Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes IV (Do not post Current Politics Here)
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After weeks and months of rumours, declarations, withdrawals and debates, the final list of contenders heading into the 2006 leadership election were…
Pretty impressive list of candidates, right? Well, at least it’s slightly better than OTL. Sort of. In any case let me explain the rules. As you can see, each of the candidates has an established amount of delegates. The poll you will all be voting in will determine where the remaining 2,364 delegates go. For example, if Rae gets forty-five percent in this poll, he’ll get 1064 delegates added to what he has now, for a total of 1,767, or 37.7% overall.
At the end of this poll, which will be 12:00a.m. AST Friday July 21st, if no candidate has managed to win enough total delegates, which let’s be honest will be pretty likely, there will be a runoff (Yes, like France) between the top two candidates with the most total delegates, not necessarily the top two who win in this poll. I know, I know, kinda complicated, and if you really like Martha Hall Findlay you’ve got a big mountain to climb. Well it’ll be a little like a real convention then, with the odds stacked against the minor candidates. Good luck!
After only a little more than 24 hours, we're already at 47 votes! I'm pretty amazed and humbled that so many of you have taken part. Thank you so much. You're all what make this TL great.
As of right now, it looks like it'll be Bob Rae and Lawrence Cannon who make it to the runoff.
Another Blatant Bizzaropedia Teaser
VILLAGE RESCINDS OWN NAME TO PREVENT ASSOCIATION WITH CARTOON
Retrieved from the Köneighsberg Vanguard Online, 22 Apr 2011
Despite being sitauted a mere 200 metres from the Canterlot-Calgary Expressway, the small farming community of Fillydelphia was only known for its strategically-placed Gas Station and Motel, and being the "star" of countless jokes about its wackier than usual residents, until October last year. A fictonalized version of the village, dubbed "Ponyville", was featured as the main setting of the now insanely-popular animated television show My Little Pony: Friednship is Magic, to the chargin of the actual residents of Commune J19Z7, as the village is expected to be known starting this Wedne~
Boooring. Why does Dr. Fortin archive-binge newspaper sites? I'm gonna watch some crazy TV from alternate univers-err... test the Quantum Entanglement Dish he's supposed to be working on alongisde his labmates instead.
[QED ACTIVATED]
"Good Evening, Namada..."
Wait a moment, "Namada"? Tht's only a hyperstereotypical version of Canada. Nothing crazy ever comes out of tha-Ph'nglui mglw'nafh PachPachis Nam'ada wgah'nagl fhtagn.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh PachPachis Nam'ada wgah'nagl fhtagn!
PH'NGLUİ MGLW'NAFH PACHPACHİS NAM'ADA WGAH'NAGL FHTAGN!
PH'NGLUİ MGLW'NAFH PACHPACHİS NAM'ADA WGAH'NAGL FHTAGN!
İÄ! İÄ! PACHPACHİS FHTAGN!!!
İÄ! İÄ! GRAY-NİGGURATH-85!!!
İÄ! İÄ! YOGFERNO-MOLTOTH!!!
No. This is not related to the Actual Wikibox in the next post. Only to the News Report in its background.
VILLAGE RESCINDS OWN NAME TO PREVENT ASSOCIATION WITH CARTOON
Retrieved from the Köneighsberg Vanguard Online, 22 Apr 2011
Despite being sitauted a mere 200 metres from the Canterlot-Calgary Expressway, the small farming community of Fillydelphia was only known for its strategically-placed Gas Station and Motel, and being the "star" of countless jokes about its wackier than usual residents, until October last year. A fictonalized version of the village, dubbed "Ponyville", was featured as the main setting of the now insanely-popular animated television show My Little Pony: Friednship is Magic, to the chargin of the actual residents of Commune J19Z7, as the village is expected to be known starting this Wedne~
Boooring. Why does Dr. Fortin archive-binge newspaper sites? I'm gonna watch some crazy TV from alternate univers-err... test the Quantum Entanglement Dish he's supposed to be working on alongisde his labmates instead.
[QED ACTIVATED]
"Good Evening, Namada..."
Wait a moment, "Namada"? Tht's only a hyperstereotypical version of Canada. Nothing crazy ever comes out of tha-Ph'nglui mglw'nafh PachPachis Nam'ada wgah'nagl fhtagn.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh PachPachis Nam'ada wgah'nagl fhtagn!
PH'NGLUİ MGLW'NAFH PACHPACHİS NAM'ADA WGAH'NAGL FHTAGN!
PH'NGLUİ MGLW'NAFH PACHPACHİS NAM'ADA WGAH'NAGL FHTAGN!
İÄ! İÄ! PACHPACHİS FHTAGN!!!
İÄ! İÄ! GRAY-NİGGURATH-85!!!
İÄ! İÄ! YOGFERNO-MOLTOTH!!!
No. This is not related to the Actual Wikibox in the next post. Only to the News Report in its background.
