Earthquake fashion shoot

May 24, 2008 8:11 AM

The editors of the Chinese lifestyle magazine New Travel Weekly thought it might be a good idea to shoot a fashion spread in the rubble of the Sichuan earthquake. The editors have now been sacked and the magazine is undergoing rectification.
posted by Sitegeist (29 comments total)

All things considered I would have chalked this up as a publicity stunt to get a higher circulation, but if the magazine folded (or er, got the rectal treatment, whatever they want to call it) then I guess that blows that theory out of the water.
posted by crapmatic at 8:29 AM on May 24, 2008

The government declared official mourning for the first time since communist China's founder Mao Zedong died in 1976.

As part of the official grief, it temporarily pulled entertainment networks off television and closed down cinemas, karaoke bars and other leisure venues.

You will grieve.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:29 AM on May 24, 2008

Well, it was nice while China was open.

I don't understand that - how does the closure of a small travel magazine which made a poor editorial decision reflect on China's openness?

got the rectal treatment

That's not the usual meaning of "rectification", but in this case it probably does apply, if only figuratively. (Hopefully.)

Is it a particularly important event? Is the public at large in China really freaking out over this?
posted by WalterMitty at 8:34 AM on May 24, 2008

crazy, almost looks like a fashion shoot.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:12 AM on May 21 [2 favorites +] [!]

Obviously, the editors were inspired.
posted by three blind mice at 8:38 AM on May 24, 2008

if the magazine folded... then I guess that blows that theory out of the water.

Not necessarily. Sometimes PR stunts get out of hand or, when the public backlash registers, they are forced to take harsh remedies.
posted by DU at 8:41 AM on May 24, 2008

I don't support censorship per se, but my sympathy for that magasine has its limits. That was in incredibly bad taste. It would be like shooting an underwear ad at Ground Zero in NYC on September 13.
posted by jb at 8:46 AM on May 24, 2008 [3 favorites]

One photog got some great shots of the quake during a wedding
posted by dobbs at 8:47 AM on May 24, 2008

I vote for sending all the models to a reeducation camp. And to make some photoshoots there involving harsh disciplinary measures involing skimpy garments with little surface area (and possibly Max Mosley). And to publish the results on the internets.
posted by sour cream at 9:00 AM on May 24, 2008

@WalterMitty: Well, if the comments on the first site are any indication, people aren't too happy about it:

1. Disgusting
2. Disgusting
3. Using the disaster to promote fashion; they're shameless
4. This kind of thing should be immediately blocked
posted by strangeguitars at 9:04 AM on May 24, 2008

Well, it was nice while China was open.

i bet they also pulled all the planes out the sky, have a "don't play" list for radio stations, and pulled rap cds that had certain now-collapsed buildings on them

oops, sorry - wrong country, wrong disaster
posted by pyramid termite at 9:19 AM on May 24, 2008 [19 favorites]

I support the arts and freedom of expression, but seriously, editors and anyone else involved with this project should have had some sense. What did they expect would happen?
posted by sith_apprentice77 at 9:25 AM on May 24, 2008

I'm guessing this was an attempt to mimic the Western "anything goes" fashion ethic in which heroin is chic, anorexia is even better and nothing is sacred.

When similar things happen here, people lose their jobs and it wouldn't be surprising for a small publication to go under...
posted by Maias at 9:45 AM on May 24, 2008

travelweekly reporting doubleplusungood rectify fullwise upsub antefiling
posted by subgear at 9:54 AM on May 24, 2008 [2 favorites]

pt - that's exactly what I was thinking. i bet at least 40% (probably more) of the American population would be happy to see everything but Newsmax shut down in the wake of the War on Terror ™ due to "violations of propaganda discipline."
posted by photoslob at 9:58 AM on May 24, 2008

This actually sounds like something they'd do on America's Next Top Model. That show and the Bruno segments on Da Ali G Show have taught me that the fashion world is sometimes like that.
posted by ignignokt at 10:09 AM on May 24, 2008

Yeah, it's nice(?) to see that America doesn't have a monopoly on horrendously poor taste in advertising.
posted by hattifattener at 10:19 AM on May 24, 2008

Some people think shooting fashion photos near the ruins is a good idea. Some people's bosses think firing said people who approved the photos is a good idea.
posted by ersatz at 10:27 AM on May 24, 2008

Chinese Police Detain Woman Over Quake Video In a country of over a billion people, there's more than one reaction to the earthquake.
posted by Herman Hermanson at 10:28 AM on May 24, 2008

I'm all for free speech, but there are times when mere images can cause actual trauma for people still suffering the immediate effects and the shock of an impact. In special cases, I believe that some forms of expression constitute assault, and this may be one of them.
posted by StickyCarpet at 10:28 AM on May 24, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yeah, it's nice(?) to see that America doesn't have a monopoly on horrendously poor taste in advertising.

Yet another industry thats being outsourced to China!
posted by Iax at 10:31 AM on May 24, 2008

I don't support censorship per se, but my sympathy for that magasine has its limits. That was in incredibly bad taste. It would be like shooting an underwear ad at Ground Zero in NYC on September 13.

The earthquake was almost two weeks ago, not two days. To do a photo shoot on September 13th would be in terrible taste. To have done it on September 24th.. well, OK but what name are we talking? Chanel? Maybe. Hollister? HOW DARE THEY???!!!
posted by ChickenringNYC at 10:48 AM on May 24, 2008

Yet another industry Western-culture trend that's being outsourced to copied by China!
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:14 AM on May 24, 2008

Parents protest over school buildings collapse
posted by homunculus at 12:02 PM on May 24, 2008

China’s Class Divide
posted by homunculus at 1:28 PM on May 24, 2008 [1 favorite]

The earthquake was almost two weeks ago, not two days

Two weeks ago the death toll was 10-20,000. Two days ago it was 50,000. Now they are expecting 80,000. It will probably cross the 100k mark in the end.

People are still dying. Millions of survivors are homeless and hungry. How about a fashion shoot two weeks after the last victim found draws his last breath?
posted by fatehunter at 2:23 PM on May 24, 2008 [1 favorite]

Its in extremely poor taste, but poor taste should be legal. As Pyramid Termite observed, the US does not exactly have a stirling reputation in this area, but I don't think that prohibits me from observing that a) its a lot more common in the PRC than the US, and b) the PRC did a bad thing here.
posted by sotonohito at 3:50 PM on May 24, 2008

Spectacularly poor taste worthy of New York's fashion elite. Who says they're not "westernizing" fast enough?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:48 PM on May 24, 2008

don't play" list for radio stations

I have my own little collection of weird events/memories of those days but this one eludes me. Among them, a guy I knew who worked in a record store in Ohio--OHIO!--had to pull several New York and disaster themed movies from the shelves at Blockbuster. But a play list?
posted by etaoin at 7:17 PM on May 24, 2008

etaoin: Here's a list of the songs Clear Channel (which owns a huge portion of US radio) deemed off-limits following 9/11. Includes "What a Wonderful World," "Smooth Criminal," "Rock the Casbah," "Learn to Fly," and many more.
posted by Tomorrowful at 9:03 PM on May 24, 2008