The Giant Propaganda Show That’s In Almost Every City

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  • Опубліковано 12 чер 2024
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    Video written by Amy Muller
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 3,9 тис.

  • @valmarsiglia
    @valmarsiglia 11 місяців тому +2093

    It's important to remember that just because a group is persecuted and oppressed-which is always wrong-it doesn't automatically make that group the good guys.

    • @sayyestofairness4266
      @sayyestofairness4266 7 місяців тому +1

      The Hong Kong protesters are the most recent example. They wanted freedom from the CCP, but stepped over themselves by waving US flags and worshipped far-right extremists like Trump. Not to mention they had racist attitudes towards mainland Chinese and other people of color (i.e. LeBron James). It backfired on them, and played into Beijing's hands.

    • @garyjones2084
      @garyjones2084 6 місяців тому +13

      but i havent seen one bad thing about them so sounds to me like they ARE the good guys.

    • @valmarsiglia
      @valmarsiglia 6 місяців тому +135

      @@garyjones2084 Great logic, lol.

    • @Randomperson12232
      @Randomperson12232 6 місяців тому +4

      @@valmarsigliawhat has the group done to you?

    • @valmarsiglia
      @valmarsiglia 6 місяців тому +153

      @@Randomperson12232 Nothing at all. Are _you_ only critical of groups who have done something directly to you?

  • @EpicgamerwinXD6669
    @EpicgamerwinXD6669 Рік тому +8791

    When I first saw advertisements for this play, I thought it was Chinese government propaganda. How ironic then that I was right about it being propaganda, but I couldn’t have been more wrong about the involvement of the Chinese government.

    • @dasamont8274
      @dasamont8274 Рік тому +840

      Truly an example of the horseshoe theory, when the left and the right goes extreme enough, they'll eventually end up looking the same

    • @doktorhabilitowanystanczyk
      @doktorhabilitowanystanczyk Рік тому +71

      ​@@dasamont8274 ok liberal

    • @EpicgamerwinXD6669
      @EpicgamerwinXD6669 Рік тому +170

      @@dasamont8274 yep. That’s actually why I’m a proud centrist.

    • @bian7744
      @bian7744 Рік тому +163

      Then it's simply because you don't do enough research...

    • @aaronblain6377
      @aaronblain6377 Рік тому

      ​@@EpicgamerwinXD6669 This is one of the groups of right-wing extremists the US govt backs in hopes of destroying Chinese society, along with the Al-Qaeda-affiliated East Turkestan Islamic Movement that wants western China to become part of a new Caliphate, and the pro-theocracy Tibetan separatists who want to re-establish serfdom in their country.
      So, Falun Gong IS "centrist".

  • @Lexiz2902
    @Lexiz2902 Рік тому +2520

    Being a native New Yorker, I see Shen Yun advertising EVERYWHERE. I always thought it was a cultural display like an opera showing how beautiful ancient Chinese culture is. I actually really wanted to go. Luckily this video was recommended lol.

    • @JA-oo9qp
      @JA-oo9qp Рік тому +1

      Thankfully someone else thought for you. You seriously have only seen this channel’s one sided representation of it. The channel is obviously a CCP shill. Think for yourself.

    • @stargirl7646
      @stargirl7646 Рік тому +43

      Same! This is shocking 😳

    • @freddyflower5322
      @freddyflower5322 Рік тому +6

      Yo same

    • @itismethatguy
      @itismethatguy 11 місяців тому +11

      Cant see it anywhere here, tho its a really large city lol. Maybe due to noone rich warning to come here and noone being able to afford it.. or dancing not being a thint

    • @roo.pzz4380
      @roo.pzz4380 9 місяців тому +10

      SAME BUT IM IN CANADA

  • @ashtonvandyke7163
    @ashtonvandyke7163 Рік тому +651

    always see their posters around asian markets and asian cultural spaces, and i find it particularly nefarious as a chinese-american. they advertise themselves in spaces that asian-americans feel safe and included in. They’ll put their posters up with posters for locally owned asian businesses that people trust. It’s predatory and gross.

    • @MultiSciGeek
      @MultiSciGeek 5 місяців тому +36

      Good to hear that. Before I knew much about them, I thought loads of people would stand with them, cause they're persecuted... But luckily loads of Chinese are critical of the CCP and still level headed enough to reject this bs. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying people are dumb... all I'm saying is that I'm glad people don't just see them as a persecuted group, but an evil cult that they are.

  • @BakusanDayo
    @BakusanDayo Рік тому +11848

    Shen Yun is proof that an enemy of an enemy is not necessarily a friend.

    • @Padgriffin
      @Padgriffin Рік тому +1245

      It’s one of the rare cases where it’s impossible to root for anybody involved
      Except Amy. She’s a hero for sitting through it lol

    • @norgeek
      @norgeek Рік тому +59

      My thoughts exactly!

    • @themasterofdisastr1226
      @themasterofdisastr1226 Рік тому +91

      Isnt China on Geopolitics enough for that? Our leaders dont like Russa who dont like China. But we dont like China as well.
      Now throw in East/West Europe, India, Pakistan, Brazil, etc. and you got a real cluster?uck.

    • @FNLNFNLN
      @FNLNFNLN Рік тому +303

      @@Padgriffin It's honestly not that rare for there to be a case where it's impossible to root for anyone involved... Authoritarian governments and religious nutjobs get into squabbles with other authoritarian governments and religions cults quite often.

    • @GyroCannon
      @GyroCannon Рік тому +153

      I’ve played enough video games to know that the enemy of my enemy is also my enemy

  • @Fs3i
    @Fs3i Рік тому +8134

    I'm sure the "handpicking" of young women/girls in a devout "religious community" as dancers in a remote estate is entirely unproblematic, and nothing shady whatsoever is going on!

    • @Wintermute01001
      @Wintermute01001 Рік тому +783

      Australian Broadcasting Company did an interview with a former member who tried out as a dancer as a child. The instructor grabbed a handful of fat at her stomach and told the whole class "This is not what a woman is supposed to look like."

    • @paulcalixte2223
      @paulcalixte2223 Рік тому +114

      Resisting the urge to look up their travel arrangements for shows...

    • @GodHandFemto
      @GodHandFemto Рік тому

      @@Wintermute01001 This sounds more like an Asian thing than a cult thing

    • @andersjjensen
      @andersjjensen Рік тому +939

      Yup. Young petite, extremely fit and flexible women with an aptitude for grace have always been completely safe in the hands of old spiritual advisors who hold positions of unchecked power.

    • @AllahDoesNotExist
      @AllahDoesNotExist Рік тому +71

      @@andersjjensen I want to become a spiritual leader.

  • @princesshannah7
    @princesshannah7 Рік тому +1125

    We had quite a few field trips canceled in high school, but this was the only one that was canceled because one of the teachers went to see it first and reported back with "this is a propaganda show, do not send the kids to this." And I don't remember that being elaborated on much at the moment but uhh......this video has certainly cleared that up, yikes.

    • @ahndeux
      @ahndeux Рік тому

      And the same teachers allowed half naked men dressed as drag queens to sell sex change operations and puberty blockers to the students. No wonder they barely get paid higher than minimum wage. Its because minimum wage is more than their worth. If they were worth more, they would have quit their jobs. I think they didn't want the kids to watch the show because it could cut into their process of brainwashing and indoctrinating kids to believe they will die because the air is 1 degree warmer in 1000 years from now or there are more than one gender even though their genes determine the gender. Don't believe in science, believe the lies from minimum wage workers. Watching Chinese dancers are more dangerous than puberty blockers of course.

    • @jasondashney
      @jasondashney Рік тому +77

      This must’ve been a long time ago because teachers these days certainly have no problem with teaching propaganda

    • @danielwoods3896
      @danielwoods3896 11 місяців тому

      @@jasondashneythey’d definitely have a problem with anti-CCP propaganda lol

    • @NeonKnight83
      @NeonKnight83 9 місяців тому +1

      But now they can take elementary school children to drag shows

    • @RandomVidsforthought
      @RandomVidsforthought 5 місяців тому +2

      @@ahndeux 🤣

  • @aznbigboyjo3
    @aznbigboyjo3 Рік тому +484

    Watch out for this cult. I met a kind person at my work and he was there because his son at the time was in critical condition eventually passing away. When I seen him again the next day he told me how his son didnt make it and I gave him my condolences. A few minute later he went from talking about his son to trying to recruit me to Fa Lun Gong but I already knew about their cult history. It blows my mind how someone that lost a child would still try to recruit members at that very moment.

    • @MultiSciGeek
      @MultiSciGeek 5 місяців тому +19

      WTF? How big is this cult!?? It seems they're everywhere!

    • @crashharmonyroberson5076
      @crashharmonyroberson5076 5 місяців тому +1

      Its not a cult. Its a religion just like Jehovah witness

    • @JesusLopezPrado9601
      @JesusLopezPrado9601 5 місяців тому +55

      @@crashharmonyroberson5076What is the difference?

