My father got a brochure about Shen Yun in the mail. It’s at his local performing arts center where he has season tickets. He asked me if I wanted to go when I come visit. It was in our area about 7 or so years ago, but we didn’t go. Has anyone been to any of the shows?
I remember seeing billboards and fliers everywhere when they were in our area. Usually, these ads would have glowing reviews by local dignitaries. I’ve looked online and there seems to be some controversy about their beliefs and the premise of the show being misrepresented. One article said it was propaganda instead of the song and dance show that was advertised. I’ve heard the shows have a political bent…my stepdad seems interested and I hate to burst his bubble. But I don’t like what I’m reading.
I asked the same question before. My friend has seen Shen Yun one time through recommendation by a friend who saw that the show is cultural. Partway through the show, the mood completely changed. My friend was so offended by what she described as ‘blatant propaganda’ that she walked out of the show. You can read a lot about Shen Yun on Wikipedia. Just make sure you gather your information from non-bias sources. Essentially, Shen Yun is a propaganda tool for Falun Gong to recruit more members. The founder had changed his birthday to match Buddha’s and claimed that he is God. Nobody knows much about him. While I am all for freedom of religion, this one has characteristics resembling more of a cult because it wants followers to slowly withdraw from society. Think Heaven Gate found by Marshall Applewhite. If you choose to watch it, be aware that the show is trying to convert you. I skipped despite the tease of visually appealing costumes.
Falun Gong is also active in trying to influence US politics through its newspaper The Epoch Times.
I see. Yeah it doesn’t sound worth it to me. We saw a Chinese acrobat troupe several years ago and it was wonderful. No political or cultish undertones at all! Yeah, the posters and advertisements make it look really neat and interesting. I don’t think my stepfather knows much about it, so that’s probably why he’s interested.
@ucbalumnus hmmm, that seems very odd
If your father reads this, he might change his mind about going:
Wow—H had been impressed by the ads but we will never attend. Yuck!
I thought it was just a nice dance thing with pastel costumes, as it’s advertised. Sounds awful & terribly cultish. Ick!
Yes, the Epoch Times is often quoted in the COVID/vaccine threads as a “source” for scientific info—but it’s very far from that.
Glad I saw this thread. I’ve seen the billboards every year and they always almost tempt me to get tickets. I had no idea about the show and am glad I never got tickets.
The billboards are everywhere! I went to New Orleans for a conference a couple of years ago and we saw Shen Yun billboards there too! There were probably three Shen Yun billboards on the freeway from the airport to the city alone!
They’ve been starving for audience since the Covid shutdowns… I see at least one TV ad per hour when I watch the evening news here.
I imagine they have. Not that I’ll be seeing it. I’ll email some articles about it to my father.
I saw the show years ago …. the descriptions, stories and rumors are fairly accurate. The show quality was not bad, but it definitely had a propaganda-type message and agenda. I tried to ignore that an enjoy the music, staging and choreography, but I would definitely not go again.
Cult advertising.
He does get the New Yorker, but he doesn’t see well and has to use a special magnifying device which helps, but makes it take longer to read…