Rectify the "rice circle" to resist the artists who have lost morality, and rebuild the clear ecology of the cultural and entertainment circle

In recent years, a small number of star artists have violated the law and lost morality, which has caused a bad impact on society. At the same time, the prevalence of "traffic" has seriously affected the healthy development of the entertainment industry, and the bad "rice circle" culture has made cyberspace become a miasma. In response to this series of problems, in 2021, the relevant departments of the state have struck a heavy blow and carried out a series of comprehensive management work to rebuild a clear ecology in the field of culture and entertainment.

"Pouring milk" pitching: The chaos of "rice circle" surfaced

In May 2021, netizens uploaded a video of "pouring milk for celebrities", which was jaw-dropping. Originally, because a talent show printed the voting QR code on the inside of the bottle cap, fans voted for the list and hired someone to pour the purchased dairy products into the ditch, leaving only the bottle cap. In the video, boxes of dairy products piled high on the wall are waiting to be "destroyed". Such a crazy way of shooting has aroused strong condemnation from public opinion. A few days later, the related cultivation variety show announced the suspension of recording.

Behind the "pouring milk" incident is not only the guiding problem of a variety show, but the tip of the iceberg of the chaos of the "rice circle" in recent years. In the field of entertainment where "traffic" is dominant, platforms, brokerage companies, artists, and programs will stop at nothing to pursue traffic, and even use the love of fans to nakedly seek gold; while a large number of fans brush the list, control the evaluation, destroy the public rules of cyberspace, and even touch the legal bottom line.

On May 8, at the press conference of the 2021 "Qinglang" series of special actions held by the New Office of the State Council, the chaos of the "rice circle" was officially included in the focus of governance. On June 15, the Cyberspace Administration of China announced the nationwide launch of the "Clear Lang · The special action of 'chaos rectification' in the rice circle focuses on the links of celebrity lists, hot topics, fan communities, interactive comments, etc., and comprehensively cleans up all kinds of harmful information such as mutual tearing and insults, pulling and stepping on the lead, provoking confrontation, insulting and slandering, rumor-mongering attacks, and malicious marketing.

Fans lead the battle: "The new ten articles of rice circle governance" were introduced

However, just over two months after the "Qinglang" campaign was launched, Zhao Liying's fans pulled on the lead and promoted resistance without official clear news of her new drama, triggering a fierce network "mutual tearing". After receiving the user's report, Weibo immediately made a series of treatments: cleaning up the content of the war, sealing some accounts, and banning the studio. On the evening of August 25, Zhao Liying herself posted on Weibo that she had made a deep reflection and advocated that fans discuss harmoniously and speak calmly to build a harmonious network. This governance action against the fans of "top-notch" artists has effectively deterred those bottomless fanatical fans and marketing numbers, and many rational fans have begun to actively respond to the call for "clear" action and quietly, reasonably and legally chase stars.

On August 27, the Central Cyberspace Administration of China issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Governance of chaos in the "Rice Circle", proposing to cancel the list of celebrity artists, strictly control celebrity brokerage companies, strictly prohibit the presentation of mutually torn information, strictly control the participation of minors, and standardize the behavior of fundraising, known as the "New Ten Articles on Rice Circle Governance".

This policy quickly triggered a chain reaction on various platforms: Sina Weibo's offline celebrity super talk list; Tencent's offline rectification of the list of celebrity artists and the small program that should raise funds; QQ Music also adjusted the purchase rules for digital albums so that fans could no longer buy repeatedly; iQiyi announced the cancellation of idol talent shows and any off-site voting links in the next few years. All parties in society have formed a joint force to effectively curb the chaos of the "rice circle".

Top-notch arrests: Resolutely resist artists who break the law and lose their morality

This year, the morals and illegal acts of star artists have continued to emerge, shocking the public and making fans "collapse" again and again.

On August 16, Wu Yifan was approved for arrest on suspicion of rape, becoming the first traffic star in Chinese mainland to be detained and arrested for suspected sexual crimes, triggering an "earthquake" in the entertainment industry. In addition, Zheng Shuang was suspected of yin-yang contracts, wanton tax evasion and tax evasion, Zhang Zhehan hurt national feelings by visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, and Li Yundi and Wang Lihong "overturned" one after another. In the collapse of the stars' personalities again and again, we can't help but ask, what happened to the entertainment industry?

The relevant agencies acted quickly. From August 25 to 26, the China Music Association, the China Drama Association, the China Film Association and other national literary and artistic associations affiliated to the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles held a symposium on the construction of professional style, advocating boycotting those who violate the law and lose morality, and calling on literary and art practitioners to abide by laws and regulations, abide by professional ethics, and fulfill their social responsibilities.

On September 2, the General Office of the State Administration of Radio and Television issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Literary and Art Programs and Their Personnel, calling for a resolute boycott of those who violate the law and lose morality. On November 23, the China Performance Industry Association Network Performance (Live Broadcast) Branch announced the ninth batch of network anchor warning lists, including Wu Yifan, Zheng Shuang, Zhang Zhehan and other entertainers, which is also the first time that illegal and moral artists have been included in the network anchor warning list, with the intention of strictly preventing illegal and moral star artists from shifting their positions and "curve comeback".