The Murray Public School Student Council election of February 7th, 2017 was a chaotic one. Called a month ago by the principal, John Eberhardt. The election focused on what many people call the “Broken Promises” of the Fun Party and their leader, Ted Machowski. The Student council is in the gym, and they meet every tuesday and thursday after school.
Murray Public School is a K-12 school. The rules say that you must be a 3rd grader or older to vote, and that you have to be a 7th grader or older to run.
When the Fun Party was running in September, their manifesto promised vending machines which had candy and other snacks. Their manifesto also promised half days on Fridays, and recess for every grade lasting for 30 minutes. As such, they were elected in a landslide. In accordance to the rules, 20 teachers would be given a seat on the Student Council.
The Fun Party failed to follow on any promise they made, and the most they got was that ice cream (including Dippin dots) and slushies would be served in the cafeteria. The slushies were those fruity ones, much to the dismay of those hoping for actual slushies.
The failure to follow on those promises led to 15 student council members to leave the Fun Party and form their own party, the “NO RULES” party, which advocates abolishing the rules. This took place in the middle of the campaign. While the NO RULES party was leading at first, a proclamation by Mr. Eberhardt that if NO RULES gets most of seats the Teacher’s party would form an emergency coalition with every other party. This made the NO RULES polling numbers drop.
On the other hand, the Fun Party was trying to get the Sports Party, their coalition partner, to remain a partner after the election. As a part of the Coalition agreement, the Fun Party government would fire Coach Johnston, which the Sports party claimed that he was the reason they kept losing. The Sports party color is the School color. Two days after the September election, Machowski met with Coach Johnston, but afterwards never asked the Principal to fire him. Some (the Sports Party) claimed bribery, others (Jocks that liked Coach Johnston) claimed because Coach Johnston was “cool”, they were some that claimed Johnston threatened Machowski, and they were some (those who would get expelled later on in the year) claimed stuff too disgusting for me to write. In reality, it was a mixture of bribery (Johnston gave Machowski 20 bucks and some gum) and Johnston being “cool”, but barely anyone knows that.
The failure of the Fun Party to deliver on the promise that the Sports party wanted in return for a coalition led to some members of the Sports party to bully members of the Fun party. One Council member, Robert Martins wanted to break off the agreement with the Sports party and join a coalition with the Anti-Bullying party. Machowski refused, calling the Anti-Bullying party “a bunch of goody two shoe wimps”.
However, bullying was an issue among the student council. The “Higher Education” party, led by Gordon Brainerd, wanted a more challenging curriculum. This led to him being bullied. The bullying became so much that he sits behinds a teacher.
Another issue was funds. The Alliance party, led by Mary Robertson (Daughter of both the Music teacher and the librarian) wanted higher funding for music and more books in the library. The alliance party was once two parties until they decided to merge.
The election season was the dirtiest one yet. So many kids were sent to the principal office for bullying and for putting up attack posters that the principal formed a hall monitor system for the school. As expected, all the hall monitors were council members for the anti-bullying party.
The Fun Party lost a total of 14 seats. The Sports party refused to help them. Eventually, Machowski decided to listen to Martins and entered a coalition with the Anti-Bullying party. Since this did not end in a majority the Teachers released a statement that they would help the Fun Party. This just incensed more members of the Fun Party and many people began defecting to the NO RULES party.
The Union of European Fascists (EUF) is a transnational organisation representing fascist and fascist-leaning political parties in the European Union. Founded in 1975 as the primary vehicle for the European far-right, it has since split over the question of European integration, with the eurosceptic parties leaving in 1994.
Historically, the UEF have been a powerful force within the European Parliament, with UEF-members leveraging significant influence within the early European Community and often supporting the efforts of the Socialists and the Christian Democrats. However, with the rise of the euroskeptic Party of European Freedom and National Liberation it has seen it's numbers dwindle in every European election since 1995. The 2015 election saw the UEF reduced to the smallest organized party group in the parliament, with similar numbers in the European Council.
T̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶u̶s̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶Y̶e̶a̶r̶s̶ A couple months we lurked
But now the updates shall spew forth from the very keyboard of Hel...
...
...Later.
I have to say I voted for Cannon, if only because he looks mightily august. An aesthetically 'elder statesman' sort of person. As for his actual politics I don't know, was/is he on the Liberals' right or left or?
A continuation of Our Fathers' Stars
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Background
Lanfen & Gang is a long-running Chinese 2D animated series that lovingly satirizes the relationship between China’s two major political parties, the People’s Party and the Workers’ Party. The series was created by Beijing-native Tony (Tengxiang) Wu, a veteran animator and animation director that had worked on several notable series throughout the ‘40s and ‘50s, including the historical drama Northern Expedition, the current events-infused thriller Days of Black Rain, and his previous excursion into political satire, The Three Old Men Who Knew Everything. Tony Wu conceived of Lanfen & Gang as a mixture of romantic comedy, the type that he and his brother, Dylan (Delun) Wu, loved to watch and mock as teenagers, and on-the-clock satire of political developments. According to Wu, inspirations for Lanfen & Gang included Cherry of the West, Hour 22, Magnate, and South Park. While many of his peers were skeptical that such a premise would be received by the public, Tony Wu was able to pitch the show to Capital Animation, young animation company in Xian. As part of the deal, Wu retained rights to the show and creative control, but had to hire writers and musicians in-house or through Capital Animation’s licensing deals. Wu and Capital developed the pilot in the spring of 2055. Letv Group ended up buying exclusive distribution rights to the show, ordering a 10 episode season to air in the March of 2056.
