Fantasia review: People’s Republic of Desire paints an unsettling picture of the video streaming obsession in China

Director Hao Wu’s disturbing documentary takes us into the world of YY.com, a Chinese social media site focused on live video streaming. With over 300 million users and its own virtual currency, YY is like a dystopian mix of American Idol and a Vegas casino, a platform where fans can spend up to tens of thousands (of real dollars) on supporting their favourite “hosts,” who are often young, charismatic people with no discernible talent whatsoever.

Wu’s film features interviews with YY stars and their supporters all throughout China, showcasing the close bond fans often form with their favourite hosts. We meet young men living just above the poverty line who spend a great deal of their funds buying virtual gifts for their favourite host, Big Li, a loud and brash man whose only claim to fame seems to be just how unremarkable he is. We also follow YY superstar Shen Man, a young woman who makes enough money singing on her YY channel to support her entire family.

The film culminates in YY’s annual championship, where users vote on their favourite hosts, who need to rake in exorbitant amounts of user donations to even be in consideration for the awards. Like an episode of Black Mirror come to life, People’s Republic of Desire illuminates how increased access to technology and the growing chasm between the rich and the poor in China has created a whole generation of young people who feel completely dissatisfied with their real life, and who have no true connection to anything outside of the virtual world.

People’s Republic of Desire succeeds in part because of Wu’s neutral tone — he lets the hosts and their fans speak for themselves, and restrains from pushing any sort of moral agenda on the audience. We’re presented with a depressing mix of egomaniacal hosts and their often sad and lonely supporters, a dispiriting ecosystem that nonetheless seems to be showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

People’s Republic of Desire screens Sunday, July 15th at 2:20 pm and Friday, July 20th at 1:00 pm.