China syndromeTop Gun footage used in Chinese news broadcast
A Chinese news agency appears to have aired a segment using footage from the popular Hollywood action film “Top Gun”; the news segment was on Chinese air force training exercises and showed a jet destroying a J-10 fighter; Chinese bloggers immediately noticed the similarities between the news footage and a scene from “Top Gun”; side by side comparison of the footage show that the two appear identical; the news agency promptly removed the video from its website and provided no comment on the similarity
J-10s of the type shot down my "Top Gun" missles // Source: sankakustatic.com
Side by side comparisons of video footage suggest that a Chinese new broadcasting service may have used footage from the popular Hollywood action film “Top Gun” to doctor a news story.
The Wall Street Journal reports that China’s own state broadcasting company, China Central Television (CCTV), embellished a news story on Chinese air force training exercises by inserting a clip from the movie “Top Gun.”
According to the broadcast, Chinese missiles successfully blew up a J-10 fighter jet during a military exercise. After the footage aired on 23 January 2011, Chinese bloggers immediately began comparing the broadcast to a scene from “Top Gun.”
The Wall Street Journal has posted a slow motion side by side comparison between the news broadcast and the film top gun revealing near identical footage. The size and shape of the explosion appear identical to the point where the same chunks of debris break apart and flit across the screen in the same manner.
CCTV has removed the story along with the footage from its website and a CCTV spokesman declined to comment on the similarity.
