Mbappe, an etiquette problem
This photograph was taken on Monday. It has no artistic pretension, but rather a testimonial one. But after a diplomatic crisis was unleashed between the world of football and the government of China, the label on the water bottle with the smiling face of Mbappé becomes ironic. The footballer's expression acquires an almost comic meaning. For years now, Kylian Mbappé has been a commercial asset in the Chinese market. The player's face is used to sell, among other products, bottled water with isotonic properties. Judging by the bottle labels, it even seems as if the footballer provides aromatic properties. One drink tastes like peach, the other like lemon, and the one featuring the player's photograph is as if it contained the essence of Mbappé. Mbappé water. On the packaging, the footballer laughs, oblivious to the large-scale conflict that has been triggered by a spontaneous comment: the player explained that his favorite meme is one where his face is superimposed on that of Mao Zedong. The footballer referred to him as "a Chinese dictator," which is what he was. He likes it because it exaggerates his authority on the team and among his teammates. In a world of stratospheric egos, becoming a character of absolute power boosts self-esteem.
The joke has angered the Chinese authorities. The beverage group Dongpeng has broken its sponsorship contract with the footballer. The Chinese state television has suspended broadcasts of Spanish league matches and any others where Mbappé plays, and the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that words that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people provoke the rejection of society. The anger has caused an immediate reaction of servile repentance. Mbappé has rushed to apologize for his "unfortunate" comment and LaLiga has taken the offense as its own, deeply regretting the situation and promising to work with Chinese institutions to repair the damage. A genuflection so desperate that it highlights how economic servitudes take precedence over logic, values, and simple historical rigor.
The chain of events is delirious. The mention of a grotesque meme leads to the withdrawal of commercial products featuring the player's image and cancels the broadcasting of football matches. Capitalism needs international figures and sport facilitates this. But universality clashes with geopolitical sensitivities and issues of national identity. We have become spectators of a postmodern war of images. As always, the image is an object of admiration and a motive for dispute. A meme or a water bottle demonstrates how, nowadays, major cultural tensions manifest in fleeting and inconsequential consumer products. Now, depending on who is looking, Mbappé's smile on the label has become either reverential or mocking.
