silenced

This is an assignment in which I need to create two related pages of a graphic novel about a current political crisis. I decided to address the censorship policy in China, which I believe is an extension of the Cultural Revolution.

What we are allowed to see and not see is highly manipulated. China has its own internet, more precisely, an intranet. Much information is blocked. It feels like the government doesn’t want us to think critically, so they can control us more easily. They feed us cheap entertainment, like the mindless content on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok—yes, every platform has a Chinese version), to fill the time that could be spent thinking. The first part of my work is a response to this. We are pacified by “tittytainment” until our ability to think independently is utterly taken away.

Moreover, what we are allowed to say and not say is strictly controlled. The government only permits a singular voice, one that aligns with the core societal value it promotes—“harmony.” Any “other” voices are seen as threats to this “harmony” and are either discouraged or outright banned. The protests that broke out after the Urumqi fire in November 2022 were called the “White Paper Protests.” Protesting is seen as an act of disharmony that can lead to detainment. But how can the police arrest people if they aren’t saying anything? Unfortunately, they can—because the blank white paper has become a symbol of discontent with the strict censorship that silences people. This white paper becomes the inspiration for the second part of my work.

It’s been challenging to create on this topic because the fear of censorship has been ingrained in me. Even though I’m in a place where people are free to express their true thoughts, the anxiety about being watched and the need to censor myself still linger. But I finally completed the project.