    • @crashharmonyroberson5076
      @crashharmonyroberson5076 5 місяців тому

      @@JesusLopezPrado9601 a cult incentive is violence, supreme punishment, suicide, murder, rape, sexualisation of minors, etc. the worst I have found falun gong doing is protest.
      They believe in a higher being and do not inflict violence or any of the sort to their own people

    • @m4sherman926
      @m4sherman926 5 місяців тому +68

      @@crashharmonyroberson5076Jehovahs witness is definitely a cult

  • @cookiemonster59263
    @cookiemonster59263 Рік тому +3968

    Shen Yun marketers came by the coffee shop chain I work at. They were VERY insistent about putting up their brochures and posters in our store, even as the manager was growing increasingly uncomfortable by the level of "this is fine. this is a good show. you wouldn't want to suppress the arts, would you?" that they were forcing on her. It was only after they left that I popped my head around the corner and went "they're basically a cult, you know that right?"
    They came back a week later and were very distressed that the posters and brochures that they'd "given" to us were nowhere to be seen.

    • @dj_ath
      @dj_ath Рік тому +31

      I'm gonna have to check it out. Epoch has some good articles yeah its right wing but I'm down the middle.

    • @davidmc5762
      @davidmc5762 Рік тому +849

      ​@@dj_ath the homophobia and racism wasn't an issue for you? That's not "down the middle" buddy that's messed up

    • @jtgd
      @jtgd Рік тому +1

      @@dj_ath lol “good”.
      It’s propaganda. You’re lapping it up thinking they have a line between promoting propaganda and honest and accurate stories.
      Their stories are the propaganda, and propaganda’s nature is to make itself look like it isn’t promoting a political agenda

    • @jtgd
      @jtgd Рік тому

      @@davidmc5762 he’s either a troll or truly ignorant on the subject of propaganda

    • @avo478
      @avo478 Рік тому +732

      ​@@davidmc5762 "I'm a centrist because my economic stance is right wing but I'm afraid of also admitting that my social stance is rightwing"

  • @gedelgo3242
    @gedelgo3242 Рік тому +5218

    The best part of this show is watching all the people who brought their kids to the ballet without knowing what Shen Yun is about. My favorite was when a mother of 3 chose to awkwardly shuffle her three tots out of the theatre after the main character had her eyes gouged out by the CCP police. "Time to go kids"

    • @jjbarajas5341
      @jjbarajas5341 Рік тому +770

      The advertising definitely doesn't make it clear lol

    • @gelomelo44
      @gelomelo44 Рік тому +248

      even better is the fact that you can actually argue with policemen in china without fear of getting shot

    • @dustinbrueggemann1875
      @dustinbrueggemann1875 Рік тому +438

      @@gelomelo44 Yeah, they just send you directly to the "reeducation facility". Pigs gonna pig, the country just changes their preferred methods.

    • @real_dddf
      @real_dddf Рік тому

      @@dustinbrueggemann1875 after not so recent reforms, police cannot send you to reeducation facilities at will and a court order is needed to do anything actually bad to you. Not that I condone resisting lawful orders of police, but if you are going to do it, it is better for you to do it in China.

    • @Fishmans
      @Fishmans Рік тому +295

      Chinese police and government is extremely tough on political dissident, but not petty crime. You won’t see the arbitrary brutality of American cops over things like stops, but you better not insult Xi.

  • @Safety_Scissors
    @Safety_Scissors Рік тому +407

    I was almost recruited in elementary school. We went on a field trip to the Fei Tian academy in SF to learn about their school (Note that we are a class of all Chinese students from a Chinese school). We toured the place and had us to some stretching exercises, which I’m pretty sure was their way of seeing if we are flexible enough to join. They picked me and a friend for recruitment and gave us a sheet of paper with contact info and about their program for if we wanted to join. Their program for students was majority of the day is dancing, and about 4 hours worth of general ed classes afterwards.
    I’m so glad I was too lazy to want to dance.

    • @MultiSciGeek
      @MultiSciGeek 5 місяців тому

      Do you know if they get paid for this? Their compound looks like it's run like one of those North Korea worker's outposts in Russia or Poland - all money being sent back home while you slave away and get food and shelter in return.

  • @sovest555
    @sovest555 Рік тому +157

    I went to this show expecting a cultural display.
    Then they ended it with a tsunami with Marx's face on it, and I couldn't take it seriously anymore.

    • @abbycollins
      @abbycollins 4 місяці тому +14

      That’s honestly legendary, holy shit. Does anyone have a UA-cam link or something?

    • @Ellie-rx3jt
      @Ellie-rx3jt 2 місяці тому +4

      ​@@abbycollinsI am devastated to inform you that as far as I can find it isn't on UA-cam 😭

    • @Kingdom_Of_Dreams
      @Kingdom_Of_Dreams Місяць тому +9

      @@abbycollins Filming inside is illegal because of the copyright they have of the graphics technology thing (hard to explain what the technology actually is, but the way they integrate the dancers with what's happening on the screen behind them is part of a patent that is legally protected by copyright law).

    • @user-uu7bl5ev3v
      @user-uu7bl5ev3v Місяць тому

      I kinda want to watch it now.

    • @monkemaster4756
      @monkemaster4756 19 днів тому +1

      I went to the show multiple times, this has never happened.

  • @batriam5921
    @batriam5921 Рік тому +1837

    there's something hilarious about them naming a place "Dragon springs" only for it to be in "Deer park". The contrast is too good

    • @OkieOtaku
      @OkieOtaku Рік тому +20

      It's *Deer*park not Deep Park

    • @batriam5921
      @batriam5921 Рік тому +49

      @@OkieOtaku Thanks. The whole point of the contrast was deer and dragon so idk how I wrote deep.

    • @wilsonli5642
      @wilsonli5642 Рік тому +24

      @@batriam5921 It's also not "Deer Park", which is a whole another town in Long Island :D

    • @WyvernYT
      @WyvernYT Рік тому +29

      @@wilsonli5642 Until today I was unaware of Deerpark NY and Deer Park NY. (I'm on the west coast, where we have Eureka CA and Yreka CA.) I'm sure this never causes New Yorkers any confusion whatsoever.

    • @kc4cvh
      @kc4cvh Рік тому +11

      A deer is a dragon, if the emperor says it is a dragon.

  • @nrsrymj
    @nrsrymj Рік тому +1798

    Falun gong is Asia's scientology

    • @ANDREALEONE95
      @ANDREALEONE95 Рік тому +96

      It's always new age BS, but STILL better than scientology.

    • @ANDREALEONE95
      @ANDREALEONE95 Рік тому +36

      @@thotslayer9914 Even Jesus is better.

    • @zesky6654
      @zesky6654 Рік тому

      It's more like chinese nazism.

    • @codylarkhart261
      @codylarkhart261 Рік тому +1

      @@thotslayer9914 lost souls you are.

    • @yanwain9454
      @yanwain9454 Рік тому

      that's probably true but that doesn't make it ok to "violently persecute" them or harvest their organs. the ccp literally made a religion illegal and there are people who claim to be progressives in this comment section who are acting like it's fine.....

  • @tiffanyjiaxinhuang8503
    @tiffanyjiaxinhuang8503 Рік тому +226

    I grew up in mainland China but went abroad in my high school years. When I went out with friends and saw these propaganda, we would joke about how we should work for them since they pay a lot. My family did one time approach a person from Falungong in Taiwan, they they said they are paid around 100 bucks a day to advocate for this Falun organization, and this was back in 2015. We had hidden rules about not siding with everything between Chinese communities, because deep down inside we know that there are some disturbing shit going on in it. This is an organized group of people connected not by any religious beliefs, but money.

    • @alexsis1778
      @alexsis1778 Рік тому +11

      I wouldn't say that's necessarily true. In any organization of this scale you'll always find some true believers as well as some who are truly just in it for the exercise (Yoga class with your friends?). The majority of the people at the top may be in it for the money but they make their money by getting the masses to believe whatever they're peddling. Then you make money either directly from the flock or by getting paid by outside groups to promote certain things to them.

    • @leezhieng
      @leezhieng Рік тому +4

      I even saw these falungong people spreading leaflets in Malaysia, mostly old chinese ladies who can't speak a word of english, not local Malaysian chinese but from somewhere else (Taiwan I suppose?)

    • @dan-bz7dz
      @dan-bz7dz 5 місяців тому

      @@alexsis1778 True. But in the end it's all about money for the cult leaders. Falun Gong is essentially a Chinese Scientology church

  • @elmono6299
    @elmono6299 Рік тому +40

    So basically, Scientology but disguised as Beijing Opera.

  • @havek23
    @havek23 Рік тому +1822

    It comes around in January here and in 2021 we had a joke that if the people who put up Shen Yun posters across our entire metropolitan area overnight had rolled out the vaccines we would've been done so quick lol

    • @GyroCannon
      @GyroCannon Рік тому

      The irony of the joke is that the Falun Gong people probably don't believe in vaccines lol

    • @ArdisMeade
      @ArdisMeade Рік тому

      I haven't checked, but I'd bet they're antivaxers.

    • @pcmacintyre
      @pcmacintyre Рік тому

      Ironic since FLG are antiscience and anti modern medicine..

    • @robezy0
      @robezy0 Рік тому

      To bad they're anti-vaxxers as well

    • @joeojeda4651
      @joeojeda4651 Рік тому

      You do know the latest medical data shows the vax, mask and quarantines were bs,right? There is a reason why fauci is desperately trying to defend himself

  • @lewismassie
    @lewismassie Рік тому +2820

    "The wonder of seeing a human being do a flip with the aesthetics of Windows 97" is one of the greatest sentences ever written

    • @mstrmren
      @mstrmren Рік тому +54

      And the ads make it look exactly that way too! Although I think it looks more like Windows XP

    • @patientallison
      @patientallison Рік тому +195

      Made even better by the fact that Windows 97 does not exist, there's 95 and 98.