While initial views for the show were low, due to Letv advertising it as a screwball comedy, word of mouth began to bring in a wave of viewers. By the upload of the last episode, Lanfen & Gang was Letv’s seventh-highest view per episode show, prompting for the series to be renewed for a 20 episode season. The second season, airing in March 2057, was also successful, becoming Letv’s top viewed animated and top viewed political show, on both gross and per-episode counts. While the show was well-received by the public, Wu felt chafed by the limitations of his deal with Capital Animation. Wu’s vision was a show that combined long-running narratives with relevant political commentary, and the studio’s animation schedules severely limited this vision. After the third season, commissioned for 26 episodes, Tony Wu broke with Capital. With investment from Letv and his brother, a successful film producer, Wu formed his own animation studio, Wu Brothers. While Lanfen & Gang went on hiatus for 2059, in 2060 Wu launched the show’s iconic new production and distribution schedule. Wu abandoned the standard seasonal format. Now, Lanfen & Gang would be released biweekly, every month but February and September, making each calendar year a 22 episode season. Three animation teams, with their own head writer and director, would work in turn to produce episodes, with the sitcom and romance elements of the show created in advance, and with gags and B-plots concerning political news being finalized the week before upload. While this was a high-risk venture, it paid off for the Wu brothers and Letv, with Lanfen & Gang’s fourth season becoming Letv’s highest rated and viewed show in China, and the fourth highest viewed overall. While Lanfen & Gang has never reached this rank since, the show remains popular among a diverse spectrum of Chinese consumers.
Premise
Themes and Style
Lanfen & Gang centers on the relationship between the businesswoman Lanfen, and the service worker and gig pianist Gang (voiced by Jian Tsui) who symbolize the Chinese People’s Party and the Chinese Workers’ Party, respectively. The characters, despite their different lifestyles and worldviews, learn to admire each other, begin dating, and fall in love, with the two marrying in Season 3. Their relationship, while characterized by conflict, miscommunication and infidelity, is a strong bond, and the couple usually makes up for their mistakes by the end of an episode or arc. The pair also interacts and occasionally have affairs with a set of secondary characters, the regulars of the Backbench bar, who symbolize minor Chinese political parties. While the primary plot of an episode is related to the show’s romantic storylines, the secondary plot usually concerns current events or controversies, with the character mirroring and satirizing the real-world response of their corresponding parties. The show has been known to dive into a range of themes, from romantic melodrama to lurid comedy to somber reflections on pressing issues. According to Wu, it is this “diversity of aesthetic” that has allowed the show to remain a popular favorite for an entire decade.
Characters
Lanfen (voiced by Li T’ang): Lanfen is a middle-manager originally from Beijing, relocated to Xian, that works for the Pentagon Company, which produces hubcaps, “widgets” and automatic weapons. While ultimately dissatisfied by her position, her conservative values and belief in hard work encourage her to stay in her job and pursue an ever-elusive promotion. While she initially meets Gang at a coffee shop, charging in to berate Gang for failing to deliver catered coffee for an important meeting, following encounters lead her to appreciate Gang’s talent and love of life. After their marriage, Lanfen becomes the breadwinner of the household, often berating Gang for his inability to hold down a constant job. While they have frequent falling outs, Lanfen belief in herself and their relationship leads her to forgive and seek forgiveness time and time again.
Lanfen is portrayed as an uncommonly virtuous woman, possessing a courageous and independent, if often stubborn, character. Lanfen’s firmness in her moral code often leads her to conflict with her superiors at the Pentagon Company, and is the primary reason that she has failed to obtain her promotion after 10 seasons. When she does make mistakes, even small ones, Lanfen tends to act disproportionally, beating herself up and assuming the worst reactions from others. Lanfen’s voice actor, Li T’ang, has described her character as a woman with the “passion and drive to change the world, but held back by her fears and stubbornness.” Overall, Lanfen tends to drive the resolution of an episode’s plot, taking the initiative to approach or solve the problem that confronts the cast.
Gang (voiced by Jian Tsui): Gang is a musician and service worker originally from Shanghai, relocated to Xian. While talented and creative, Gang’s sloth and free-floating attitude keep him from major success in either music or work. He has trouble getting gigs and holding down jobs, occasionally forcing him into get-rich-quick schemes to make money and save face. He first meets Lanfen when she charges into the coffee shop where he was working to berate him for forgetting her catering order, an order that he forgot due to staying up late at a party the night before. While Gang initially sees Lanfen as uptight and obsessed over things that don’t matter, he learns to admire her valor and drive through sequential encounters, falling in love with her. After their marriage, Gang continues a string of jobs and careers, too proud to let Lanfen support him. Despite the conflict between the two, Gang’s love her Lanfen and her position as his muse leads him to coming back to her again and again.
