Making Mao

The opening remarks of this documentary best summarize Mao Zedong’s (1893-1976) influence in China, both before and after his death: “He was a man of many faces: revolutionary hero, a godlike figure to the people, and a pop icon to the world. Mao’s image would control a nation for over half a century, and even in death, his presence lives on.” Focusing on propaganda art, Making Mao reveals how art served the only one purpose, namely, the promotion of the Communist Party and its goals, in Mao’s China, and how the image of Mao as the supreme leader was made in a half-century of revolution. The blind personality cult that resulted served to promote Mao as a god: in short, making Mao was the making of God in the Chinese context.

När kommunistpartiet tog makten i Kina 1949 iscensattes en massiv propagandakampanj som med slogans och bilder skulle vinna över folket på sin sida. Kultstatusen som byggdes upp runt Mao Zedong kom att vara i över 25 år. Hur skapades och upprätthölls denna masshysteri? Vi träffar flera av de konstnärer som skapade den kommunistiska affichkonsten, men också några av dem som inte följde den "rätta" ideologin och därför förföljdes och förnedrades.