    • @Connie_cpu
      @Connie_cpu Рік тому +50

      ​@@patientallison probably got mixed up with the existence of Office 97 :P

    • @charactooling6470
      @charactooling6470 Рік тому +72

      @@patientallison surprisingly, Windows 97 almost existed
      Microsoft planned for 3 releases in 1995, 1996 and 1997 under the codenames Chicago, Nashville and Memphis
      Chicago became Windows 95
      Nashville was cancelled
      Memphis was delayed to 1998 and became Windows 98

    • @AudieHolland
      @AudieHolland Рік тому +13

      Can't be positive. Remember CLIPPY
      Huh

  • @synwei1558
    @synwei1558 Рік тому +69

    Some takeaways: Fa Lun actually means “the wheel of natural laws” that spins in mind. Gong is the same character as Kung in Kung Fu which means function or ability, just pronounced differently in Mandarin and Cantonese.

  • @AverytheCubanAmerican
    @AverytheCubanAmerican Рік тому +460

    On top of owning Shen Yun and Epoch Times, they also own New Tang Dynasty and China Uncensored (hence why you always see NTD microphones in their commercials). Regarding that headquarters you mentioned, you can actually see Dragon Springs if you take the Port Jervis Line (as their temple is huge). Everything built there goes against local construction and environmental regulations. The town took them to court in 2014, and they were sued by residents and NYenvironcom in 2022 for breaking the Clean Water Act. The people who perform for Shen Yun are forced to live and rehearse there. And their leader Li Hongzhi says he was brought to save everyone and when asked if he's a human being has said, "You can think of me as a human being"...yeah

    • @01296501923654
      @01296501923654 Рік тому +13

      Also, he can fly. Too modest to show it off though.

    • @ianmason96
      @ianmason96 Рік тому +63

      Shit, they OWN China Uncensored? I was just under the impression that Chris was just trying to ignore Taiwan and Falun Gong’s shortcomings for his audience… though to be honest, his endorsement of Trump’s China policy made me unsubscribe before then.

    • @pandaandthegecko5480
      @pandaandthegecko5480 Рік тому +35

      @@ianmason96 yeah he’s an actual Falun Gong practitioner

    • @Vysair
      @Vysair Рік тому

      So that's why the CCP chose violence...

    • @mikerouch416
      @mikerouch416 Рік тому +11

      ​@@pandaandthegecko5480 but he's in an interracial relationship

  • @vividwings
    @vividwings Рік тому +5931

    My husband got tickets for us for this before we knew what it was (and WHOO BOY DID I GOOGLE DURING INTERMISSION), but even my intermission research could not have prepared me for the show finale, which featured a literal tidal wave (on the not-great CGI projected backdrop) looming over Beijing, and then the tidal wave had KARL MARX'S FACE ON IT WITH A GIANT RED HAMMER AND SICKLE ON HIS FOREHEAD AND RED EYES, and then he was defeated by the cult founder (again, bad CGI projection!) and then clip art of various chinese deities flew around the screen orbiting him. I about died laughing and I will be talking about the LOOMING FACE OF KARL MARX in my eventual nursing home, I am sure.
    Anyway shit is WILD, I don't recommend seeing it but it is a weird mix of "mostly normal ish chinese dancing and silent plays" followed by "absolutely wild propaganda" at the end of each act.

    • @ameyskulkarni
      @ameyskulkarni Рік тому +399

      Holy shit LMAO now I gotta see this looming face of Marx lol

    • @hedgehog3180
      @hedgehog3180 Рік тому +210

      Gotta love the Karl Marx titan.

    • @AlisterPuddifer
      @AlisterPuddifer Рік тому +90

      Reading your comment has to be the best laugh I've had in weeks. :') Thank you.

    • @aminboumerdassi2334
      @aminboumerdassi2334 Рік тому +228

      ​@TigOlBiddies as someone who recently watched shen yun, it really is a strange mix of genuine cultural performances, religious preaching, and political messages. But the advertising very carefully hides the show's political and religious themes. If you can get past that, it's otherwise a pretty spectacular show.

    • @c-5921
      @c-5921 Рік тому +142

      I really hope someone steals and leaks the Marx Wave. It sounds like an epic desktop background

  • @apjapki
    @apjapki Рік тому +2499

    It's creepy how much these guys can't hide their deep Scientology vibes in adverts, in ticket booths, all over.

    • @Absalonian
      @Absalonian Рік тому +70

      I WAS LOOKING FOR A SCIENTOLOGY COMMENT LMAO

    • @unkannyunkanny9232
      @unkannyunkanny9232 Рік тому

      China is not subtle and it is everywhere. I suspect Falun Gong is doing what it can to mirror its oppressor. It's like how abused children grow up to be abusive parents and perpetuate the cycle.

    • @cam4636
      @cam4636 Рік тому +83

      Well, yeah. Generally once you're questioning whether you sound to outsiders like you're in a cult, you're getting close to questioning whether you are in fact in a cult. Can't maintain the "right" mentality if you've got self awareness.

    • @vaderbuckeye36
      @vaderbuckeye36 Рік тому +44

      Christian science is basically the og when it comes to these organizations in the U.S. it directly inspired aspects of Scientology

    • @BenjaminAnderson21
      @BenjaminAnderson21 Рік тому +23

      @@vaderbuckeye36 If by "Christian Science" you mean young-earth creationism then I can see where you're coming from, but what from I understand scientology is much more based on mysticism and subjective personal practices whereas young-earth creationism is based almost entirely on scripture. Creationists also follow scientific processes in their research much more than evolutionists seem to think, but that's a talk for another day.

  • @SwetPotato
    @SwetPotato 3 місяці тому +10

    Being chased by Falungong grannies as a Chinese mainlander in Sydney was like a daily thing to me back in 2011-2013.
    The first time was the worst because I didn't know who they were, what they were.
    I had a small talk with the grannies, once they learned that I am from China, they cornered me and forced me to sign petition to fight against CCP LOL.
    I tried to leave but they had their hands on my backpack and my jacket so I had to call the police.
    It seemed like they didn't understand a word of English which means that they didn't even know the police was coming.
    When the police arrived, they were so scared and just left.
    I feel like they are way less aggressive now.

  • @jadedfire4351
    @jadedfire4351 Рік тому +14

    lmaoo the video of the "photography strictly prohibited" gives me "That sign can't stop me cuz I cant read!" vibes

  • @enderboy1824
    @enderboy1824 Рік тому +5246

    Amy is becoming my favorite person in these videos. Putting herself on the line for stupid HAI videos

    • @EnbyNomad
      @EnbyNomad Рік тому +77

      The hero we needed

    • @TakeWalker
      @TakeWalker Рік тому +184

      She needs a raise for "the aesthetics of Windows 97" alone XD

    • @9volt65
      @9volt65 Рік тому +33

      Amy is the real MVP.

    • @km077
      @km077 Рік тому +28

      Is there a playlist of videos with Amy appearances?

    • @johnladuke6475
      @johnladuke6475 Рік тому +23

      I really like her open disdain for Sam. My new favourite part of the channel.

  • @edl5731
    @edl5731 Рік тому +3236

    Amy should be in the next Jet Lag.

    • @artielikesthings
      @artielikesthings Рік тому +210

      She's already wasting Sam's money, she'd be a perfect future teammate! Brian and Ben with their telescope and tinder subscription would be so proud!

    • @abdullahcosgun
      @abdullahcosgun Рік тому +33

      Yes, I was going to comment the same thing. Amy for the Jet Lag Season 7?

    • @benwsibley
      @benwsibley Рік тому +13

      Please do this!

    • @fabi6688
      @fabi6688 Рік тому +3

      That's what I was thinking

    • @JustSomeWeirdo
      @JustSomeWeirdo Рік тому

      @@artielikesthings what do you mean by that?

  • @BatCountryAdventures
    @BatCountryAdventures Рік тому +11

    The whole rumour about CCP harvesting organs from Falun Gung practitioners started from a report which pointed out the discrepancies between the number of patient who have received an organ transplants (quite a big number) and the number of people signed up to donate their organ after death (which is not a lot). The writer of the report than account for the number of FLG practitioner who supposedly went missing during the same period and assume they were detained, killed and had their organs harvested.
    Right... THAT is the proof that CCP harvested organs from FLG practitioners and the world believed it.
    I mean no one considered that it was the CCP officials who cooked up the numbers of transplants to make themselves look good. Everything they have reported were 100% accurate. *roll eyes*

  • @orangepeeledjuice
    @orangepeeledjuice Рік тому +106

    I can confirm. I went to see Shen Yun back in February with a friend. I knew all about everything going on behind the scenes, and I went as a way to futher find out about it because I found it very interesting.
    The songs against evolution and all that stuff was definitely jarring, even more so the organ harvesting number.
    Over and over through the performance, the MCs make a very convincing argument about members of Falun Gong being prosecuted and that they are trying to perserves traditional chinese culture. So, if you knew nothing about falun gong or anything else, you might believe it. It was funny to see just how much they pushed these ideas lol
    I will say that the show was impressive though, the performers were all very talented, but many of the dance numbers felt repetitive.
    Honestly i found the show the most enjoyable because i knew about all this background knowledge before hand.
    Also right when I was leaving, there was a thing set up where audience members were being interviewed about the show. I wish I could bw closer to hear exactly whT they were asked lol.
    I also remember during intermission i overheard a lady who said she sees the show every single year.. that was definitely something lol
    Anyway, definitely a very strange experience

    • @MultiSciGeek
      @MultiSciGeek 5 місяців тому +9

      Sounds bizarre alright. I mean not for the fact that they promote Falun Gong - but all the anti evolution stuff... I imagine if you were just expecting a normal show, this would be quite a shock.
      Btw what's the price for a ticket?

