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POV Community Engagement & Education DISCUSSION GUIDE High Tech, Low Life A Film by Stephen Maing www.pbs.org/pov LETTER FROM THE FILMMAKER NEW YORK, 2013 In 2006, there were roughly 110 million Internet users in China and the first official phase of China’s censorship barrier, commonly referred to as "The Great Firewall,” had been evolving for almost a decade and was finally completed. By 2008, the number jumped to 298 million users and rumors of young resourceful Chinese ne - tizens circumventing the government’s censorship restrictions began circulating on the Internet. I wanted to make a film that explored the relatively new intersection of youth, ac - tivism and technology but after getting to know Zola and Tiger Temple over the course of 4 years of filming, I realized their personal stories revealed a much dif - ferent narrative about a startling new China that was also still reckoning with its painful Maoist past. For both Zola and Tiger Temple, transparency was a crucial way of showing they had nothing to hide and also gauging the potential risks of their work and actions. When I first met Zola, a young tech-savvy Chinese blogger from Hunan Province, it seemed as though a film about him could easily be a comedy. It was immediately apparent that he had a uniquely entertaining way of expressing his individuality and progressive political views. But his story alone was not enough to contextu - Filmmaker Stephen Maing. alize the struggles he and other bloggers faced. Photo courtesy of Trina Rodriguez Upon meeting the older and more low-key Tiger Temple, I was struck by his dra - matically different style and background. He is a wandering writer and self-pro - fessed romantic who regularly bikes across the mainland, and he is profoundly haunted by the persecution he and his family endured during the Cultural Revolution. What struck me about Tiger Temple and Zola was that, despite the significant gen - erational gap between them, they shared a real curiosity about the world and a commitment to advancing freedom of speech in China—thought at times they took very different approaches to this common goal. From 2008 to 2012, my crew and I were fortunate to observe these two individuals who had no set path or precedent to fol - low, but were writing their own narrative. What they each do involves the art of engagement, self-reflection and circumven - tion, as each strives to challenge the status quo. As a new director working in a very unpredictable environment, I took many cues from Zola and Tiger Temple. They walk into new and difficult situations, immerse themselves in situations and then find creative ways to talk about things not normally talked about—all without resorting to painting issues in black and white or being seen as political dissidents. I’m interested in character-driven stories that unfold slowly and reveal larger systemic and cultural complexities. Part of the film’s central question was how to tell a personal and relateable story that presented the reality of censorship and perils of political dissidence in China through experiential observations, not expert interviews. A more important challenge to me was how to contextualize the risks they were taking without over-simplifying and over-dramatizing the varied contours of their day-to-day lives. Intimately representing people who represent other people as well as themselves in their own work was an - other challenge. I set out to film both men’s reporting trips, but also their everyday routines. Over long periods of filming, deep connections between their personal struggles and political personas began to emerge, so that their experiences began to echo each other and similarities between their very different generational outlooks began to be revealed. DISCUSSION GUIDE High Tech, Low Life |2 LETTER FROM THE FILMMAKER High Tech, Low Life is about how average Chinese citizens have begun to empower themselves in China’s new media land - scape. In some ways, Zola and Tiger Temple are two people you might find in any province in the country. Because of their sometimes vulnerable positions, our central concern was understanding the sensitive political landscape and making sure our presence would not create difficulties for them. We regularly discussed safety and how best to navigate each trip we took together. I will never forget the time I solemnly asked Zola, “How low-key should we keep things?” and he replied with a smile, “I already put some pictures online of you filming me. The authorities read my blog, so we’ll find out soon enough if they have a problem with this.” For both Zola and Tiger Temple, transparency was always crucial and a way of showing they had nothing to hide. A different kind of challenge was trying to figure out how to balance traditional documentary needs like context, social is - sues and story development while wanting the visual language of the film to capture more intangible atmospheric qualities of space, texture and