Preview - Discovery's "People's Republic of Capitalism" Attempts to Sell U.S./China Co-Dependence

Koppel on Discovery's 4-part miniseries on China, called The People's Republic of Capitalism, airs this week on July 9-12th. I attended a preview screening of excerpts from the first two episodes a few weeks ago and thought I'd share some thoughts.

The timing of the series' release, coming a month before the opening of the Beijing Olympics, places it atop a wave of China-related media flooding the airwaves. China is hot these days, and everyone is cashing in. The Koppel series seems poised to reach a great number of American audiences, with eye-catching graphics and a contemporary docu-feel. Koppel himself sounds very much the classic newsman that he is, and is not afraid to occasionally push his subjects on questions they'd rather avoid.

I only saw parts of the first two episodes, "Joined at the Hip" and "Mao-ism to Me-ism." The first is a fairly standard look how the economies of China and the US are currently intertwined. The contrast between the depressed Midwestern town of Rolla and the bustling city of Chongqing where its industry was relocated is drawn strikingly. Interviews with former Briggs and Stratton employees in Rolla repeatedly return to the conundrum facing many in America today: patronizing Walmart and the like is feeding the system that robs people of their jobs, but what can you do when you can't afford to shop anywhere else? While this is certainly a pregnant issue, the show's tone seems geared towards selling the idea that US/Chinese interdependence is a good thing, or if not good, at the very least an unavoidable fact in the modern economy. Moreover, this message is aimed at people very much like Rolla's unemployed. While the tone may change in later episodes, what I saw seems very pro-China and willing to overlook criticisms of that nation and the US' dependence on it.

The second episode focuses on how life is changing for modern Chinese, especially with regard to what they want and live for. It has been noted that modern Chinese are preoccupied above all else with making money, and the series reinforces that point to an extent. However, they do interview several people who seem to embody a drive for creativity and self-expression that they find difficult to fulfill in Chinese society. These interviews are occasionally strained and the cultural divide between Koppel and his subjects becomes more apparent, but on the whole generate interesting discussion.

The preview was well received by the audience, which included a delegation from one of China's rapidly industrializing cities. A brief Q&A with one of the show's producers after the screening fielded mostly production-oriented questions. One question aimed vaguely at the agenda of the show or its sponsors was side-stepped.

Koppel on Discovery's "The People's Republic of Capitalism" airs on The Discovery Channel July 9-12th at 10pm ET and PST