    • @wmaster3603
      @wmaster3603 5 місяців тому +3

      ⁠​⁠@@MultiSciGeekFrom what I remember the prices ranged from $90 ish to around $300. Really expensive.

  • @no3namesalike
    @no3namesalike Рік тому +3105

    An added wrinkle: if you are ethinically/visibly Chinese, you should be extremely cautious about going to one of these shows. My best friend is Chinese American and was invited to one of these shows by a non-Chinese friend--at the time, neither of them knew about Shen Yun's background.
    At the show, a group of 'plainclothes' Falun Gong/Shen Yun people cozied up to the pair and pretended to be fellow enthusiastic audience members. Then, they basically separated the non-Chinese woman from my friend and started doing a really hard sell on Falun Gong and extreme anti-CCP stuff, which is slightly hilarious because my friend is definitely not a fan of the CCP but is also not at all interested in Falun Gong (in no little part because she's mixed-race, even if she doesn't look it). It was actually pretty frightening at the time for both women--my friend's friend watched as our friend was virtually kidnapped so carefully and politely during the intermission right in front of her, and my normally streetwise friend discovered she'd been lured into a room with strangers who wanted her to sign up to a cult because she looked "sufficiently Chinese".
    Long story, short: everyone should avoid Shen Yun, but especially if you have Chinese ancestry because you will likely be targeted for recruitment at the show. Stay safe, y'all.

    • @superslash7254
      @superslash7254 Рік тому +12

      ccp pls go

    • @no3namesalike
      @no3namesalike Рік тому +167

      @@superslash7254 Sorry, I'm a little confused. Is your comment just a general wish/statement, like "I want to see the end of CCP," or is it directed at me? Because if you think I am somehow associated with or a fan of CCP, it's amazing how much you don't know me, friend.

    • @hughmungus2760
      @hughmungus2760 Рік тому +294

      don't worry. Just announce loud and proud you're gay or trans and they drop you like a hot potato.

    • @Laurzure
      @Laurzure Рік тому +54

      Thank you! I am mixed race Chinese I have been wary of them too. I don't look too Chinese but this must have been a very strange thing... I hope this doesn't happen to me...

    • @LauraLovesHugs
      @LauraLovesHugs Рік тому +41

      @@hughmungus2760 yeah they're massively reactionary lol

  • @galashery7264
    @galashery7264 Рік тому +632

    When I was bombed with their ads and had no idea what it was I thought this might be nice. I clicked on it and saw the ticket price and did a 180 on the spot. I can go to 4 theater shows for that money. At least in the city near me they charged like a Broadway. Now that I know what it is I’m happy I made the right choice.

    • @Rokegle135
      @Rokegle135 Рік тому +1

      Really is it that expensive

    • @Rokegle135
      @Rokegle135 Рік тому +1

      Prices look reasonable but it sure is sold out

    • @Motoko_Urashima
      @Motoko_Urashima Рік тому +29

      ​@@Rokegle135 I just checked and it's $130 for decent seats in detroit. Now, considering that it'd be a $406 ticket out, and a $259 ticket back on southwest airlines... um....that's a no from me dawg.

    • @galashery7264
      @galashery7264 Рік тому +31

      @@Rokegle135 it’s been a few months but I remember it started at about a hundred dollars for the worst seats. I have no clue how this thing almost sells out. People pay 200$+ for front row it’s crazy.

    • @dustinbrueggemann1875
      @dustinbrueggemann1875 Рік тому +34

      To paraphrase L Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology: "the real money is in starting a cult"

  • @mateuszdajczak6807
    @mateuszdajczak6807 Рік тому +35

    As a person who was born in Bydgoszcz and used to live in Nagoya I’m truly amazed to see those two random cities named in one video.

  • @Biscuitsdefortune
    @Biscuitsdefortune Рік тому +34

    I love those notes at 5:14 : "Why does the woman next to us keep shaking her head" , "I'm cold", "So much butt stuff in this one (stab??)", "ladiee next to us left..."

    • @alexn5743
      @alexn5743 4 місяці тому +2

      OK, I kinda want to know what the butt stuff was!

    • @abbycollins
      @abbycollins 4 місяці тому +5

      “Never mess with a drunk monk” and “Elton John” are my two favorites

  • @oscarsoto8428
    @oscarsoto8428 Рік тому +960

    I think that's the most nefarious thing about Shen Yuen. They market themselves as "China before communism", and it's like... they're not talking about the dancing, they're talking about their religion, and that's not even correct, because they started their religion DURING communism anyway. 🤷‍♂ But they purposely make it seem like this type of art only existed before communism in China, even though they probably have similar dance going on in China right now. Like, China ain't Footloose ya'll, someone didn't come in and ban all dancing.

    • @hughmungus2760
      @hughmungus2760 Рік тому +1

      China before communism = endless civil war, invasion by japan, opium addiction, serfdom and mass illiteracy. Thats what these idiots want to go back to.

    • @eatfruitsalad345
      @eatfruitsalad345 Рік тому +99

      LMAO at "china ain't footloose"
      i was somewhat hoping this vid would talk about what kind of dance they're doing exactly in shen yun, but traditional chinese dances like the lion dance you can still see in basically any chinatown during the lunar new year

    • @TechieWidget
      @TechieWidget Рік тому +83

      Yeah, they like to market how China was better before communism. For someone like me who knows some of Chinese history, China before communism wasn't always a nice place you would want to live in, especially in the 1930s and 1940s.

    • @fatcat1414
      @fatcat1414 Рік тому +116

      ​@@TechieWidget No communist country was a capitalist paradise before their revolutions like Shen Yun would have you believe. We could argue about whether they were better or worse, but history tells us that happy people generally don't feel the need to start revolutions.

    • @Workof
      @Workof Рік тому +42

      Its never the communism that makes something suck, its the intense fascism that often comes with it

  • @ZiggyTheHamster
    @ZiggyTheHamster Рік тому +663

    A "fun" fact: Falun Gong also operates some businesses unrelated to their direct mission. For instance, they own Albany Subaru in Albany, CA, and advertise it on Falun Gong/Epoch Times accounts (which is why I know this), and if you click the button to get more info about the ad, you're taken to a Falun Gong adjacent UA-cam channel with propaganda...and not information about the all-new Subaru whatever.

    • @yanDeriction
      @yanDeriction Рік тому +92

      I for one am troubled by how they are tainting the noble business of subaru dealerships

    • @Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger
      @Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger Рік тому +34

      How dare they snub our darling Subaru? Theirs is a time-honored mobility based business, without which the world would suffer - how could they not see the consequences their actions carry?
      When Subaru is only a distant memory, Falun Gong will see the error of their ways.

    • @Hrafnskald
      @Hrafnskald Рік тому +59

      That's surprising, considering Subaru has a very Pride-friendly brand. Their "Love: What Makes a Subaru a Subaru" is famous as an early example of pro-LGBT advertising hiding in plain sight.
      Someone should tell them about the connection. Just to see their look of horror as they desperately try to debrand. And maybe capture it and upload it to UA-cam Shorts :)

    • @erinmac4750
      @erinmac4750 Рік тому +5

      ​@@Hrafnskald That would be awesome! 💜✊
      #OneLove 🌈🌞🏳️‍⚧️🍀

    • @armchairwarrior963
      @armchairwarrior963 Рік тому +15

      They also operate China Uncensored on youtube

  • @unofficial_ai
    @unofficial_ai Рік тому +36

    I ran into this group during a trip to DC my class did in my 8th grade. I was in the elevator with one of them and he tried to sell me on everything and gave me a pamphlet. I only realized this is who you were talking about when you brought up the organ farming stuff, that the biggest thing I remember from what the guy gave me.

  • @DawnDavidson
    @DawnDavidson Рік тому +175

    I’m starting to have some serious wondering about New York State. I grew up there (Rochester), and one time my mom took me to a giant gathering outdoors, where they told interesting stories that started out “Christian”. But at some point - just when I thought it was getting interesting! - she yanked me out of there quick as could be, in front of everyone and wouldn’t turn back. Turns out it was the big meeting of the Mormons, whose “sacred texts” were supposedly dug up near there.
    Then there’s the Oneida cult. Very popular in the 1800s, the Oneida flatware company still exists and makes really good flatware. But they were originally another cult.
    The Shakers - they of the lovely simple furniture, who were also completely celibate - ALSO originally settled in NY.
    And now to find out Shen Yun is based on NY state as well … What the heck?! Is it some subtle mineral in the land there that draws religious-fringe and cult groups??
    Guess I’m glad I moved away in my teen years! 😂

    • @kluevo
      @kluevo Рік тому

      Tbf, NY has a large population thanks to being a massive historical immigrant nexus, so ideas mix and travel out through the area. Plus cults have an easier time brainwashing people who have just arrived to the country with few friends or family to check in on them, so it's easier to gain a following and grow to a significant size and become known.
      As for Shen Yun, I think they just moved to deerpark because its the NYC area.

