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Thread: Zhou Libo's edgy humor a hit in Shanghai-
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[quote=MARRIE,412987]In particular, Zhou loves to talk about how things have changed since the 1970s, touching on the poverty in Shanghai’s past and covering topics that, until now, have been discussed mainly with embarrassment. “He’s talking about my generation and the generation before me,” said Fish Zhou, a Shanghainese graphic designer who was born in the 1980s. “Some of his jokes are about things I can remember, and others are about the history of Shanghai, things I would like to learn.” Zhou’s love of his hometown is emblematic of a city embracing its own personality, unique in China. As cities such as Shanghai become more affluent, they are becoming more confident in their identities. Many are revisiting local culture, and dialects are gaining a sheen of hipness. There also is more money to help support grass-roots performers. Zhou is not the only one to have benefited. Other popular comedians, such as Guo Degang and Xiao Shenyang in northern China, have also relied on local audiences to build their national reputations. Zhou’s success in Shanghai is so great that he has turned down offers to perform at the annual Spring Festival Gala in Beijing, a television event famous for launching performers to national stardom. “Zhou Libo will rarely leave Shanghai,” he said, slipping into the third person. “If I leave Shanghai, it’s basically the same as leaving the country.” This regionalism has not escaped criticism. Zhou has been accused in the Chinese press of driving a wedge between Shanghai and the rest of China. With the use of dialects on the rise, the central government has taken steps to limit their spread. China’s broadcasting watchdog released a statement this summer demanding that dramas and children’s shows be in Mandarin. News and TV presenters are required to pass tests on Mandarin pronunciation. [/quote]
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