Comments on: Earthquake fashion shoot

Earthquake fashion shoot

Sitegeist — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:11:09 -0800

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.

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:21:12 -0800

Well, it was nice while China was open.

By: crapmatic

crapmatic — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:29:14 -0800

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.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:29:48 -0800

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.

By: WalterMitty

WalterMitty — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:34:16 -0800

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?

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:38:30 -0800

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.

By: DU

DU — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:41:29 -0800

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.

By: jb

jb — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:46:40 -0800

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.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:47:58 -0800

One photog got some great shots of the quake during a wedding

By: sour cream

sour cream — Sat, 24 May 2008 09:00:44 -0800

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.

By: strangeguitars

strangeguitars — Sat, 24 May 2008 09:04:36 -0800

@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

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Sat, 24 May 2008 09:19:35 -0800

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

By: sith_apprentice77

sith_apprentice77 — Sat, 24 May 2008 09:25:10 -0800

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?

By: Maias

Maias — Sat, 24 May 2008 09:45:01 -0800

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...

By: subgear

subgear — Sat, 24 May 2008 09:54:48 -0800

travelweekly reporting doubleplusungood rectify fullwise upsub antefiling

By: photoslob

photoslob — Sat, 24 May 2008 09:58:52 -0800

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."

By: ignignokt

ignignokt — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:09:35 -0800

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.

By: hattifattener

hattifattener — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:19:16 -0800

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

By: ersatz

ersatz — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:27:53 -0800

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.

By: Herman Hermanson

Herman Hermanson — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:28:37 -0800

Chinese Police Detain Woman Over Quake Video In a country of over a billion people, there's more than one reaction to the earthquake.

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:28:50 -0800

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.

By: Iax

Iax — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:31:49 -0800

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!

By: ChickenringNYC

ChickenringNYC — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:48:40 -0800

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???!!!

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Sat, 24 May 2008 11:14:40 -0800

Yet another ~~industry~~ Western-culture trend that's being ~~outsourced to~~ copied by China!

By: homunculus

homunculus — Sat, 24 May 2008 12:02:49 -0800

Parents protest over school buildings collapse

By: homunculus

homunculus — Sat, 24 May 2008 13:28:30 -0800

China's Class Divide

By: fatehunter

fatehunter — Sat, 24 May 2008 14:23:57 -0800

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?

By: sotonohito

sotonohito — Sat, 24 May 2008 15:50:06 -0800

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.

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Sat, 24 May 2008 17:48:21 -0800

Spectacularly poor taste worthy of New York's fashion elite. Who says they're not "westernizing" fast enough?

By: etaoin

etaoin — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:17:42 -0800

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?

By: Tomorrowful

Tomorrowful — Sat, 24 May 2008 21:03:12 -0800

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.