    • @RageABoo
      @RageABoo Рік тому +39

      NY is pretty much the first state you would be arrive in usa if you were to immigrate from Europe to escape religious prosecution( religion wise) and to start anew, many would built up a following and then move out of state or stay to earn funds for their churches as it's populated and huge economic growth, as for falun gong, its a heavy density of chinese immigrants to gather recruits from during the 90s that just left china

    • @CanonessEllinor
      @CanonessEllinor Рік тому +20

      Jehovah’s Witnesses are also based in New York state (Warwick, to be precise).

    • @yasmeenw7227
      @yasmeenw7227 Рік тому +3

      Oneida is a tribal nation, what do you mean by cult?

    • @victorianicholls3991
      @victorianicholls3991 Рік тому +10

      I think they’re talking about a different Oneida, the religious community one. I heard about it in a Sam O’Nella video lol

  • @leonmat26
    @leonmat26 Рік тому +1341

    The Falun Dafa are scarily good in their tactics. Went to an art festival in Fremont, CA. The street was in the shape of a letter L. And where did this group put their tents?
    At one end: Sheng Yun
    At the other end: Falun Dafa
    And in the middle: Epoch Times.
    Even though they were all the same organization, they split and set up different booths in the more important parts of the festival.

    • @TheKeksadler
      @TheKeksadler Рік тому

      Classic influence tactics: minimize your presence by obfuscating your tendrils. Not the only cult that does this, unfortunately (Scientology and Christian Science come to mind)

    • @matheussanthiago9685
      @matheussanthiago9685 Рік тому +84

      What was this festival?
      The cultcon?

    • @3rdalbum
      @3rdalbum Рік тому +94

      Haha, that's a step above Scientology, which in my city is "coincidentally" two doors down from the Dianetics Foundation.

    • @leonmat26
      @leonmat26 Рік тому +107

      @@matheussanthiago9685 No there were dozens other legit local artists just selling paintings, sculptures, honey, food, etc. The Falun Dafa just happened to also have three tents in it lmao and tbh I think that's the scary part.

    • @unkannyunkanny9232
      @unkannyunkanny9232 Рік тому +18

      CA? California Insider (youtube channel) is affiliated with Epoch Times.

  • @kaylanotkyla
    @kaylanotkyla Рік тому +399

    i don’t know why i thought this was a niche thing, but it truly is enormously international 💀

    • @matheussanthiago9685
      @matheussanthiago9685 Рік тому +25

      We should make a battle Royale thin with the leaders of all ultrarich international cults
      The winner gets to be the one true cult

    • @skeletonking2501
      @skeletonking2501 Рік тому +10

      @@matheussanthiago9685 Savior Royale

    • @YourWaywardDestiny
      @YourWaywardDestiny Рік тому

      They try to make it seem like an earnest cultural effort and hide everything about the political/religious message they can. They _want_ you to think it's niche, they want you to think you're the special city where this got traction, it's easier to catch people unaware this way.

    • @thecapitalg
      @thecapitalg Рік тому

      Me too

    • @danielwoods3896
      @danielwoods3896 11 місяців тому

      @@matheussanthiago9685nobody liked the last time we had crusades

  • @Guidus125
    @Guidus125 Рік тому +100

    As someone who lives in Gainesville, Florida.... Seeing Gainesville being mentioned in the same breath as Paris, Nagoya and Taipei, has to be one of the weirdest feelings XD

    • @Rosarium2007
      @Rosarium2007 9 місяців тому +3

      And I found it funny that they had both Portlands back to back, with mine, the newer (and better) of the two, first.

    • @danielwoods3896
      @danielwoods3896 5 місяців тому +4

      @@Rosarium2007nothing about Portland Oregon is better than the one in Maine lol

  • @schrodingerscat4503
    @schrodingerscat4503 Рік тому +15

    I remember the dancing being great, the cgi being horrendous, and the messaging being weird

  • @tammyleung7578
    @tammyleung7578 Рік тому +725

    I am from Hong Kong. Before 2019 (just Google 2019 Hong Kong protest), we had freedom of the press. The Epoch Times would show up to random events like tree planting days or community sports days (we had to invite all media, no one came except The Epoch Times). They didn't come to report the events, they came to preach and it was very difficult to stop a reporter from "asking questions" without them citing their rights.

    • @namepeople5848
      @namepeople5848 Рік тому +26

      Wow...I don't know the media is also bad, I thought only the religion is kind of weird.

    • @NeostormXLMAX
      @NeostormXLMAX Рік тому +1

      Lol “freedom of press” you mean freedom of propaganda. Epoch times is literally fallun gong propaganda

    • @champan250
      @champan250 Рік тому +11

      Wasn't bad that they banned them after 2019 then

    • @champan250
      @champan250 Рік тому +3

      @@SockieTheSockPuppet and Apple Daily (the one that pioneered anime TikTok style news) was just a more legit version in terms of their China news coverage.... Only bad and terrible stuff were printed with a reasonable amount of exaggeration

    • @SockieTheSockPuppet
      @SockieTheSockPuppet Рік тому +6

      @@champan250 The fact that TikTok is even remotely associated makes me doubt that even more.

  • @StefanMilo
    @StefanMilo Рік тому +43

    I turned up to one of these thinking it was just a Chinese theatre show.
    I was very disappointed but the Karl Marx with laser eyes was pretty funny

  • @angelojermainex
    @angelojermainex Рік тому +26

    I used to think this show was unique to Dallas until I started to travel and seen it almost everywhere

    • @dhl567
      @dhl567 Рік тому +6

      Makes you wonder how the hell they have such an ENORMOUS budget for marketing around the world. They have way more money than most world-class performing groups. Like, who is providing the funding...?🤫

  • @dragskcinnay3184
    @dragskcinnay3184 Рік тому +339

    Can we just take a moment to salute the fact that he actually tried to make an effort to pronounce the Chinese names? Sure, it's still a fair bit off, but... you can hear he tried.

    • @32OrtonEdge32dh
      @32OrtonEdge32dh Рік тому +3

      If only the same effort went into the word "ancient"

    • @superslash7254
      @superslash7254 Рік тому +2

      We should also salute the impressive zeal to which he's taken to repeating CCP propaganda that's the moral equivalent of being a holocaust denier.

    • @dragskcinnay3184
      @dragskcinnay3184 Рік тому +60

      @@superslash7254 uhhhhh... what? You would you mind developping your point and the arguments for it? Because I genuinely don't understand what part of the video is comparable to Holocaust denial...

    • @elliot_rat
      @elliot_rat Рік тому +11

      @@superslash7254 what

    • @infiniteplanes5775
      @infiniteplanes5775 Рік тому

      What?

  • @avirajsinghmehta1857
    @avirajsinghmehta1857 Рік тому +587

    Now we want Amy in the next Jet Lag season

  • @Peringon
    @Peringon Рік тому +14

    What I love is that they are very un-subtle. For example, here in my country their posters read in plain spanish: "China before communism"

    • @deliciousmile
      @deliciousmile 3 місяці тому +6

      They been doing that in English in the US for several years now actually

    • @mimolettemoon1790
      @mimolettemoon1790 Місяць тому +1

      @deliciousmile They do it in Canada too, my city's got ads for em at a ton of bus stops

    • @absolutezerochill2700
      @absolutezerochill2700 Місяць тому +1

      I mean I'm Floridian, of course I had no problem when I saw that on the billboard in English, but with all this scientological, Falun Gong stuff? Yeah. Icky.

  • @Lica_The_Furry
    @Lica_The_Furry Рік тому +14

    I remember the billboards for it around Detroit said "China before communism" maybe a year ago, which told me enough about the show to know that it was very political. Strangely, from what i remember, i can't find a single billboard that still says that. They're otherwise identical, but none of them say "China before communism"

    • @abbycollins
      @abbycollins 4 місяці тому +1

      I think it depends on the market. In the trailers, they put before my local news on behalf of my theater, they do use that slogan, as well as when they’re selling at Costco out of all places.

    • @amoureux6502
      @amoureux6502 Місяць тому

      I remember the billboard near St. Louis that I saw several years ago also said "China before communism" and with the picture of the dancer I thought it looked pretty neat but once I learned later that it was a cult and that the show is apparently weird as hell I was glad to know I didn't miss much by never going lol.

  • @zacscalafini6545
    @zacscalafini6545 Рік тому +33

    So I worked security for these shows at a local theater. One of the most disrespectful talent clients my team ever worked with.
    They commanded my team and I to crawl on the floor as to not disrupt the show as we worked. They Demanded the theater buy catering on the first day with no notice. Required all lights be put out in theater… even flashlights and floor guide lights, but relented as it would go against local regulations.
    I get it they are talent and guests in our theater, but it’s kinda like being invited to a party and you show up and make an ass of yourself in the hosts house.

  • @Bobspineable
    @Bobspineable Рік тому +596

    Just because a group is oppressed doesn’t mean that they themselves should do the same.

    • @notest396
      @notest396 Рік тому

      So the Falun Gong people shouldn't arrest people and harvest their organs. I agree with that.

    • @therealspeedwagon1451
      @therealspeedwagon1451 Рік тому +23

      No! A group that is oppressed should take their revenge and beat their oppressors and destroy their culture and history! Truly show them who is boss!