Gang is portrayed as wise beyond his years when it comes to philosophical and existential matters, but spendthrift and unpragmatic in day-to-day life. While he has the talent and charisma to initiate a variety of careers and schemes, his laziness and inability to follow through leads to most crashing down ontop of him. Gang’s voice actor, Jian Tsui, describes his character as a “wise guy, in both sense of the idiom,” and “someone who so good at seeing the big picture that he can’t see the obstacles right in front of his face.” Often, Gang catalyzes the conflict of an episode through his misadventures. However, his creative spark is also often responsible for leading to the resolution of said conflict.
Yingjie (voiced by Chuck Lu): Introduced in Season 3, Yingjie was the first “minor party character” and symbolizes the One China Party. Yingjie is a manual laborer and a tough, and was originally a competitor for Lanfen’s affections. Brash, self-centered and aggressive, Yingjie despised Gang, and saw him unworthy of Lanfen’s affections. However, despite his advances, Lanfen was disgusted by his rude and prideful behavior, rejecting him. While Yingjie and Lanfen have had the occasional tryst, Yingjie remains essentially delusional in his quest to win Lanfen’s heart. Yingjie is a common antagonist for Lanfen and Gang, and rarely helps resolve the plot, save by accident.
Shu (voiced by Wendy Liu): Introduced in Season 4 with the rest of the Backbench bar gang, Shu symbolizes the transhumanist New Century Alliance. Shu is a dancer and a rectech addict, and is often portrayed as witty and fast-talking but obnoxious and immature. Sexually voracious, Shu often makes advances towards Gang, Lanfen and other members of the Backbench bar. This was most highlighted in the “break-up” arc of Season 6, where between April and September Gang and Lanfen were separated in anger and confusion over Lanfen’s miscarriage, with Gang cohabitating with Shu. However, mirroring the rapprochement between the Workers’ and Peoples’ parties, Gang left Shu at the beginning of Season 7, leading to Shu being perpetually obsessed with winning him back.
Mei (voiced by Fan Sung): Introduced in Season 4 with the rest of the Backbench bar gang, Mei symbolizes the Womens’ Party. A demure academic, Mei is usually kind and gentle, but often reacts in rage towards what she sees as being “patronized” for her gender. Mei and Gang develop a strong platonic friendship, despite her lashing out against Gang’s occasional acts of masculine chivalry. While the two have no sexual interest in each other, Lanfen is often jealous of their friendship, seeing too close of a resemblance of herself in Mei. Mei is not often used by the writing teams, who usually write her into the script for gags and running jokes.
Qiao (voiced by Shihong Han): Introduced in Season 4 with the rest of the Backbench bar gang, Qiao symbolizes the Christian Party. A catholic priest, Qiao is a perpetual stoic and a perpetual drinker, with other characters remarking their inability to tell if he’s always soberly drunk or always drunkingly sober. Qiao often imposes his moralism on other characters, and occasionally catalyzes conflicts due to his myriad moral crusades. While he rarely serves to resolve conflict, he does occasionally give dismissive sayings to other character, which Gang then reinterprets to help solve the episode’s plot. Paralleling the rise of the Christian Party, Qiao has become more frequently used as a primary antagonist through Season 10, and is rumored to be the center a major arc in the upcoming Season 11.
Jianjun (voiced by Xia Kang): Introduced in Season 6 as a late addition to the Backbenchers, Jianjun is an emotionless synthetic that symbolizes the post-liberal Civic Progressive Alliance. Jianjun rarely factors into an episode’s plot, instead serving as a gag character. These gag’s often revolve around the disconnect between Jianjun’s desire to pretend to be human and his complete inability to do so. The character will often make absurd or insensitive comments, only to quickly back-step after noticing others’ surprise or discomfort. Despite his gaffes, both Qiao and Yingjie are so oblivious that they have not clued into Jianjun being a synthetic, and neither Mei or Shu particularly care. Thus, Jianjun is convinced that his façade is effective, even though Jianjun doesn’t even look human, having a metallic skeletal form.
Nianzu (voiced by Tony Wu): Introduced in Season 8 to symbolize the newly risen Progressive Democratic Party, Nianzu is a handsome but incredibly dull salaryman. Despite his boring personality, his attractiveness leads both Lanfen and Gang to compete for his affections, to each other’s jealously and Nianzu’s confusion. Tony Wu decided to voice the character himself, stating that he thought that the new character would be a great way to interact more with the audience, and to satirize his own liberal views.
