Do You Remember Tiananmen?
source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/story/2009/05/do-you-remember-tiananmen.html
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- Kepano
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To mark the twentieth anniversary of the crushing of the Chinese pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, this Tuesday night FRONTLINE is re-airing filmmaker Antony Thomas' 2006 report, "The Tank Man," which attempts to solve an enduring mystery:
Who was the lone, unarmed man who stepped in front of a column of Chinese Army tanks back in June, 1989? What happened to him afterward? And how did Tiananmen help redefine China's view of itself, and its place in the world?
In this definitive account, Thomas uses eyewitness and expert accounts to retell the amazing events of the spring of 1989, and to sort truth from myth about the man who became an icon of the struggle for freedom around the world before disappearing into history. Thomas also attempts to understand how China's leadership charted a course through the tumult, then remade the country into a global economic superpower in subsequent years.
The most telling scenes in the film may be those in which the legacy of Tiananmen seems least clear: At one point, Thomas shows the image of "Tank Man" to undergraduates at Beijing University, but none of them recognize it.
There are conflicting reports about whether images of "Tank Man" continue to be blocked across China. But, as we recently learned, if you attempt to watch this FRONTLINE film from inside the country, you're sure to find yourself out of luck--your connection will be blocked by Chinese censors, and your Internet browser temporarily shut down.
For more on the current situation in China, listen to FRONTLINE's new podcast, featuring an interview with The New Yorker's Beijing correspondent, Evan Osnos. The podcast also includes an interview with filmmaker Thomas who discusses the making of this film, including the moment he showed "Tank Man" to the university students.
Who was the lone, unarmed man who stepped in front of a column of Chinese Army tanks back in June, 1989? What happened to him afterward? And how did Tiananmen help redefine China's view of itself, and its place in the world?
In this definitive account, Thomas uses eyewitness and expert accounts to retell the amazing events of the spring of 1989, and to sort truth from myth about the man who became an icon of the struggle for freedom around the world before disappearing into history. Thomas also attempts to understand how China's leadership charted a course through the tumult, then remade the country into a global economic superpower in subsequent years.
The most telling scenes in the film may be those in which the legacy of Tiananmen seems least clear: At one point, Thomas shows the image of "Tank Man" to undergraduates at Beijing University, but none of them recognize it.
There are conflicting reports about whether images of "Tank Man" continue to be blocked across China. But, as we recently learned, if you attempt to watch this FRONTLINE film from inside the country, you're sure to find yourself out of luck--your connection will be blocked by Chinese censors, and your Internet browser temporarily shut down.
For more on the current situation in China, listen to FRONTLINE's new podcast, featuring an interview with The New Yorker's Beijing correspondent, Evan Osnos. The podcast also includes an interview with filmmaker Thomas who discusses the making of this film, including the moment he showed "Tank Man" to the university students.
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pjacobs51
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Yes I do remember. But as stated in the article, "Tank Man" seems to have been deleted from Chinese history.
- 2 years ago
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pjacobs51
