Siheyuan: I am a trader in both worlds!

Chapter 542 It smells so good, it's absolutely delicious!

"In short, Russia certainly has a high level of artistic achievement, but its artistic accomplishments have not been well publicized. Why haven't they been well publicized?"

"The reason is of course inseparable from the current Cold War situation. After all, the two sides are about to fight each other. Without Hitler and other major enemies, who are now sitting ducks, they are now each other's biggest competitors."

"In this situation, the US will naturally try every means and use every method to weaken Russia's influence in this regard. This will prevent Russia from exporting content and attracting their own people, especially highly educated intellectuals with ideals and ambitions, to their side."

"But besides this reason, there is another reason that cannot be ignored: Russia has placed too much emphasis on the ideological and educational aspects of the content, while neglecting the aesthetic value and entertainment function of art."

"They already treat you like a monster, targeting you and restricting you in every way. You even tie your own hands, imposing various ideological restrictions on the creations below. The resulting content is not attractive at all; it's neither visually appealing nor entertaining."

"In addition to limited propaganda channels, outdated technology, economic pressure, systemic defects, ideological rigidity, and the joint resistance and smear campaign from the West, it would be truly miraculous if he could promote these positive aspects under such circumstances."

This is one of the most important reasons why Russia will lose to the United States in the future battle for cultural dominance.

It is precisely because Russia has done such a terrible job in these areas, while the US has done an exceptionally good job.

"Just look at Hollywood right now, at its peak. Look at the movies they make, like Gone with the Wind and Citizen Kane—they're so well-made. They subtly spread American culture and ideas. But look at Russia now, isn't the difference obvious?"

"Of course, we're mainly talking about why seizing the cultural high ground is important, not analyzing why Russia failed. So I won't go into too much detail here, but let's talk about why seizing the cultural high ground is so important."

"The first aspect is enhancing national soft power. Once national soft power is enhanced, you can effortlessly spread your country's values, lifestyle, and cultural traditions to all parts of the world through movies, music, literature, painting, dance, and other means, quickly gaining recognition and goodwill from people in other countries."

"That's terrifying. Like over there, because we didn't seize the high ground of culture in time, even if those scumbags outside bring up a pile of shit and say it's delicious, we still have a large number of fans from there who are willing to try it and try to persuade more people to try it from various angles."

As he spoke, Ximen Lang brought up several issues that had caused quite a stir in recent years, such as vegetarianism and the rainbow flag, and mentioned them to Lao Luo and Bai Ling.

Upon hearing this, Bai Ling and Lao Luo's blood pressure spiked, and they immediately realized the importance of cultural soft power! They vowed to improve Beijing's soft power as much as possible, and never let Beijing repeat the mistakes of the past. They didn't want to be fooled into doing the same thing as in later generations.

"Secondly, the capture of cultural high ground will also benefit our own citizens, namely, it will greatly enhance the cohesion and centripetal force of the entire nation. Take the Black Monkey game that I play every day, for example. I'm sure you can tell that I don't have much experience with single-player games, let alone a particular fondness for them. So why do I still play it again and again, getting ravaged by those bosses time and time again?"

"Isn't it because you have masochistic tendencies?"

Boom!
Upon hearing Bai Ling's words, Ximen Lang flicked her forehead with his hand and slapped her directly.

The pain made Bai Ling clutch her head, gritting her teeth and cursing Ximen Lang as a bastard. She quickly hid behind Lao Luo and the principal, avoiding Bai Ling's outstretched hand.

Ximen Lang quickly explained.

"No one in their right mind would have masochistic tendencies! I only kept playing it because of the remarkable achievements Black Monkey has made both domestically and internationally. I was genuinely proud of its accomplishments, which is why I forced myself to keep playing it. Otherwise, given my short attention span, I would have abandoned it long ago. How could I possibly put up with this?!"

He spoke directly with facts, using himself as an example, and vividly demonstrated to everyone that what he said was true.

Before Bai Ling could react, Ximen Lang quickly moved on to the next topic.

"Then, almost inevitably, after seizing the cultural high ground and exporting various works of art abroad, the economic benefits will inevitably follow. Take the Black Monkey as an example again. In just half a year, it sold 2800 million copies, with sales reaching a staggering 90 billion!"

"This one project, completed in just half a year, just half a year, has equipped an entire heavy-duty brigade! Can you imagine how much money this thing can make, how amazing it is? Plus, the tourism boom it directly drives, wow, all the tourist attractions across the country that are even remotely related to it can benefit!"

"Good heavens, even tens of billions is an understatement! That's a lot of money. If I wanted to earn that much, it would take me a long time, but they earned it in just half a year! Now, do you still think this thing is a waste of time and energy?"

Bai Ling could never have imagined that the game she had angrily denounced as a waste of time and energy would bring such great economic benefits to future generations!
The economic benefits of just one game are enough to equip an entire heavy armored brigade!

If only we had more of these.
Is that okay? !
Almost instantly, faced with the enormous economic benefits, Bai Ling completely reversed her previous negative views of the black monkey.

I was just about to ask Ximen Lang if Beijing could also try to do the same and make a fortune.

Then, the big one came.

"Finally, and most importantly, once you seize the cultural high ground, your international influence will be greatly enhanced! Why can the Americans criticize this and that and still gain widespread recognition? It's because they've secured this area!"

"If we can seize this high ground now, we'll be the ones pointing fingers and taking sides in the international community! With just a few words, we can gain the favor of countless countries and strike at our opponents from all sides! Isn't that amazing? Isn't that important?"

Bai Ling and Lao Luo's breathing quickened immediately after hearing these words. Naturally, everyone present reached a consensus on the matter of seizing the cultural high ground.

Just then, with all of Simon Lang's photography equipment in place, the highly anticipated military parade finally began.

(End of this chapter)