    • @Bobspineable
      @Bobspineable Рік тому +71

      @@therealspeedwagon1451 then they are no better than the oppressor, they are equally as bad. If the world ran on revenge, there would be nobody left.
      If Ukraine decided they will commit the same war crimes as Russia, will you think that’s right.

    • @TheKeksadler
      @TheKeksadler Рік тому +24

      @@therealspeedwagon1451 Now where have I heard that before...?

    • @dologongpoloponobonotongpo235
      @dologongpoloponobonotongpo235 Рік тому +28

      @@TheKeksadler the local university campus

  • @greenguy369
    @greenguy369 Рік тому +40

    I took a friend of mine to see the show a few years ago. I had NO clue what it really was going in. I just thought it was a cool Chinese ballet. And, I mean, the show WAS beautiful. But it was also wild. The woman I was with noticed first. And then it was impossible NOT to see it. My friend and I STILL laugh about the whole experience.

  • @bellakagamine
    @bellakagamine Рік тому +48

    For a while when I was working the Spirit Halloween circuit one of my big empty box stores had a little troupe of old people doing stretching and exercises outside the door, like, literally every morning. I kind of just left them alone but one day one of my cashiers came in a few minutes late with a bunch of pamphlets, telling me about how those nice old people outside were protesting the Chinese government harvesting their organs because they liked Tai Chi with their morning coffee. It sounded fishy, and I knew Shen Yun was a cult, but I didn't think the two were connected until now... Neat.

    • @leezhieng
      @leezhieng Рік тому

      they really think their organs are that healthy just because they did stretching every morning lmao, and most of them are old people. who in their right mind will harvest their organs lol plus organ transplant don't work that way.

  • @mewosh_
    @mewosh_ Рік тому +505

    The fact that you included Bydgoszcz of all cities in the opening is funny to me because Bydgoszcz is the biggest meme city in Poland.

    • @GHOSTJMOON
      @GHOSTJMOON Рік тому +20

      Would it be the Ohio of Poland?

    • @Frommerman
      @Frommerman Рік тому +102

      A meme is supposed to be a self-reproducing idea. Bydgoszcz could not possibly be a meme because its name is impossible to remember how to spell. The city is clearly an anti-meme, a self-censoring idea.

    • @awheel
      @awheel Рік тому +16

      What about Białowieża, the biggest meme forest?

    • @wenchbyatt
      @wenchbyatt Рік тому +13

      Bydgoszcz, Sosnowiec, Radom,... Half of all Polish cities are memes anyway 😂

    • @Blex_040
      @Blex_040 Рік тому +4

      Is it like Bielefeld in Germany which does not exist?

  • @NVGEAR
    @NVGEAR Рік тому +54

    My friend's mom in New York joined and she actually believes she can be healed of various medical issues with no medication.

    • @cam4636
      @cam4636 Рік тому +29

      Cults are a hell of a drug.

    • @NeostormXLMAX
      @NeostormXLMAX Рік тому +9

      @@cam4636unification church is similar group from Korea

    • @mazzaleen6091
      @mazzaleen6091 Рік тому

      Who gives a shit? Call me when they start destroying chinese artifacts, create a famine that wipes out 3 million people and keeps religous practitioners in concentration camps. Someone thinking a lifestyle of relaxation and exercise improves their wellbeing is relatively benign. Considering "Half as interesting" is another generic, no-face, voice of god, youtube channel, I have a feeling they are most likely funded by the CCP and aren't being truthful either.

    • @jasondashney
      @jasondashney Рік тому +5

      To be fair, a giant chunk of medical issues can easily be cured without medication. It’s no coincidence that thin people who eat very healthy, natural foods have way less disease and problems. And tons of people who drastically improve what they put into their bodies drastically reduce the amount of medications they need to take.

    • @NVGEAR
      @NVGEAR Рік тому +6

      @@jasondashney lol obviously we re not talking about those behavioral affected health issues, ones that can improved with diet and exercise. We're talking about viral infections, diseases, stuff that needs modern medicine, antiviral and antibiotics to treat etc!

  • @chinaman8888
    @chinaman8888 Рік тому +27

    Yeah, me and a friend went to go see Shen Yun some years ago, and we knew nothing about it going in.
    As soon as that line in the Fail Ye Not segment came up, we both immediately went "WTF" and started being far more critical of the following segments and were not able to miss the propaganda moving forward. Ended up leaving before the whole show was over, mostly because she could not contain her giggling at some of the subtitles appearing on the screen.

  • @SupremeLeaderKimJong-un
    @SupremeLeaderKimJong-un Рік тому +134

    It says "Photography Strictly Prohibited" at 0:31 as it's being filmed...Amy is an absolute legend. We rarely allow people from outside our country to perform in Pyongyang and this is just another group that was added to the reject pile. The only time a group from the US has performed in the DPRK is when the New York Philharmonic visited in 2008 during my father's rule. Since then, we've had Slovenian rock band Laibach perform in August 2015 (who came to celebrate the 70th anniversary of liberation from Japanese control), and pop group Red Velvet in 2018 (who I'm in love with). But we really don't need all these groups when we have the incredible Moranbong Band and Chongbong Band to entertain us! Like us or not, our music never fails to be catchy.

    • @marchdarkenotp3346
      @marchdarkenotp3346 Рік тому +9

      I can't believe Kim is spitting facts here, gahdamn!

    • @atomictransfusion
      @atomictransfusion 9 місяців тому +5

      well photography prohibited means that you can't take photos not videos so they were abiding by the rules

    • @multifandomstanner
      @multifandomstanner 5 місяців тому

      I just was there. This was during intermission.

    • @MedorraBlue
      @MedorraBlue 5 місяців тому

      Hold up...

  • @johannes7059
    @johannes7059 Рік тому +371

    I am German and I am pretty sure I got a UA-cam ad for it a couple of weeks ago.
    The thing I found offputting in the ad was how pretentious the totally not paid post show reations from the "guests" where.

    • @The-Cookie
      @The-Cookie Рік тому +8

      Same here. I received at least four of these ads on UA-cam whilst I was still in the UK.

    • @bond0815
      @bond0815 Рік тому +10

      For a while these ads where everywere. And while the testimonials sounded very paid to me as well, probably its mostly cult members doing these for free.

    • @johannes7059
      @johannes7059 Рік тому +22

      @@bond0815 and every singe one of them was like "CEO" or "Professor" or "Doctor" or "politician" or something. Every single one.

    • @matheussanthiago9685
      @matheussanthiago9685 Рік тому

      The thing is, this guys still have light years to go before they can hold a candle to Mormonism/ jeovah's witness work of spreading cult bs

    • @Hrafnskald
      @Hrafnskald Рік тому

      Their ads on American UA-cam were blatant hate speech, trying to incite violence against people from China.

  • @mrsparkle3372
    @mrsparkle3372 Рік тому +110

    I went to one of these because I was invited by someone. We all left half way through. We spent half of the first part talking about when we should leave.The guy who bought the tickets was so mad.

    • @westrim
      @westrim Рік тому +29

      At the price per ticket, no wonder.

    • @Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger
      @Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger Рік тому +16

      Was the guy who bought the tickets already a member?
      I mean either way he lost out on his investment, just in different ways

  • @asterism343
    @asterism343 3 місяці тому +4

    i suppose this really shows that the enemy of your enemy is not always your friend.

  • @GermanSausagesAreTheWurst
    @GermanSausagesAreTheWurst 3 місяці тому +3

    I have practiced Martial Arts and Energy Work for many years.
    I asked a Chi Gong master about the exercises of Fa Lun.
    He said they are not only wrong, but they are actively harmful.
    Cults use stress and fatigue to break down your will power, and that's what the exercises of Fa Lun is for.

  • @JunkPhuJP
    @JunkPhuJP Рік тому +214

    Ooooooo.... I've been wondering about this for the past 20+ years from all the posters in Chinatown and H Mart, but thanks to your work, now I don't have to worry about wondering about it anymore.

    • @matheussanthiago9685
      @matheussanthiago9685 Рік тому +18

      Literally scientistology/ jeovah's witness for Chinese immigrants

  • @freyjathehealer5559
    @freyjathehealer5559 Рік тому +97

    The Thumbnail alone made me go “wait that has played in my city!” I usually go to the theatre for musicals when they come to town but always wondered why. I thought the tour was sponsored by China to promote Chinese arts and culture so to find out they hate was a big shock to me.

  • @nazbernard
    @nazbernard Місяць тому

    love how the backing strings briefly play “there is a light that never goes out”

  • @quentinvogel3855
    @quentinvogel3855 Рік тому +3

    Loved how finishing this video, I got the Shen Yun ad which I’ve been bombarded with for the past few weeks in the Mexican, Spanish, and American version: “Me faltan calificativos para decir…”

  • @gtsguy4138
    @gtsguy4138 Рік тому +601

    I’m glad Amy is doing something fun this week.

    • @tago3860
      @tago3860 Рік тому

      ikikik

    • @krallja
      @krallja Рік тому +26

      they didn’t even take any of her blood!