Comprehensive treatment: to create a good ecology with a clean atmosphere

It must be noted that behind the frequent chaos in the field of entertainment is not only the loss of morality of individual artists, but the consequences of the entire industry being wrapped up in "traffic first". For example, the chaos of the "rice circle" is on the surface a fanatical star chasing, and behind it is a joint effort by all parties. The frequent appearance of inferior artists is also the evil result of the long-term emphasis on traffic and quality, and the emphasis on appearance and light acting skills. In addition, the problems of sky-high film remuneration, "yin and yang contracts", and tax evasion continue to recur in new ways and new means, and new situations and new problems such as deformed aesthetics and the wind of "delayed reform" have emerged.

In response to the above problems, in September, the Central Propaganda Department issued the "Notice on Carrying out Comprehensive Management of the Cultural and Entertainment Fields", proposing to curb the non-profit of capital, resist sky-high film remuneration, rationally allocate the proportion of costs, strictly investigate and deal with tax evasion, effectively maintain market order, crack down on traffic first, and maintain a good ecology in the industry. On October 29, the Central Propaganda Department and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television interviewed radio and television stations in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Hunan on the problem of excessive entertainment of satellite television programs.

In November, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Work Related to the Regulation of Online Information of Entertainment Stars, proposing 15 specific work measures from four aspects, including content orientation, information presentation, account management, and public opinion mechanisms, to further standardize the online information of entertainment stars, maintain a good order of online public opinion, and create a positive and healthy online environment.

Just a few days ago, the tax bureaus of eight places, including Beijing and Shanghai, separately issued circulars on celebrity artists and network anchor taxpayers, requiring celebrity artists, network anchors, and other public figures to strictly abide by the provisions of the tax law and pay close attention to self-examination in light of the tax law and relevant notice requirements.

We have reason to expect that under the combination of this series of policies, the chaos of the "rice circle" will be rectified, the entertainment industry will embark on the road of healthy development, and everyone will share a clear cyberspace.

Expert opinion

The comprehensive management of the cultural and entertainment field has been successful in the first battle, and the future can be expected

Dai Qing (Professor, School of Drama, Film and Television, Communication University of China, Director of China Literary and Art Critics Association)

At the opening ceremony of the Eleventh National Congress of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Tenth National Congress of the China Writers Association, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly proposed in his speech to "build a more authoritative, credible and influential literary and artistic evaluation system" and "hope that the vast number of literary and art workers will adhere to the right path and achieve the value of life in the pursuit of virtue and art". The series of measures carried out by the Central Propaganda Department, the Central Cyberspace Administration, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and other departments this year, such as the Clear-Ranging Action and the comprehensive management of the cultural and entertainment fields, are a positive response to and practice of the spirit of General Secretary Xi's instructions.

Clear action and comprehensive management are the urgent needs and top priorities for the healthy and sustainable development of the current entertainment industry. Traffic fraud and water arms control evaluation interfere with healthy and effective literary and artistic evaluations, interfere with legitimate market competition, make good works unable to win, bad works are very popular, and bad money drives out good money, which will only mislead the audience and undermine the benign development of the industry. The quality of literary and artistic practices will affect the ecology of the entire cultural field and even social life, especially the shaping of young people's aesthetics, outlook on life and values, so it is more necessary to pay attention to it.

At present, literary and artistic creation should tell the "credible, lovely and respectable" Chinese story to the world, and spread a positive national image, all of which are inseparable from a healthy and fair cultural and entertainment environment and evaluation system. As a long-term project, this year's comprehensive management of the cultural and entertainment field has won the first battle and the future can be expected, laying a solid foundation for China to move from a cultural power to a cultural power.

memorabilia

From June 15, the Cyberspace Administration of China launched a nationwide two-month "Clear Lang· Rice circle 'chaos rectification' special action.

On September 2, the State Administration of Radio and Television issued the Notice of the General Office of the State Administration of Radio and Television on Further Strengthening the Management of Literary and Art Programs and Their Personnel, requiring radio and television institutions and online audio-visual platforms not to broadcast idol cultivation programs, and resolutely put an end to deformed aesthetics such as "mother cannons".

On September 10, the China Performance Industry Association, together with Weibo, Douyin, iQiyi, Kuaishou, Tencent Video, QQ Music, Youkuo, Kugou Music, Bilibili and other platforms, jointly launched the "Convention on Building a Self-Discipline of Qinglang Network Culture Ecology", opposing "traffic first", refusing to provide a display platform for people who violate the law and lose morality, and strengthening the management of relevant accounts, comments and bullet screens in the field of culture and entertainment.

On September 29, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued the Notice on Regulating Performance Brokerage Behavior, Strengthening Actor Management, and Promoting the Healthy and Orderly Development of the Performance Market, which strictly prohibits instilling in minors the erroneous concept of "becoming famous early" in the name of recruiting "performing arts trainees", misleading minors' values, and infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of minors.

On December 22, the Central Cyberspace Administration deployed the special action of "Qinglang Crackdown on Traffic Fraud, Black Public Relations, and Internet Water Army", which is the final battle of the "Qinglang" series of special actions in 2021.