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Beijing Swings
Is this art?
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THINKTV
2nd Jan 2003 23:05 Channel 4
A man eats a baby. Some human skin is grafted on to a pig. A
woman walks topless along the Great Wall of China. Why? In Beijing
Swings, probably the most shocking art film ever shown on
British television, Waldemar Januszczak explores Beijing's underground
art scene to find out why China is currently producing the most
outrageous and explicit modern art in the world. 'You will see
things in this programme that will challenge your taste and
turn your stomach' says Waldemar, 'and if this was a film about
your tastes that would be a problem. But it isn't. It's about
someone else's taste. And believe me it's different.' Beijing
Swings puts this startling new art into perspective and comes
to some surprising conclusions about its future global impact.
If you have a view on this or any other programme, let us know.
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Kathy Smyth
30th Dec 02
As Chair of a local Justice and Peace Group, I have been asked
to write and register our disgust at the proposed showing of
Beijing Swings, which will contain stills of Zhu Yu eating a
still born baby.Whether we are forewarned of what is to be shown,
or not, does not take away from the utter depravity of anyone
who would screen this. We wish to register utter disgust at
this programme and ask that you do not screen this.
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Paul Woodruff
30th Dec 02
In The Guardian today (30/12/02 it is stated that your channel
is to show, as an extension of outrageous & explicit modern
art, the eating of a stillborn child by a so-called artist.
Where are the boundaries of common decency?, clearly not in
the minds of either the perpetrator nor you as the purveyors.
How can you possibly even consider showing such is surely beyond
the comprehension of all reasonable and right thinking people.
Have you ever considered the feelings of people who have experienced
the profound sense of loss when they lost a child prematurely
or had their child stillborn? I doubt it, and if you did then
you are even lower down the scale than the so called artist
is. If you do show this then you really are lower than the lowest
life-form.
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Simon Ford
30th Dec 02
I am appalled at the inclusion of cannibalism of an infant in
this programme. Whereas in recent years the likes of Damian
Hurst have been allowed to exhibit porported "ART"
that brings such a mixed reation from public and art lovers
alike, I feel that art has no place in such exploitation. Taking
out of the conundrum the fact that in all likelihood the infant
used probably came from a peasant family for the price of a
weeks food and theirby negating such emotions as would normally
be held againt parental involvement in such a project, how can
this be construde as Art! Were you to be offered a serious of
murders, torture or human vivisection such as has been seen
across the world from the Nazi death camps to Idi Amin Dada
and in more recent times conflicts within former Yugoslavia,
would you be able to pass this as an extreme form of Art? or
is genicide genicide, murder murder and senseless cannibalisim
senseless cannibalism. What constitutes ART and what is a blatent
obuse of the term for either personal gratification, the wanton
need for notariarty or simply a means of gaining money. Unfortunately
by showing such scenes as can only be construed as dehumanising,
barbaric and beyond the pale, you believe these people justified
in their acts and willing to provide funds for their further
exploitative "ART" form.
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Wayne Scholes
30th Dec 02
I'm sat in my office in little ol' Utah thinking, "Oh yeah,
that's why I left England". I only moved here a few yars
a go and had been commuting for years. I really do love England,
I miss living there at times and somedays I get homesick and
think "Maybe I should move back?" Then I read on the
web a million reasons why I will never move back. Because we
are one of the only nations I know that seem to have no shame.
We should be flooding the Channel 4 offices with phone calls
and crashing your servers with emails until you edit that disgusting
scene from Thursdays upcoming show. But we won't, and the few
that do will be ridiculed for having decency and morals. Because
people like the 'presenter' (and I use the term loosely, he's
actually a sad excuse for a critic who isn't quite sure what
is going to happen to his role in society when we all figure
out that he's an over paid charleton who pretends to have an
eye for things when in reality he doesn't really get 'it'. He's
so far removed from the realities of life that he defend anything
as long as it gets him paid and a reason to be in the news and
sustain his dwindlng career a little longer. I pity him.) will
always think that people like me don't understand the arts,
we judge people too quicky, we just don't haveany art in our
blood. Well I'm 32, I manage musicians, personalities, some
sports and some bands. I'm in 'the arts'. Ashamed as I am to
say it sometimes I live in this world and need to vocalise my
feelings. I am sad that Channel 4 is doing this, hide behind
the 'we didn't make it' line, it doean't hide the big fat wallet
that bulges in your back pocket. You're a disgrace to television
programme makers the world over. You can say that you're just
reporting what happens around the world. Shame on you. many
thing worse happen around the world, but better judgement keeps
it off the screen, we don't want the sick people out there to
get a hold of a market place to peddle their sick goods. You
will be making money for this sick man, you are spitting on
the soul of that poor chid, don't you think that little baby
derserves some respect after death. What if that were your child?
