Radios symbolize the performance of revolutionary politics in Do Not Say We Have Nothing. The characters that are in disagreement with Chairman Mao’s politics often blast the radio to distract others from hearing what is really going on in their homes. For instance, when Kai takes Sparrow and Zhuli to a meeting of people who resist Chairman Mao, the hosts of the meeting blast the radio to make sure no one hears the illicit books they are reading inside. In this way, the radio functions as the performance of revolutionary politics, rather than the politics themselves: to eavesdroppers, it would appear that the members of the meeting agree with the propaganda on the radio, but really, they are using the radio simply to disguise the fact that they are a resistance group. In other words, the radio functions as a disguise rather than as a genuine form of communication. Similarly, when Sparrow is listening to illegal music in order to transcribe it, Ba Lute blasts the radio to prevent the neighbors from realizing that there is illegal music being played in his household.
Radios Symbol Timeline in Do Not Say We Have Nothing
