing I felt I should not say damning things about the works of these people who had granted me the "honor" of an interview or a dinner.

I woke up to the corrosive power of self-censorship. The more opportunities I have to sidle up to powers-that-be, the weaker my position will be as an independent critic.

I also got a taste of regular entertainment reporting: I was invited to a screening, given a red envelope containing a few hundred yuan for "taxi fare", and was expected to turn in a glowing review. When I refused, I was blacklisted. One big production company even suspended an ongoing screening to kick me out of the theater that was showing its latest blockbuster.

My biggest shock came during a so-called forum, taking place after a special screening of a mediocre film. The panel was made up of big names from the establishment, and they outdid one another in extolling the movie. When I used some adjectives to suggest the film's weaknesses, people looked at me as if I were from another planet. I was never invited again.

If people are willing to forsake their impartiality for a few hundred yuan, imagine the allure of 100 times that sum, which business experts may get for such public appearances. If not money, then peer pressure, group conformity, or the urge not to disturb the peace. In the end, what is left is a phalanx of paid publicists who are disguised as third-party commentators.