    • @rediponto9588
      @rediponto9588 Рік тому

      Wtf is this Amy

    • @Mohammed_plt
      @Mohammed_plt Рік тому +2

      @@krallja no marshmallows though :(

    • @OtakuUnitedStudio
      @OtakuUnitedStudio Рік тому +8

      "Red henchmen from space"
      "SPACE LION - Flew into sleeve of God???"
      "The leg flexibility of this stage is unnerving"
      "Why does the woman next to me keep shaking her head?"
      Yeah, I think she did, lol

  • @vucko3494
    @vucko3494 Рік тому +80

    Someone from this show randomly showed up to my high school back in December. This Chinese lady walked up to me and three other teens and the saddest part is that we couldn’t understand a word. We all had the same reaction after she walked out but I’m glad I’m not the only one seeing these posters

  • @MarekKilon
    @MarekKilon Рік тому +4

    Wow, the pronunciation of Bydgoszcz was almost spot-on, which is quite extraordinary. Great, great job, Sam!

  • @sleepysera
    @sleepysera Рік тому +27

    Aww, I'm kinda sad. I've seen the advertisments for a while now and looked into it a bit to see if it was legit but genuinely couldn't find anything "worrying" in my language (wasn't aware it was such a massive global thing and I could have searched in English too), so I had half-resolved myself to buy tickets one of these days, because I really like the visuals they are putting forth. Sadly, there are no other shows of that kind within reasonable travel distance of my city, so I was really happy that they were coming to mine...but I don't wanna give some cult my money :(

    • @mazzaleen6091
      @mazzaleen6091 Рік тому

      Considering "Half as interesting" is another generic, no-face, voice of god, youtube channel, I have a feeling they are most likely funded by the CCP and aren't being truthful either.

  • @Doping1234
    @Doping1234 Рік тому +305

    Yeah the experience is relatable. The show is really impressive and entertaining, but the political message waaaaay to thick, especially when you peddle some seriously questionable stuff.

    • @scottanno8861
      @scottanno8861 Рік тому

      Like the CCP killed Falun Gong members, did Tianmen Square, and persecute Uyghur Muslims?

    • @bjboss1119
      @bjboss1119 Рік тому

      Something something something.
      Oh look a gaint tsunami that takes up 90% of the background of a giant Fing stage, better start praying people!

    • @superslash7254
      @superslash7254 Рік тому

      People used to say the same thing about the holocaust. Now a solid third of millenials and gen Z don't believe it happened.

    • @6thgraderfriends
      @6thgraderfriends Рік тому +2

      Yeah I saw it too. The dancing was nice (mostly, except for that one about the government killing people) so it's cool, and the three musketeers have their own youtube channel (3 male dancers) that isn't that bad. Too bad their messaging is crazy.

  • @stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369

    Ooh ive seen a lot of ads for it in Paris, man usually France is pretty good with not accepting cults

    • @videonofan
      @videonofan 5 місяців тому +4

      French here, unfortunately the struggle against cults has been weakened by budget cuts and the struggle against djihadists

    • @stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369
      @stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369 5 місяців тому +2

      ah im French too just not informed lol thnx@@videonofan

  • @dominicpapatola5631
    @dominicpapatola5631 Рік тому +4

    I work at a theatre that the show comes to every year. The cast is arrogant, they try to order the staff around (which they CANNOT do. We work for the theatre, not the act) they complain about everything, and they put their own people in the seats. I even heard through the grapevine that they try to get discounts at restaurants and hotels by offering tickets.

  • @steam4219
    @steam4219 Рік тому +104

    I used to live less than a half hour away from the Dragon Springs Temple in Deerpark NY. Don't remember much other than there was some weird Asian religious group that kept themselves up on top of a hill. I think this is also the only time Deerpark has ever been mentioned on the internet.

    • @johnladuke6475
      @johnladuke6475 Рік тому

      Wow, you lived at their epicenter and didn't hear ALL ABOUT the atrocious things the Chinese government does to them? Usually they have a booth at... festivals, fairs, craft shows, farmer's markets... anywhere you can rent a booth for the day, handing out flyers and acting like they're persecuted for doing tai chi.

    • @steam4219
      @steam4219 Рік тому +7

      @@johnladuke6475 The town of Deerpark is really rural, and the closest city of Port Jervis was more like a village than a city, they seem to like do their preaching in locations like busy city centers. I think they probably kept a low profile in the local area so they wouldn't get kicked out by the local government.

  • @nope2dat
    @nope2dat Рік тому +87

    F***ing knew it was gonna be Shen yun from the title. Those posters are everywhere in London. It’s such a weird Wikipedia hole - how do people still keep going? How do shen yun not get into trouble?

    • @tacrewgirl
      @tacrewgirl Рік тому +3

      This part

    • @davidmc5762
      @davidmc5762 Рік тому

      Money mostly, and their anti cccp propaganda fits well with what a lot of people in the west already want to believe so it's an easy sell for them

    • @dan339dan
      @dan339dan Рік тому +32

      Same as how Scientology is still healthy and strong. But they are definitely not on the same level. haha

    • @tuxcrafting
      @tuxcrafting Рік тому

      money. and also a large amount of political influence due to the fact that they hate china (well, only the PRC) and communism, and most western govts also hate china and communism

    • @liuhc
      @liuhc Рік тому

      A cult is like a group of rabis infected hyenas, you just don't want to be anywhere near it. Should any western democratic government try to intervene, they'll immediately get slapped with all sorts of accusations like "CCP hitman", "religious persecution" and even "racisim", which ironically is what they are most good at themselves.

  • @TRDiscordian
    @TRDiscordian Рік тому +4

    Thank you so much for making this. The advchina guys used to push Falun Gong *all the time*, and refused to respond for comment. They didn't research into what they were promoting at all, and just went with "enemy of my enemy is my friend". This video only has the surface-level issues, but Falun Gong isn't a good thing, the only good thing about them is they're opposed to the CCP.
    I'd REALLY love to see the advchina guys issue a retraction on their previous support. Been following them for years and years now, and it was wild seeing how much support they were rallying for it.

  • @Ilyena
    @Ilyena 5 місяців тому +1

    I live a directly across from an ad for the show, so i can never miss it from my kitchen window, living room window, or when i leave for work.
    That's fun.

  • @Bryzerse
    @Bryzerse Рік тому +144

    A month ago I'd never heard of Amy, now she is my new favourite character

    • @Hand-in-Shot_Productions
      @Hand-in-Shot_Productions Рік тому +5

      Agreed! Since I haven't watched this in a while, I have never heard of her! Now, I like this journalist/scriptwriter/theater-goer a lot!

    • @badgerattoadhall
      @badgerattoadhall Рік тому

      Sam's probably started banging her?

  • @simonteesdale9752
    @simonteesdale9752 Рік тому +33

    They've been here in New Zealand for a while now as well.
    There was someone outside the local supermarket giving out fliers rather insistently and I'm really glad that I got rid of the flier when they pushed it on the person I was supporting.

  • @majormushu
    @majormushu Рік тому +4

    I can't take those billboards seriously because I had a booth for work close to one of their booths at a festival and for 8hrs on loop I heard "EXPERIENCE CHINA BEFORE COMMUNISM" I have no clue what anything else in their promo video said because that was all I ever caught and it is carved into my brain.

  • @mullahbaksheesh9151
    @mullahbaksheesh9151 5 місяців тому +2

    Shen yun, according to Shen Yun, means “the beauty of divine beings dancing.” (It can also be translated as “the rhythm of a divine spirit,” or, more simply, “God's melody.”) The Shen Yun Performing Arts organization was founded in 2006, in New York's Hudson Valley, and put on its first touring show in 2007.

    • @Clairejart
      @Clairejart 2 місяці тому

      Gods melody has bits about organ harvesting and eye gouging?

  • @Emillionaer
    @Emillionaer Рік тому +32

    I live on top of the back-entrance to a concert hall in Europe, and not so long ago Shen Yun performed here. I usually dont pay attention to whats happening down there, as alot of event trucks come and go. But when they were here, i noticed there was two guards in black clothes just standing in front of the tour busses, looking towards the road, all night long. Every time i checked, the same two men were standing there. They ended up standing and walking in front of the busses 24/7 for the 3 days/nights they were here. Even stood in the rain, and ate their lunches while standing up. I've never seen any security at this venue, as its not really needed as such a small place so it really stood out. Really shows how much they fear the CCP, that they bring their own security.

    • @shawn-wc4cd
      @shawn-wc4cd Рік тому

      are you that much of a rube that you believe that means anything?
      alright. im gonna get my two best friends to dress in all black and act as my personal security and say its because i fear your psychotic rampages.

    • @3rdalbum
      @3rdalbum Рік тому

      When Falun Gong holds a protest in my city, the Federal Police are always keeping an eye on it. Which is weird - you rarely see the Federal Police. If it was security arrangements it would be the state police.
      Not sure if the Feds are worried about Falun Gong causing trouble, or about China's secret police here causing trouble with the protest.

    • @Rosarium2007
      @Rosarium2007 9 місяців тому +5

      Or maybe they guards were there to make sure the performers didn't go sightseeing and forget to come back.

  • @jmvmain
    @jmvmain Рік тому +51

    A Shen Yun tour bus drove me off the interstate in Indiana. Really hope the state troopers actually caught up to them after I called 😂

    • @neverletmego6414
      @neverletmego6414 Рік тому +18

      the probably got off after one of their leaders made a 'small donation' to your local politician. You'd be surprised how much political sway FLG has in US politics despite how small it is

    • @CantoniaCustoms
      @CantoniaCustoms Рік тому

      @@neverletmego6414 if a civil war breaks out in the US it probably is a fat lun gong vs Ukraine proxy war.

  • @EvanYoungMusic
    @EvanYoungMusic Рік тому +695

    They tried to recruit me to play in their orchestra 10 years ago. I almost did. Until my friends who played in it before told me not to. It’s a cult.

