Synopsis

The Yueyang Baiji Conservation Association is a non-governmental organization. However, in 2012, the position of the organization's chairman was held by Xu Yaping, a chief local journalist of a certain party newspaper. In the experimental film "Cloud Burst, Dongting, and Symbolic Death," Mao Chenyu conducts discourse analysis and deconstruction of Xu Yaping's Weibo posts. The film discusses how ecological conservation becomes a discourse that can be manipulated and self-promoted, and it critiques society's worship of non-natural forces through editing internet materials. The artist juxtaposes the beautiful scenery depicted in Yueyang's investment promotion videos with the ecological consequences, incorporating internet songs and local operas. The film utilizes visual styles resembling slideshows, including bold fonts, changing colors, underlines, and dynamic diagrams. Initially, it may appear bewildering, but it delivers a clear message: there is no contradiction between things on the level of reality that cannot be integrated on the level of media, and technologies, including rhetorical techniques, determine justice and the future. "Dongting" becomes a symbol.