TV dramas set on the Second Sino-Japanese War are getting flack from numerous observers such as Guangzhou's Southern Weekly and the state newswire Xinhua. Directly under the limelight is the controversial TV show "Yiqi Da Guizi" or "Let's Fight the Japanese Devils."
Period dramas such as "Yiqi Da Guizi" have drawn ire for outrageous storylines, inaccurate political and historical portrayals, and inappropriate use of genre tropes.
As a result, "Yiqi Da Guizi" has been ordered to be pulled off the air, according to Southern Weekly.
On May 20, Xinhua published several articles tackling the historical inaccuracies of a number of TV series set during the Japanese invasion of China. According to the state news site, these period dramas "pursue ratings at the expense of history."
Such dramas are popular among Chinese audiences, as it is fodder for an increasing anti-Japanese sentiment in the country. Aside from that, these TV dramas also fetch very high ratings.
Xinhua also posits that it is also easier to create anti-Japanese war dramas, as the topic can easily get past the censors than other genres. Like the Nazis serving as the villains in Western war movies, Japanese invaders automatically become the bad guys in Chinese war dramas.
Because of the increasing number of war dramas on TV, producers and writers are forced to combine different genres in order to stand out from the crowd. The result is outrageous storylines and unconventional use of tropes.
The Southern Weekly suggests that the lift of restrictions by the government on the TV industry in China can result in better--historically and politically correct--TV productions.