The Viral TikTok Bunny Turtle Dance, Is Actually A Satire About The Education System
Whether you call them bunnies, rabbits or hares, turtles or tortoises, the internet has been taken over by a viral children’s dance recital combining this mamal-reptile combo, and we just found out there’s a much deeper meaning (than just shaming adults and shoving our lack of strength, stamina, and flexibility in our faces).
TikTok creator Yunyun Winnie Gu, who goes by the handle @thirdculturechinese, uploaded a video to the platform, breaking down the ways this eye-catching performance is actual a critique of the Chinese education system:
At the beginning of the dance, it’s made very clear that the tortoise and the hare are two very different animals. It’s not a fair race. The middle of the dance is where the Chinese education system comes in. Education in China is incredibly competitive. The moment you step foot into a school, you’re reduced to nothing but a data point.
She goes on to explain that the bunnies “represent kids who are smart and can learn fast. The tortoises represent kids who are not as smart, but are very diligent.” But it’s not a simple battle between talent and dedication. Because the Chinese education system is so strong, and there are so many good schools, ”eventually because of the competition, school is not enough anymore. Kids are given extra work from parents, from afterschool tutoring places.”
Yunyun points out how the backdrop of the stage changes midway through the performance, from a forest with trees to “study materials”. She shares the meaning behind the lyrics of the music, which include phrases like “ I can’t rest, I don’t have time.”
The bunnies feel pressured in the race because they are told that they were born with the advantage to be fast. So they have to be the fastest all the time. The tortoises feel pressured in the race because. They see their distance from the bunny and they work extra hard to close the gap in the dance.
At the very end of the performance, it appears that one tortoise wins the race, in line with the popular children’s story, but Yunyun asks “at what cost?”
Look at all the dancers on the floor. They represent kids who don’t make it to the finish line. They were once gifted. They were once really hardworking, but regardless they were burnt out. The last part of the dance witnesses, the tortoises and the hairs take off their defining characteristics.
It’s such an interesting and relevant message behind what was already a visually stunning and captivating performance. So much so that creators everywhere are trying to recreate it. But is the message getting lost in the virality of snippets?
Within the education system, the tortoises and the hairs are labeled by adults, not by the kids themselves. Only when the labels come off, when the rabbit ears and the tortoise shells are gone, can kids see each other? Not as academic rivals, but as peers? It seems to be a happy ending, right.
Watch her whole breakdown below!