    • @Hand-in-Shot_Productions
      @Hand-in-Shot_Productions Рік тому +22

      I'm glad that friend told you to not play in the Shen Yun orchestra! After all, it's also the Falun Gong orchestra!

  • @prettypic444
    @prettypic444 Рік тому +5

    I'm surprises you never mentioned that the founder of Foulin gong claims he can fly

  • @rainalystre1877
    @rainalystre1877 Рік тому +7

    I went to this with my parents and some littles of mine (younger than 13 years). Overall the kids got bored during some of the things but enjoyed the musics of the first half (minus the intro dance with the floating god or something). I enjoyed laughing in my head at the corniness of the CGI projections and how they transitioned back and forth.
    We all enjoyed the drunk monk dance and the watersleeves one. The last few it was blarringly obvious the real world commentary, (the faith believers getting persecuted and one losing their organs, the rule of some dark communism, a tsunami wiping out mask wearing citizens, etc) and I ended up talking to both my littles about it and the idea of propaganda.
    All in all, we liked the music, the earlier dances, then poked large amounts of fun at the end performaces. We all mentally clocked out at ‘every believer goes to heaven’ or something, ready to be done.

  • @ianmchale770
    @ianmchale770 Рік тому +158

    HAI’s outside correspondent Amy is the hero of this channel lately 😂 10/10 review

  • @The-Cookie
    @The-Cookie Рік тому +21

    Saw an abundance of these posters and ads in the UK a while back- always found it pretty odd seeing them everywhere, even as a Chinese person.

  • @piggugudu1327
    @piggugudu1327 Рік тому +2

    I always did feel it a little strange, how ubiquitous advertisement for this show is… on UA-cam, on underground railway posters, even in the shop window of a small local cafe I frequent. Interesting to learn why it has always felt a little off to me 😅

  • @alanxu1238
    @alanxu1238 Рік тому +2

    The Qigong was very popular in the past the initial was to exercise more to keep people healthy and no one realizing that Falun Gong is a cult back then and lots of people fell for it and some of the elders still believe in it. My grandaunt‘s sister died in 2018 for a breast cancer. She found out that she has a tumor and believes that she can play qigong to kill it, she was against every relatives who try to talk her into a surgery. My grandaunt was very close to her. She is much older then her sister and consider the difficult time back then she basically raised her in childhood. They stopped talking to each-other since she refused to take a surgery, yelled at my grandaunt and push her out for trying to talk her in to a hospital ( my grandaunt was a doctor).

    • @tllgestalt1942
      @tllgestalt1942 Рік тому

      Qigong is just breathing and exercise, anyone who promotes it as otherwise is a liar, not the exercise itself. Falun Gong probably tried to add it to a part of some cultish regime to make themselves seem/feel like some happy health group. Sad that this happens.

  • @SARGEinc
    @SARGEinc Рік тому +30

    I used to drive by a big Falun Gong protest in Vancouver. I never knew what it was, and I was never going to look into it, so I'm glad Half as Interesting could inform me 2 years later. Thanks!

    • @superslash7254
      @superslash7254 Рік тому

      Unfortunately this video's basically the CCP equivalent of a neonazi's holocaust denial propaganda.

  • @catholiccontriversy
    @catholiccontriversy Рік тому +232

    Oh man, I got a pamphlet about the organ harvesting when I went to Washington DC the summer of 8th grade. I was pretty naive at the time and I still thought it was very weird that a government would be harvesting the organs of people who just liked a certain form of exercise.

    • @dustinbrueggemann1875
      @dustinbrueggemann1875 Рік тому

      @@samuelcalkin3516 Yeah. The Falun Gong people aren't entirely lying that they get sold for parts. They're just not telling you that so does literally every other dissenting group.

    • @CorbiniteVids
      @CorbiniteVids Рік тому

      @@samuelcalkin3516 Organ harvesting is pretty much always a crackpot conspiracy theory. If you subtly ask around with people who believe in those theories you'll also find a cesspool of antisemitism, because these notions are almost always derivations of the blood libel. The chinese government absolutely imprisons and likely executes many people. But organ harvesting is just a stock go-to accusation because it has such a grotesque reaction from people and because the cultural legacy of the blood libel has already primed people to be on the lookout for it. The real thing China is doing with the many people it imprisons is using them for cheap prison labor. Most of the cotton that comes out of China is grown by Uyghur prisoners, and is used by major western brands like Nike and H&M.

    • @Fishmans
      @Fishmans Рік тому +12

      Organ matching is usually most successful for those in the same race. Only a tiny percentage of Americans are of Chinese descent.

    • @mybutthasteeth1347
      @mybutthasteeth1347 Рік тому

      The leader that ordered it also used it as an excuse to build up internal security forces, while making bank off the organ trafficking. So a power play and a money grab in one go.

    • @cam4636
      @cam4636 Рік тому +33

      @@Fishmans That's, uh, not how it works. Organ matching is more successful the closer to your geno/phenotype, so in broad strokes, yes, you're more likely to get a good match from someone who happens to be of the same race. Better a person within your family, actually. But you can't always wait for Grandma to die so you can get your heart transplant and modern medicine does a lot to make up the gap. We don't even need to be the same blood type anymore.

  • @toma5153
    @toma5153 Рік тому +2

    Thanks for the review. I read an article about the background of Shen Yun several years ago and realizing how I was completely clueless about what the background story is. Glad I never bought tickets.

  • @cbarnes2160
    @cbarnes2160 Рік тому +7

    I went with my boys to check out a new house nearby and the agent turned out to be full-on Falun crazy. She kept trying to push them to join a "traditional dance" group with acrobatics. She was very insistent, perhaps because my boys are half Asian, though not of Chinese descent. Kind of ironic, since they are living proof of my interracial marriage. Was very awkward and difficult to get away. I now wish I'd told her off properly...
    And I see the Epoch Times around. In recent years the headlines have gone from just monotonously anti-communist to unhinged. Hadn't known they were Falun, just thought they were Taiwanese right wingers or something.
    You can loathe the CCP and still kind of want all these maniacs to pull a Jonestown...

  • @Subject_Keter
    @Subject_Keter Рік тому +14

    I was expecting more "HELP ME, I BEEN FORCED TO WATCH THIS!" In the notes lol.

  • @cyrilio
    @cyrilio Рік тому +48

    Suffering is NOT a virtue. Let’s as a species work toward minimizing human suffering. That will make life better for everyone.

    • @abrahamelnikety151
      @abrahamelnikety151 Рік тому +1

      While suffering isn't a virtue, stoicism and perseverance inspite of suffering is. Causing suffering upon yourself or others for no reason is bad. It also depends on what you define as suffering, because going to work, studying and excercise does cause you to suffer, but those things are good and should be encouraged, while starvation causes you to suffer and should be stopped.

  • @big_bird8597
    @big_bird8597 Рік тому +1

    4:40 for the nosebleeds you got her had me rolling 🤣

  • @samsonkth
    @samsonkth Рік тому +1

    My god. This is such an informative thing to know about something that I never paid attention to at my local bus stop ad.

  • @TSSmith
    @TSSmith Рік тому +237

    Love it when Shen Yun's gets exposed as propaganda (also a cult)

    • @chendaforest
      @chendaforest Рік тому

      Yeah it's a lot of dodgy shite

    • @aycc-nbh7289
      @aycc-nbh7289 Рік тому +4

      I have seen them once, but the only thing close to propaganda I recall from it is them saying things such as “The theory of evolution is a sham” as opposed to things such as “Gays shouldn’t marry” or “Only marry within your race”. They did something on the destruction of elements of Classical Chinese culture towards the very end, but I recall nothing of organ-harvesting.

    • @matheussanthiago9685
      @matheussanthiago9685 Рік тому

      ​@@aycc-nbh7289classic cult tactic known as "boiling the frog"
      Start slow and steady, only effective enough that the unsuspecting victim is absorbing the message, but not crazy enough so they have a reaction and leave
      Slowly but surely tho, the conversion is happening and the water is heating unbeknownst to the target

    • @extrastuff9463
      @extrastuff9463 Рік тому +9

      @@aycc-nbh7289 They might vary it a bit depending on what's locally more tolerated. Or maybe it's just the less objectionable things at the first introduction, then they hope you continue further into the weirdness?

    • @Hand-in-Shot_Productions
      @Hand-in-Shot_Productions Рік тому +1

      I like seeing it exposed too!

  • @Irobert1115HD
    @Irobert1115HD Рік тому +22

    so shen yun is the litteral definition of the word propaganda circus?

    • @Trgn
      @Trgn 11 місяців тому

      Would more people know if their propaganda rhetoric werent so poor quality?

  • @Bunny-ks1md
    @Bunny-ks1md Рік тому +1

    A mother had her young son hand out business cards for that knockoff UA-cam on a train. I accepted the card from the child but disposed of it afterwards.

  • @stinkypinky0989
    @stinkypinky0989 21 день тому

    I know a guy who knows a guy who purchased a ticket to this show and when they got there it was just at an empty parking lot and there was nothing going on, no set up, no auditorium, nothing

  • @SomeGuy-dq8pn
    @SomeGuy-dq8pn Рік тому +43

    This is so wild! I thought they were just a normal Chinese theater putting on normal plays. As a kid I saw their ads on the morning news all the time and the commercials made it look like a family show.