mood. Because the China I witnessed was so vastly contradictory from the China I had researched, I wanted the film to have a sort of visual poetry that would help deliver different kinds of information and create a richer nu - anced experience - one that defied expectation and informed Zola and Tiger Temple’s essential story without interfering with it. Despite the stark reality of censorship in China, Zola and Tiger Temple have often asserted that the worst form of censor - ship is self-censorship. Through their actions we begin to see that the boundaries of acceptable free speech may not always be known, but they are broader than once thought. Chinese ‘netizens’ have proven that there can be room for a more vibrant social dialogue and even critical political discourse – as long as they don't organize public demonstrations or encourage so - cial unrest. Even still, social media has enabled intrepid bloggers and activists like Zola and Tiger Temple to fill in the gaps of information and news like never before. Since I completed the film in April 2012, the number of Internet users in China has skyrocketed to over 513 million, and roughly 300 million of them use some form of social media. Advancements in online censorship include increased numbers of Inter - net police and engineers as well as web monitors employed by privately owned Internet companies. Among the numerous new policies and regulations to control online content, it has formed the State Internet Information Office to organize these efforts and more effectively control online activity. As the new China hurtles toward a rapidly changing future, its govern - ment and online netizens surely will continue to try to outsmart each other, while people like Zola and Tiger Temple emerge as the forefathers of a brave new civil society. Stephen Maing Director, High Tech, Low Life DISCUSSION GUIDE High Tech, Low Life |3 TABLE OF CONTENTS CREDITS 2 Letter From the Filmmaker Writer 4 Introduction Faith Rogow, PhD 5 Potential Partners Insighters Educational Consulting 5 Key Issues 5 Using This Guide Guide Producers and Background Research, POV 6 Background Information Eliza Licht 6 The Great Firewall Vice President, Community Engagement & Education, POV 7 Citizen Journalism Jamie Dobie 8 Capitalist Dreams and Social Harmony Manager, 8 Chinese Censorship Community Engagement & Education, POV as a Tool for Political Control Luke McCord 10 Selected People Featured Intern, Community Engagement & Education, POV in High Tech, Low Life Design: 10 General Discussion Questions Rafael Jiménez 11 Discussion Prompts Eyeball 13 Taking Action 14 Resources Copy Editor: 16 How to Buy the Film Natalie Danford Thanks to those who reviewed this guide: Stephen Maing Filmmaker, High Tech, Low Life Rebecca MacKinnon Co-Founder, Global Voices Online Senior Research Fellow, New American Foundation INTRODUCTION HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE (90 minutes) follows two of China’s As an outreach tool, the film looks at the changing practice first citizen reporters as they document the underside of the of journalism as much as it looks at life in modern China. Zola country’s rapid economic development. The bloggers draw and Tiger Temple function as independent one-man news attention to land grabs, pollution, rising poverty, violence stations, challenging audiences to examine the differences against women and local corruption as they navigate evolv- between blogging and reporting. Viewers are left with sig- ing censorship regulations and push to extend the country’s nificant questions about what counts as journalism in the limits on free speech. The film juxtaposes perspectives from digital world and whether or not citizen reporters armed vastly different generations. Young Zola’s goal of becoming only with laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and their own an Internet celebrity contrasts with the older Tiger Temple’s motives can topple the “Great Firewall” of China. commitment to achieving justice for China’s rural dispos- sessed. The portraits reveal tensions between the country’s tradition of personal sacrifice and an evolving sense of in- dividualism. DISCUSSION GUIDE High Tech, Low Life |4 POTENTIAL PARTNERS KEY ISSUES High Tech, Low Life is well suited for use in a variety of High Tech, Low Life is an excellent tool for outreach settings and is especially recommended for use with: and will be of special interest to people looking to ex - plore the following topics: • Your local PBS station • Groups that have discussed previous PBS and POV • blogging films relating to China, free speech or government • censorship surveillance, including The Tank Man, Last Train • China Home, Up the Yangtze, Utopia, Part 3: The World’s • Communist Party of China Largest Shopping Mall, Escape from China, Please Vote for Me, China Blue, Better This World, If a • democracy Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front • digital literacy and The Camden 28.

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