Subject Matter
Political Paralleism
Lanfen & Gang rarely addresses topical issues directly, instead approaching them through a recognizable analogue. A notable example would be negotiations over the Permanent Employment Fund. Designed to liberalize Chinese labor laws in exchange for a new social insurance program and more flexibility for unions, the fund was the result of a year’s compromise between the Peoples’ party and the Workers’ party. Tony Wu represented the bill as Lanfen’s pregnancy, with many of the disputes between Lanfen and Gang parodying the Fund debates. However, when the negotiations eventually fell through, leading to collapse of the People’s Party government, Tony Wu began a new arc with the famous/infamous “Though We Walk” episode (S6:E13). The episode, entirely silent until the end, relates the somber series of errors and misunderstandings that leads to Lanfen falling down a flight of stairs, unintentionally aborting the pregnancy. The shock and fear between Lanfen and Gang, leads to Gang fleeing their home, and separating the couple until Season 7 hiatus, in which the couple made up in the multi-part premiere.
Usually, the show is more light-hearted in its political parallelism and satire. Parliamentary and provincial scandals are often addressed in background gags. Manifestos made by the parties are usually symbolized as New Year’s pledges, which are then quickly and humorously violated and discarded. Character arcs also reflect the rise and dynamics of political parties. Characters that represent increasingly relevant parties tend to have more screen time, while less relevant ones are delegated to gags and C-plots. Some have criticized this tendency, suggesting that Wu refuses to give attention to new solutions for China’s problems, which would be irresponsible behavior for one of its lead political satirists. While Wu has traditionally laughed off such criticism, rumors and leaks from Season 11 suggest greater involvement of several underutilized characters, such as Mei, Qiao and Jianjun.
Queer Themes
Queer critics have offered praise for the show’s unapologetic handling of sexuality, with some reservations. Out of the main cast, Gang, Shu and Nianzu are openly bisexual, and are shown to engage in real, if temporary, queer relationships. Qiao is also openly gay, although repressed. While Qiao admits that he is attracted to men, his belief in the immorality of this attraction leads to his celibacy, a condition which is portrayed as content with. There is also some subtext suggesting that Mei may be repressing same-sex attraction, although most of that subtext is limited to Season 4. Some queer critics have expressed concerns with the lack of long-term queer relationships, and that the same-sex trysts shown in the show are often portrayed for either laughs or the male gaze. Wu himself is openly supportive of queer relationships, and has made occasional calls, both through the show and personal remakes, for the government to further protect queer people from discrimination.
Anti-Synth Controversy
Tony Wu has been criticized for his portrayal of synthetic persons in Lanfen & Gang. Of note is the character Jianjun, who synth rights groups condemn as a bigoted caricature. While Tony Wu has stated that he has nothing against synthetic persons, synths rarely appear on the show. When they do, they are often background characters without multiple lines, and are often portrayed as uncoordinated, emotionless or inept, used for gags.
Personal Biases
For his personal politics, Wu describes himself as a “liberal without adjectives.” In interviews, he has expressed support for limiting government intervention into the economy and culture, while ensuring that the vulnerable in society are protected from exploitive interests. Wu is a member of the Progressive Democratic Party, and has declined requests from his Party to become a spokesperson or political candidate, due to his commitments for Lanfen & Gang.
Reception
Lanfen & Gang has received praise both from the public and political community for its biting satire and engaging drama. James Chuang, senior politics editor for Al Jazeera China, has called the show, “one of the best ways for people of all ages to learn about our nation’s issues, as well as have a good time.” Langen & Gang has also been received well by members of Congress. In 2062, two junior delegates from the People’s and Workers’ parties, Lien Wu and Ye Liao, came to the annual Xian Film and Comics Convention (X-Con) cosplaying the titular characters, an act that quickly became a viral sensation. This became an annual tradition for the two major parties. The most notable individual to have taken part was Chieren Han, Provincial Coordinator for the People’s Party. While its general reception has been strong, the show has been criticized both by some academics and members of the opposition. Jiao Pai, a film studies professor at the Reclaimed University in Beijing and regular contributor to the People’s Piano has dismissed the show as infantilizing its audience, encouraging mindless consumption of political news rather than strengthening citizenship. Guo Hung, a senior delegate for the One China Party has directly attacked Wu and the show, calling it a “lurid spectacle that punishes dissent with bullying and slander.” Conservative groups have called for the boycott of Letv and its affilates until they cancel Lanfen & Gang, although these campaigns have not had much traction.
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I got some fairly big updates planned for the next week. I'm finally able to kick back into gear now that I finally have internet in my new apartment. Stay tuned.
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Background
Lanfen & Gang is a long-running Chinese 2D animated series that lovingly satirizes the relationship between China’s two major political parties, the People’s Party and the Workers’ Party. The series was created by Beijing-native Tony (Tengxiang) Wu, a veteran animator and animation director that had worked on several notable series throughout the ‘40s and ‘50s, including the historical drama Northern Expedition, the current events-infused thriller Days of Black Rain, and his previous excursion into political satire, The Three Old Men Who Knew Everything. Tony Wu conceived of Lanfen & Gang as a mixture of romantic comedy, the type that he and his brother, Dylan (Delun) Wu, loved to watch and mock as teenagers, and on-the-clock satire of political developments. According to Wu, inspirations for Lanfen & Gang included Cherry of the West, Hour 22, Magnate, and South Park. While many of his peers were skeptical that such a premise would be received by the public, Tony Wu was able to pitch the show to Capital Animation, young animation company in Xian. As part of the deal, Wu retained rights to the show and creative control, but had to hire writers and musicians in-house or through Capital Animation’s licensing deals. Wu and Capital developed the pilot in the spring of 2055. Letv Group ended up buying exclusive distribution rights to the show, ordering a 10 episode season to air in the March of 2056.
