From the Marvel Universe to the CCP Universe

Aug 11, 2024

In the People’s Republic of China, the flow of information is tightly controlled. The Great Firewall (GFW) blocks a large amount of online resources from the outside world, including social media, news websites, and academic databases, preventing ordinary citizens from directly accessing global information streams. This information blockade acts like an ‘invisible wall,’ isolating China from the outside world. Due to the significant differences in historical memory and social ideology from external reality, a unique and closed cognitive system has formed within this ‘wall.’

For instance, many international news events may be downplayed, distorted, or completely censored within China. While the outside world discusses a global hot topic, people within China might be entirely unaware of these events, or they receive information that has been carefully filtered and processed. This information disparity leads to a perception of the outside world among Chinese citizens that often greatly diverges from reality.

In the Marvel Universe, the concept of the multiverse is important, referring to the existence of countless parallel realities, each with different histories, characters, and events. Similarly, we can view China as a parallel universe to the real world—a “CCP Universe.” The “CCP Universe” refers to an independent cognitive system formed under the strict information blockade and media control of the Chinese government.

Many superhero movies and comics in the Marvel Universe revolve around the power of “narrative.” Just as Loki shapes his own story through deception and manipulation, in the “CCP Universe,” the Chinese government constructs and maintains a narrative system different from that of the outside world. This narrative power, like the villains in the Marvel Universe, shapes the thoughts and behaviors of the masses through control of discourse.

In this universe, the narrative controllers are like “directors,” injecting their will into the collective consciousness of the public by constructing and manipulating a virtual reality-like narrative structure. This narrative is reinforced not only through traditional media, the main information dissemination channel, but also through social media, the education system, and public cultural activities. By selectively reporting, trimming information, and commenting, combined with algorithmic recommendations, content censorship, and the filtering effects of social media platforms, a unified narrative framework aligned with the official stance is ultimately formed. This media control not only influences people’s understanding of current events but also gradually shapes their worldview and values.

Residents in the “CCP Universe” are unconsciously fully immersed in the virtual reality constructed by the state’s narrative, making it difficult for them to perceive the actual situation outside. Due to the formation of a closed-loop, controlled cognitive system, the public’s cognition and emotional experience are thus “customized.” The more information they access, the more they deepen their trust in the official narrative, while becoming suspicious of or even hostile to external information. This self-reinforcing mechanism increasingly disconnects cognition within the “CCP Universe” from external reality, creating a social reality entirely different from that of the outside world.

For example, through media propaganda, educational guidance, legal repression, media control, and the influence of artistic works and a closed information environment, the Chinese public’s perception and emotional experience of Falun Gong have been successfully “customized” into a highly negative image. Under such information manipulation, it is difficult for the public to access the true situation of Falun Gong, leading to widespread hostility and rejection of Falun Gong. This process not only reflects the immense power of information control in the “CCP Universe” but also reveals how the state shapes social cognition and emotions through manipulation of public opinion and information.

In the “CCP Universe,” the control of historical memory plays a crucial role in shaping ideology and maintaining social stability. The government uses textbooks, news reports, and films to narrate historical events from a specific perspective, ignoring or distorting other versions of historical records. Certain events or figures may be deliberately downplayed, forgotten, or even altered or erased, while others are greatly amplified to serve as tools for ideological propaganda. This singular narrative not only affects the current understanding of history but also long-term shapes a collectively manipulated historical memory that diverges from that of the outside world.

For example, the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident is a major historical event, but in the official narrative, it has been downplayed or even erased, becoming a piece of history unknown to many younger generations. On the other hand, the Long March and the Korean War are heavily promoted, becoming central to national pride. The government emphasizes patriotism and national stability, tightly binding the CCP regime to the Chinese state. Through such selective storytelling, the CCP has successfully created a “CCP Universe” with a historical narrative entirely different from the generally accepted version of history outside, all serving to reinforce the CCP’s ideological goals.

