Did the Chinese Military Use Top Gun Footage?

heidaro writes "'As part of its ongoing expansion, has the People's Liberation Army signed up Goose and Maverick? Chinese bloggers are accusing state broadcaster CCTV of using re-purposed footage from the 1986 film Top Gun for a story on a recent air force drill.' Is it just me or are communist nations very skilled at embarrassing themselves?"

Comments

What does communist have to do with it?

[Rinnon]

Seriously, I don't see what being communist has to do with embarrassing yourself. Capitalist nations embarrass themselves pretty damn often too.

Re:What does communist have to do with it?

[MoonBuggy]

By voting for representatives, you are seen as having had your say - it's not "the government" making the rules, it's "the people" doing so by proxy. Or so the theory goes.

Those in power might well act as if they know best, but at the end of the day they are, to some extent, beholden to the people. We can and do get rid of them if they piss us off too badly. I know it doesn't work that well, but it's still a damn sight better than being told "We are right, if you disagree you are a dangerous subversive, and there's not a thing you can do about it.".

Re:What does communist have to do with it?

[cdp0]

The difference is, in the US or the UK, if you feel that you have a better idea than the government you can run for office and try to change things.

Do you really believe that ? I mean really, give it a try. Without money, without support from "big business", nobody will ever hear about you. And even if people hear about you, you won't be one of their favorites, mostly because they don't know you. Running for office involves much more than just the will to do it.

And the kind of people that have the will, the money and the support are in the game for power, for their own benefit, not for ours.

so where's the RIAA now?

[v1]

this ought to be good... I want to see the suits show up at a door, knock, and open it to see a tank barrel in their face. (sort of like in the Simpsons episode)

oh wait I forgot, the RIAA doesn't pick on anyone that can defend themselves.

WSJ report and comparison video

[Novus]

The Wall Street Journal has a report including a comparison video.

Re:"Commies skilled an(sic) embarrassing themselve

[Bill_the_Engineer]

You post appears to be propaganda masquerading as sarcasm. So just in case, I'd like to make the following points:

CCTV stands for China Central Television which is a state run television network. It is communist.

CCTV is the main outlet of propaganda for the government. Western broadcasters may at times use film scenes or in-house produced animations to illustrate a story, but they disclose it as a animation or for illustration purposes only. They are a third-party entity reporting an event, not part of the government trying to fabricate the event.

Your example of Powell's UN presentation doesn't seem applicable, since Powell wasn't the media and that the slide was produced by analysts and not a scene from a movie.

Riceman?

[locutus53]

Riceman?

Re:"Commies skilled an(sic) embarrassing themselve

[advid.net]

PS. BTW, regarding such movies - Les Chevaliers du ciel (aka Sky Fighters), while obviously also with completely redundant plot, is much more enjoyable all-flash-no-substance kind of deal - it has much more spectacular cinematography, nvm lots more minutes of actual flying. Unlike Top Gun (where most flight sequences filming was done from the ground) - in Les Chevaliers du ciel the majority of filming was done from the air, largely via cameras hidden in modified fuel tanks of fighters, to great effect.

Anyone who like technology, fighters, sonic boom at ground level, real footage from fighters, post-combustion by night, ... in widescreen should see this awesome movie.