While initial views for the show were low, due to Letv advertising it as a screwball comedy, word of mouth began to bring in a wave of viewers. By the upload of the last episode, Lanfen & Gang was Letv’s seventh-highest view per episode show, prompting for the series to be renewed for a 20 episode season. The second season, airing in March 2057, was also successful, becoming Letv’s top viewed animated and top viewed political show, on both gross and per-episode counts. While the show was well-received by the public, Wu felt chafed by the limitations of his deal with Capital Animation. Wu’s vision was a show that combined long-running narratives with relevant political commentary, and the studio’s animation schedules severely limited this vision. After the third season, commissioned for 26 episodes, Tony Wu broke with Capital. With investment from Letv and his brother, a successful film producer, Wu formed his own animation studio, Wu Brothers. While Lanfen & Gang went on hiatus for 2059, in 2060 Wu launched the show’s iconic new production and distribution schedule. Wu abandoned the standard seasonal format. Now, Lanfen & Gang would be released biweekly, every month but February and September, making each calendar year a 22 episode season. Three animation teams, with their own head writer and director, would work in turn to produce episodes, with the sitcom and romance elements of the show created in advance, and with gags and B-plots concerning political news being finalized the week before upload. While this was a high-risk venture, it paid off for the Wu brothers and Letv, with Lanfen & Gang’s fourth season becoming Letv’s highest rated and viewed show in China, and the fourth highest viewed overall. While Lanfen & Gang has never reached this rank since, the show remains popular among a diverse spectrum of Chinese consumers.
Premise
Themes and Style
Lanfen & Gang centers on the relationship between the businesswoman Lanfen, and the service worker and gig pianist Gang (voiced by Jian Tsui) who symbolize the Chinese People’s Party and the Chinese Workers’ Party, respectively. The characters, despite their different lifestyles and worldviews, learn to admire each other, begin dating, and fall in love, with the two marrying in Season 3. Their relationship, while characterized by conflict, miscommunication and infidelity, is a strong bond, and the couple usually makes up for their mistakes by the end of an episode or arc. The pair also interacts and occasionally have affairs with a set of secondary characters, the regulars of the Backbench bar, who symbolize minor Chinese political parties. While the primary plot of an episode is related to the show’s romantic storylines, the secondary plot usually concerns current events or controversies, with the character mirroring and satirizing the real-world response of their corresponding parties. The show has been known to dive into a range of themes, from romantic melodrama to lurid comedy to somber reflections on pressing issues. According to Wu, it is this “diversity of aesthetic” that has allowed the show to remain a popular favorite for an entire decade.
Characters
Lanfen (voiced by Li T’ang): Lanfen is a middle-manager originally from Beijing, relocated to Xian, that works for the Pentagon Company, which produces hubcaps, “widgets” and automatic weapons. While ultimately dissatisfied by her position, her conservative values and belief in hard work encourage her to stay in her job and pursue an ever-elusive promotion. While she initially meets Gang at a coffee shop, charging in to berate Gang for failing to deliver catered coffee for an important meeting, following encounters lead her to appreciate Gang’s talent and love of life. After their marriage, Lanfen becomes the breadwinner of the household, often berating Gang for his inability to hold down a constant job. While they have frequent falling outs, Lanfen belief in herself and their relationship leads her to forgive and seek forgiveness time and time again.
Lanfen is portrayed as an uncommonly virtuous woman, possessing a courageous and independent, if often stubborn, character. Lanfen’s firmness in her moral code often leads her to conflict with her superiors at the Pentagon Company, and is the primary reason that she has failed to obtain her promotion after 10 seasons. When she does make mistakes, even small ones, Lanfen tends to act disproportionally, beating herself up and assuming the worst reactions from others. Lanfen’s voice actor, Li T’ang, has described her character as a woman with the “passion and drive to change the world, but held back by her fears and stubbornness.” Overall, Lanfen tends to drive the resolution of an episode’s plot, taking the initiative to approach or solve the problem that confronts the cast.
Gang (voiced by Jian Tsui): Gang is a musician and service worker originally from Shanghai, relocated to Xian. While talented and creative, Gang’s sloth and free-floating attitude keep him from major success in either music or work. He has trouble getting gigs and holding down jobs, occasionally forcing him into get-rich-quick schemes to make money and save face. He first meets Lanfen when she charges into the coffee shop where he was working to berate him for forgetting her catering order, an order that he forgot due to staying up late at a party the night before. While Gang initially sees Lanfen as uptight and obsessed over things that don’t matter, he learns to admire her valor and drive through sequential encounters, falling in love with her. After their marriage, Gang continues a string of jobs and careers, too proud to let Lanfen support him. Despite the conflict between the two, Gang’s love her Lanfen and her position as his muse leads him to coming back to her again and again.