Finally the channel without a conscience, I didn't think I'd
see it this soon. I appreciate that you couldn't care less what
people really think, sad but true. You have sunk to depths I
didn't even think that you'd go to. Rest assured what goes around
comes around. If there is a God, and I believe that there is,
he sees and will bring justice to all, including on behalf of
the little baby whom you mock in death so that you can shock
poeple again. Don't bring fame to such a sick man, pity him,
don't add to the pain in the world, try and do something constructive
for once. Don't give people like this a forum to spread their
sickness. Just so you know, I will never watch a nother show
on channel 4 again. I will never patronise a film produced by
you again. I am sure you don't care, but we know where that
gets big corporations now don't we. Shame and pity on you.
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Cynthia Yuan
31st Dec 02
A man eating a stillborn baby is not deemed as art in China,
if you ask anybody on the street of China!! Actually it is discarded
and disgusted by Chinese mainstream artist. That it why we Chinese
people never know such a thing happened at all. It is just a
small bunch of psychopaths or extremist persons try to gain
attention. I don't understand why Channel 4 showed such an interest
on these kind of things. By filming it, Channel 4 encouraged
the absurdness on the so called art, making these artiest think:
although we are not acknowledged by current Chinese people,
at least some English acknowledges us. Also, by showing these
kind of ugly and discusting thing to English people is misleading.
English people will think China is full of this kind of rubbish
and Chinese people live with it! I don't think English people
will be happy if we keep on showing how English drug dealers
keep on selling drugs to China which will make Chinese people
think England is full of drugs! Compare like to like, I wish
Channel 4 respect the feeling of Chinese people, especially
Chinese people in England and do not encourag these kind of
art by showing it in England and misleading English people.
I would be appreciated. Otherwise, I will try my best to stop
my friends to watch it.
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J Armstrong
2nd Jan 03
How disgusting! I innocently began to watch a "Chinese
Art" programme little knowing what horrific scenes would
soon confront me. How can a travesty like this be justified
as art? I'm afraid I couldn't bring myself to watch the whole
thing, five minutes was enough. Perhaps a sign of my humanity?
It's a pity that the people responsible for screening this abomination
couldn't have shown some decency and humanity themselves, instead
of jumping on the "anything goes" in the name of art
bandwagon. Having had my say, I leave you as an ex-channel 4
viewer. Hopefully many more people will be of the same opinion
and take similiar action.
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Faithless
2nd Jan 03
I think this show was brilliant, its knocking down the barriers
of censorship of what SHOULD be left behind, in the past, where
people who cower behind their couches because they don’t
want to see what is REAL, what is reality, OH NO ITS A NAKED
WOMAN, OH NO A DEAD MAN!, how could they show us what real life
is like! i only like watching nice shows, like Friends!, well
these people need a kick in the backside and to be shown reality,
and I have to say I APLAUD you for showing such brilliant TV.
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Jo Walters
2nd Jan 03
This show was very interesting. In no way was it extreme in
any sense, because it was only exploring the depth of the world
that gets unnoticed. Once death occurs, it is forgotten. The
works on this programme brought it back to life. In a sense,
reversed the process, brought death back to life. The naked
scenes (china wall work) was very good, because the naked body
is taken out of every day life and forgotten about, and i think
that art showing naked flesh is very good because it is only
natural and it shouldn't be pushed aside in the world. Another
show with familiar bases should be shown again. I deeply enjoyed
the programme.
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