The dark side of Chinese pop culture

For ChinESE showbiz, October is a month for waving the national flag. With each passing autumn, especially in the ten years since President Xi Jinping came to power, audiences are offered ever more patriotic works. During the week-long public holidays around National Day, on October 1st, cinemas present historical war films or action movies with gleaming fighter planes and warships. Streaming services offer television dramas about selfless public servants, from pandemic-fighting medics to police squads hunting fugitives overseas.