Gang is portrayed as wise beyond his years when it comes to philosophical and existential matters, but spendthrift and unpragmatic in day-to-day life. While he has the talent and charisma to initiate a variety of careers and schemes, his laziness and inability to follow through leads to most crashing down ontop of him. Gang’s voice actor, Jian Tsui, describes his character as a “wise guy, in both sense of the idiom,” and “someone who so good at seeing the big picture that he can’t see the obstacles right in front of his face.” Often, Gang catalyzes the conflict of an episode through his misadventures. However, his creative spark is also often responsible for leading to the resolution of said conflict.
Yingjie (voiced by Chuck Lu): Introduced in Season 3, Yingjie was the first “minor party character” and symbolizes the One China Party. Yingjie is a manual laborer and a tough, and was originally a competitor for Lanfen’s affections. Brash, self-centered and aggressive, Yingjie despised Gang, and saw him unworthy of Lanfen’s affections. However, despite his advances, Lanfen was disgusted by his rude and prideful behavior, rejecting him. While Yingjie and Lanfen have had the occasional tryst, Yingjie remains essentially delusional in his quest to win Lanfen’s heart. Yingjie is a common antagonist for Lanfen and Gang, and rarely helps resolve the plot, save by accident.
Shu (voiced by Wendy Liu): Introduced in Season 4 with the rest of the Backbench bar gang, Shu symbolizes the transhumanist New Century Alliance. Shu is a dancer and a rectech addict, and is often portrayed as witty and fast-talking but obnoxious and immature. Sexually voracious, Shu often makes advances towards Gang, Lanfen and other members of the Backbench bar. This was most highlighted in the “break-up” arc of Season 6, where between April and September Gang and Lanfen were separated in anger and confusion over Lanfen’s miscarriage, with Gang cohabitating with Shu. However, mirroring the rapprochement between the Workers’ and Peoples’ parties, Gang left Shu at the beginning of Season 7, leading to Shu being perpetually obsessed with winning him back.
Mei (voiced by Fan Sung): Introduced in Season 4 with the rest of the Backbench bar gang, Mei symbolizes the Womens’ Party. A demure academic, Mei is usually kind and gentle, but often reacts in rage towards what she sees as being “patronized” for her gender. Mei and Gang develop a strong platonic friendship, despite her lashing out against Gang’s occasional acts of masculine chivalry. While the two have no sexual interest in each other, Lanfen is often jealous of their friendship, seeing too close of a resemblance of herself in Mei. Mei is not often used by the writing teams, who usually write her into the script for gags and running jokes.
Qiao (voiced by Shihong Han): Introduced in Season 4 with the rest of the Backbench bar gang, Qiao symbolizes the Christian Party. A catholic priest, Qiao is a perpetual stoic and a perpetual drinker, with other characters remarking their inability to tell if he’s always soberly drunk or always drunkingly sober. Qiao often imposes his moralism on other characters, and occasionally catalyzes conflicts due to his myriad moral crusades. While he rarely serves to resolve conflict, he does occasionally give dismissive sayings to other character, which Gang then reinterprets to help solve the episode’s plot. Paralleling the rise of the Christian Party, Qiao has become more frequently used as a primary antagonist through Season 10, and is rumored to be the center a major arc in the upcoming Season 11.
Jianjun (voiced by Xia Kang): Introduced in Season 6 as a late addition to the Backbenchers, Jianjun is an emotionless synthetic that symbolizes the post-liberal Civic Progressive Alliance. Jianjun rarely factors into an episode’s plot, instead serving as a gag character. These gag’s often revolve around the disconnect between Jianjun’s desire to pretend to be human and his complete inability to do so. The character will often make absurd or insensitive comments, only to quickly back-step after noticing others’ surprise or discomfort. Despite his gaffes, both Qiao and Yingjie are so oblivious that they have not clued into Jianjun being a synthetic, and neither Mei or Shu particularly care. Thus, Jianjun is convinced that his façade is effective, even though Jianjun doesn’t even look human, having a metallic skeletal form.
Nianzu (voiced by Tony Wu): Introduced in Season 8 to symbolize the newly risen Progressive Democratic Party, Nianzu is a handsome but incredibly dull salaryman. Despite his boring personality, his attractiveness leads both Lanfen and Gang to compete for his affections, to each other’s jealously and Nianzu’s confusion. Tony Wu decided to voice the character himself, stating that he thought that the new character would be a great way to interact more with the audience, and to satirize his own liberal views.
