A big argument here seems to be that because of censorship people will stop having ideas that are contrary to what the party wants and that creative works that don't toe the line won't get made -- or won't get big audiences. But just looking at the sorts of dramas and light novels that I've started to read, I'm not sure that's completely true. There does seem to be a space for limited discourse that is outside of Chinese censorship, or at least how it's applied to visual media. It's not aggressively political (and maybe in some ways buys into contemporary political ideals as much as it subverts them) but it's there and there is definitely a demand for it.
And outside of China, while large tent-pole movies are knuckling under and it's important to understand the ways in which that plays into the stories that they tell, I think we're seeing the end of that type of moviemaking. The nice thing about having access in the west is that there is a plurality of voices out there and accessible to you... the not-so-nice thing is that most people are too dumb to be interested in them.
One of the most interesting things i got from that PEN report is that the self-censorship is perhaps worse in Hollywood than it is in the domestic industry, because of the foreign film quota! So Hollywood is competing with itself in trying to create the most CCP-friendly content in order to get that coveted foreign film slot, whereas the domestic film industry doesn't need to push as hard, since as long as they stay away from taboo topics they should be fine.
You're right that there's definitely a market for "taboo" content inside China, though. I haven't quite figured out how it works with the crackdowns. It seems the government allows a certain amount of stuff to exist, just as long as it never gets too mainstream or too popular. Every now and then they arrest a writer, perhaps demonstratively, to send a message? Although, some Chinese i have spoken to believe that these arrests can be more personal than political. Like... i got in an argument with that guy, now i will create a cancel mob on social media or contact the police directly to try get him arrested. It's definitely not cut and dried.
I think it is very CCP-ish, to not consistently and clearly enforce their rules. The phrase i see used a lot in the western press is "rule by law, not rule of law".
Another phrase i came across recently is 借古喻今 which means to borrow the ancient as a metaphor for today. I think this is how some contemporary Chinese entertainment gets away with telling slightly bolder stories without making it too obvious who or what they are actually criticizing.
And outside of China, while large tent-pole movies are knuckling under and it's important to understand the ways in which that plays into the stories that they tell, I think we're seeing the end of that type of moviemaking. The nice thing about having access in the west is that there is a plurality of voices out there and accessible to you... the not-so-nice thing is that most people are too dumb to be interested in them.
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You're right that there's definitely a market for "taboo" content inside China, though. I haven't quite figured out how it works with the crackdowns. It seems the government allows a certain amount of stuff to exist, just as long as it never gets too mainstream or too popular. Every now and then they arrest a writer, perhaps demonstratively, to send a message? Although, some Chinese i have spoken to believe that these arrests can be more personal than political. Like... i got in an argument with that guy, now i will create a cancel mob on social media or contact the police directly to try get him arrested. It's definitely not cut and dried.
I think it is very CCP-ish, to not consistently and clearly enforce their rules. The phrase i see used a lot in the western press is "rule by law, not rule of law".
Another phrase i came across recently is 借古喻今 which means to borrow the ancient as a metaphor for today. I think this is how some contemporary Chinese entertainment gets away with telling slightly bolder stories without making it too obvious who or what they are actually criticizing.
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