According to “Xiaoting Xulu,” Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty ordered Zhang Wenmin to produce a performance, “The Peaceful Raft of Ascension,” depicting the Journey to the West. The script, written by Zhang, was crafted to uphold the idea of “domestic peace,” using the play to reinforce the Qing dynasty’s rule. After Wukong’s defeat by Buddha, the creators added a celebratory scene titled “Taming the Greedy Tiger and Bringing Peace to Heaven.” Wukong, referred to as “the Greedy Tiger,” was portrayed as the disruptive force and enemy of the Qing’s order. The theme of “suppressing the rebellious” ran throughout.
Sounds familiar to Western media tropes regarding revolutionary villains.
I think more that they focused more on a rather nihilistic apolitical story
Even pop nihilism has a political message: "nothing can change for the better, do nothing, lol."
Right? How can anything truly be "apolitical"? Apolitical to me means that it's not ruffling any feathers politically, which would mean it has the politics of hegemony.
Also an apolitical game from a studio who sent out memos to influencers to not talk about "feminist propaganda"? Idek what's going on there exactly, but it sure is political in some way