For instance, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution were rare man-made disasters in Chinese history, causing enormous economic losses, social unrest, and the deaths of tens of millions of people. However, in the “CCP Universe,” the official narrative often simplifies and selectively presents these events, downplaying their consequences while emphasizing the “collectivist spirit” and “revolutionary enthusiasm” displayed during these periods. In contrast, more promotional resources are concentrated on praising the founding of “New China” and the economic achievements of reform and opening up, creating a national narrative centered on “victory” and “revival.” However, this narrative overlooks the fact that the founding of “New China” actually caused China to miss the golden period of post-war capitalist development, and the so-called “reform and opening up” is merely a correction of earlier mistakes. The current rapid development and economic achievements are, in fact, built on a low base after the country’s decline caused by various “tossings” following the founding of “New China.”

This manipulation of collective memory is essentially the construction of an “alternative reality,” a historical narrative entirely different from the commonly accepted historical memory outside. In this alternative reality, the people’s patriotism and identification with the People’s Republic of China are continuously strengthened, while external criticism or questioning is viewed as hostile behavior.

In the “CCP Universe,” the external reality is simplified into a “black box.” This “black box” is filled with hostile forces, chaos, and threats, often amplified by the state’s propaganda machinery. People find it difficult to obtain accurate information about the true situation inside the “black box,” relying more on “fragments of reality” extracted from the official narrative, which are edited and trimmed, to understand the outside world. This distorted perception of the outside world deepens the chasm between the “CCP Universe” and the real world.

For example, during the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests, Chinese media portrayed the movement as a “riot” manipulated by “external forces,” focusing on the violent actions of the protesters and the damage to public facilities. Meanwhile, the democratic demands behind the movement, the widespread public participation, and international support were downplayed or completely ignored. Through this “black box” style of reporting, mainland viewers found it difficult to grasp the full picture of the movement, further reinforcing concerns about Hong Kong’s instability and foreign interference.

The “CCP Universe” is isolated from the outside world by the GFW. Although this barrier is not entirely impermeable on a technical level, for ordinary citizens, breaking through this barrier to access external information is extremely challenging. However, with globalization and technological development, external information and influence still penetrate through various means, such as VPNs. Some individuals within the “wall” gradually awaken by accessing foreign media and participating in discussions on social media outside the “wall.”

Thus, the “CCP Universe” has become a battlefield of ideological warfare: the state maintains control over the people’s minds through strict information control, while the outside world represents a real understanding of reality. Information controllers (such as propaganda departments and censorship agencies) can be compared to powerful villains, maintaining their “order” through information blockade and public opinion manipulation. Meanwhile, those trying to break these blockades and spread the truth (such as journalists and online activists) are akin to heroes in the Marvel Universe, striving to break through the “firewall” and fight for the freedom of knowledge.

For example, in 2019, former CCTV reporter Li Zehua posted a video online investigating the early handling of the Wuhan pandemic, exposing the government’s mistakes and cover-ups during the initial stages of the outbreak. His actions quickly made him an online hero, but his content was soon censored by the authorities, and Li Zehua himself was detained. This situation demonstrates how the government swiftly cracks down on voices attempting to expose the truth and endeavors to control public perception of the pandemic.

However, this counterforce is not mainstream in the “CCP Universe.” Most ordinary people still live in an information environment dominated by the official narrative, and their understanding of the outside world largely depends on the information channels provided by the CCP. Therefore, despite the existence of some counterforces, the “CCP Universe” remains an environment with highly restricted information.

Conclusion

The concept of the “CCP Universe” reveals the unique cognitive system formed in mainland China under the CCP’s information control and public opinion guidance. In this closed cognitive system, reality is redefined, historical memory is reshaped, and individual thoughts and feelings are customized. This not only creates a cognitive gap between mainland China and the external world but also intensifies domestic hostility and distrust towards external criticism. Although globalization and technological advances provide some individuals with access to more comprehensive external information, the ideological bias depicted by the “CCP Universe” remains mainstream.

– This text was translated by AI. –