"Born to Fly" - Contemporary Movies Flag China's Strategic Direction
In China's Command Society, the elite decide the nations direction and then the media persuade people that they want that direction. "Born to Fly" disguises aggression as righteous indignation.
A Movie With A Message:
“Born to fly” is produced by the Chinese airforce (AVIC universal pictures 中航环球, 航空工业影像中心) and other media companies, including Alibaba pictures, China film administration, PMF sunac pictures, and others either state owned or with party cells directing adherence to the “main tune” of Chinese (CCP) public opinion guidance.
Our hero is pilot Lei Yu, who is handsome and awesome, like fictional US pilots used to be a generation ago, before they got old and into weird religions that worship space aliens from another dimension1.
Our story opens in the South China Sea where a Chinese oil rig is peacefully developing Vietnam’s petroleum resources for China and nearby some Chinese fishermen are peacefully going about their piscatorial concerns in the waters of the Phillippines Exclusive Economic Zone.
Suddenly two enemy (yes they are described as such !) F35 fighters fly low over the oil rig and fishermen, creating a sonic boom, with broken glass, much damage, and rocked boats.
Lei Yu warns them they are in Chinese territory and the arrogant white males reply in English that they “can go wherever they want”. After some highly dangerous near crash manoeuvres, Lei Yu is about to FIRE A FRICK’N MISSILE but luckily for Xi and Biden, his engine misfires at the critical moment. Because Lei Yu is so cool, he flies the plane back to base timing all actions to the second and lands the plane safely instead of ejecting.
Lei Yu gets invited to train to be a test pilot. He is driven to a desert location (Xinjiang maybe 🤔?) to undertake testing and training. Seven pilots will be selected from a large group of boy-band type males2. At this stage a musical version of this movie has not been suggested.
At night in the barracks, the boys show some team spirit and practice English, rehearsing “This is China airforce” in mean and intimidating tones.
Graduation Speech
In the speech at graduation, pilots are informed that the enemy’s trade and technology embargo makes their role advancing China’s weaponry absolutely critical to win the struggle that lies ahead.
This is a battle of our country’s dignity and security!
The message is clearly contemporary and tightly in sync with Chinese propaganda on issues of technology embargoes (silicon chips etc), the China containment narrative, and supporting the trope that defending Taiwan or objecting to China’s occupation of the entire South China Sea is “intruding into Chinese territory”.
After the graduation speech, the fun begins with high risk high altitude climbs, explosions, crashes.
In dot points:
Lei Yu pushes too hard , bails out landing in a field of goats. 🐐
Lei Yu gets a lift back in a goat cart. Other pilots notice the smell. Light comic relief.
Lead Training pilot Zhang’s ejector seat 💺 doesn’t work. He dies in a ball of flame.
At his funeral Zhang’s wife pulls the flag from his body, to reveal there is only a wooden carved shape, the body was incinerated in the explosion.
Lei Yu’s Family Show Up.
Lei’s Dad wants him to resign and do another job. Says he wanted him to go overseas. Dad is an engineer and says China is too far behind to catch up to the west. But Lei Yu, says in the last 100 years China lost not just dignity but confidence. His generation is more confident.
“What the last generation lost, we will get back”
His Dad says:
“Be a hero if you wish, but what about your mother !”
They can’t agree. Parents leave. Lei Visits Zhang’s grave.
Goes back to join the boys in training and camaraderie. Works bravely on his rehab. Pretty medic cares for him.
Who needs family when you have party and country ?
More Things Happen:
Then Deng and Lei go to the South China Sea, shoot down some US drones and are ready to start WW3 but the US planes flee from “China's territory” and big smiles, thumbs up 👍 and shows over.
“Anyone who invades China’s airspace will be RESOLUTELY SHOT DOWN”
Let’s digest this last sentence from the movie…..China’s propaganda organs approved the line “resolutely shot down” as the message to send to the Chinese audience.
What else can we assume other than that this is to make the public accept the idea of shooting down a US or other plane, and not feeling shock, perhaps feeling pride, when it finally happens. What else can we assume, other than that the chance of it happening in the near future, is higher than in the past ?
Why Does This Movie Exist ?
All Chinese movies exist to advance the interests of the Chinese Communist Party and corral public opinion around the views that they want the public to hold.
In the Xi Jin Ping era there have been multiple Korean War movies
My War, 2016.
The Sacrifice, 2020.
The Battle at Lake Changjin, 2021.
The Battle at Lake Changjin II, 2022.
Sniper, 2022.
At the same time the media has made much of remembering the “Victory” over America, that the Korean War has been depicted as, in China. This is bolstered by official events commemorating the return of remains of soldiers from Korean battlefields to China. These movies serve to position public opinion around hating the US, and believing it can be beaten in a war. Unless Xi and Kim (Jong Il) are cooking up another war on the peninsula, it is probably just about confecting generalised hate for the US and confidence that China’s military could win a future war, rather than having anything specific to do with Korea.
Specific Public Opinion Management Objectives:
“Born To Fly”, on the other hand, pursues several very specific public opinion management aims:
Normalise China’s claims over the South China Sea and other international waters
Obfuscate the reasons for other countries pushing back against China’s domination of this territory.
Normalise the idea that the USA is an enemy and that warfare is likely in the future and China must prepare for this.
Encourage the idea that technological advances are vital and hard work and national expense and sacrifice is required to have the highest levels of technology.
Contrast this with “Top Gun - Maverick”
Top Gun is primarily a commercial endeavour, originally with Chinese investors resulting in “Jacketgate” - to please Chinese investors and audience, Tom Cruise’s flight Jacket had its badges amended, to remove Taiwan and Japan. When there was an outcry and Chinese investors went cold on the project, the original badges were restored.
Maverick’s enemy is amorphous - An un-named rogue state developing a nuclear option that needed to be destroyed, yet protected with advanced fighter planes. It could be Iran with planes from China, but no voices or faces are shown, so the enemy is basically a plot device, rather than a specific propaganda objective for demonisation.
If there is a political message, it is that US technological advantage is now lost, should be regained, and that individual effort and valour always count. Many viewers would miss this completely and just enjoy the romance, adventure and drama.
Who Cares ?
Earthlings. Anyone who prefers that existing borders be respected and that humanity focus it’s efforts on advancement and cooperation rather than political violence.
While China is busy building public support for military action and conflict to ensure domination of the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and ultimately control of Taiwan by means of violence, voters in the US and elsewhere are…just watching movies that are… just movies.
I’d like to see a movie that communicates to audiences why China is in the wrong on the South China Sea and Taiwan and why free nations need to work together to resist, using multiple strategies that include defence. It’s high time the discussion moved from intellectual boffins to the ordinary people who vote, pay taxes, and fear conscription.
Dictatorships manage public opinion, in democracies we have to make our voices heard. The entertainment industry can make money and stimulate discussion at the same time.
Tom Cruise is a scientologist - they believe in aliens from another dimension. This association diminishes his standing in my opinion.
I found out after writing this that in fact the actor playing Lei Yu has been in a boy band, Korean-Chinese combo “UNIQ”.