Subject Matter
Political Paralleism
Lanfen & Gang rarely addresses topical issues directly, instead approaching them through a recognizable analogue. A notable example would be negotiations over the Permanent Employment Fund. Designed to liberalize Chinese labor laws in exchange for a new social insurance program and more flexibility for unions, the fund was the result of a year’s compromise between the Peoples’ party and the Workers’ party. Tony Wu represented the bill as Lanfen’s pregnancy, with many of the disputes between Lanfen and Gang parodying the Fund debates. However, when the negotiations eventually fell through, leading to collapse of the People’s Party government, Tony Wu began a new arc with the famous/infamous “Though We Walk” episode (S6:E13). The episode, entirely silent until the end, relates the somber series of errors and misunderstandings that leads to Lanfen falling down a flight of stairs, unintentionally aborting the pregnancy. The shock and fear between Lanfen and Gang, leads to Gang fleeing their home, and separating the couple until Season 7 hiatus, in which the couple made up in the multi-part premiere.
Usually, the show is more light-hearted in its political parallelism and satire. Parliamentary and provincial scandals are often addressed in background gags. Manifestos made by the parties are usually symbolized as New Year’s pledges, which are then quickly and humorously violated and discarded. Character arcs also reflect the rise and dynamics of political parties. Characters that represent increasingly relevant parties tend to have more screen time, while less relevant ones are delegated to gags and C-plots. Some have criticized this tendency, suggesting that Wu refuses to give attention to new solutions for China’s problems, which would be irresponsible behavior for one of its lead political satirists. While Wu has traditionally laughed off such criticism, rumors and leaks from Season 11 suggest greater involvement of several underutilized characters, such as Mei, Qiao and Jianjun.
Queer Themes
Queer critics have offered praise for the show’s unapologetic handling of sexuality, with some reservations. Out of the main cast, Gang, Shu and Nianzu are openly bisexual, and are shown to engage in real, if temporary, queer relationships. Qiao is also openly gay, although repressed. While Qiao admits that he is attracted to men, his belief in the immorality of this attraction leads to his celibacy, a condition which is portrayed as content with. There is also some subtext suggesting that Mei may be repressing same-sex attraction, although most of that subtext is limited to Season 4. Some queer critics have expressed concerns with the lack of long-term queer relationships, and that the same-sex trysts shown in the show are often portrayed for either laughs or the male gaze. Wu himself is openly supportive of queer relationships, and has made occasional calls, both through the show and personal remakes, for the government to further protect queer people from discrimination.
Anti-Synth Controversy
Tony Wu has been criticized for his portrayal of synthetic persons in Lanfen & Gang. Of note is the character Jianjun, who synth rights groups condemn as a bigoted caricature. While Tony Wu has stated that he has nothing against synthetic persons, synths rarely appear on the show. When they do, they are often background characters without multiple lines, and are often portrayed as uncoordinated, emotionless or inept, used for gags.
Personal Biases
For his personal politics, Wu describes himself as a “liberal without adjectives.” In interviews, he has expressed support for limiting government intervention into the economy and culture, while ensuring that the vulnerable in society are protected from exploitive interests. Wu is a member of the Progressive Democratic Party, and has declined requests from his Party to become a spokesperson or political candidate, due to his commitments for Lanfen & Gang.
Reception
Lanfen & Gang has received praise both from the public and political community for its biting satire and engaging drama. James Chuang, senior politics editor for Al Jazeera China, has called the show, “one of the best ways for people of all ages to learn about our nation’s issues, as well as have a good time.” Langen & Gang has also been received well by members of Congress. In 2062, two junior delegates from the People’s and Workers’ parties, Lien Wu and Ye Liao, came to the annual Xian Film and Comics Convention (X-Con) cosplaying the titular characters, an act that quickly became a viral sensation. This became an annual tradition for the two major parties. The most notable individual to have taken part was Chieren Han, Provincial Coordinator for the People’s Party. While its general reception has been strong, the show has been criticized both by some academics and members of the opposition. Jiao Pai, a film studies professor at the Reclaimed University in Beijing and regular contributor to the People’s Piano has dismissed the show as infantilizing its audience, encouraging mindless consumption of political news rather than strengthening citizenship. Guo Hung, a senior delegate for the One China Party has directly attacked Wu and the show, calling it a “lurid spectacle that punishes dissent with bullying and slander.” Conservative groups have called for the boycott of Letv and its affilates until they cancel Lanfen & Gang, although these campaigns have not had much traction.
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I got some fairly big updates planned for the next week. I'm finally able to kick back into gear now that I finally have internet in my new apartment. Stay tuned.
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A continuation of Our Fathers' Stars
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Background
Lanfen & Gang is a long-running Chinese animated series that lovingly satirizes the relationship between China’s two major political parties, the People’s Party and the Workers’ Party.
I actually kind of wonder. What is the animation's state at this point in Our Father's Stars? What is the state of the generally apolitical Russian animation at this point, considering such extremely popular and moneymaking Russian cartoons like Smeshariki and Masha and the Bear?
Well in OTL he served as a conservative, so somewhat on the right but generally centrist
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