How To Build a Tiresome Empire of Dust
Reviewing "Empire of Dust", the documentary that spawned the legendary "It's all so tiresome" meme with a creative translation - plus made in America sequels
Comrades: It’s all so tiresome.
The movie behind the meme is about exasperation. It captures how we feel today about the predictable, depraved behavior of the left’s demoralized AWFL PMC NPCs. Senators simping for illegal immigrant MS-13 gang members in El Salvador? It’s all so tiresome. Trans activists pushing for men to destroy women in sports? It’s all so tiresome. Endless DEI commissars and red guard campus struggle sessions? It’s all so tiresome.
“Empire of Dust” is a parable of civilization and culture clashes. Some men want to build. Some men want to do just enough to get by. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
In 2010, China signed an agreement with Congo to build infrastructure in exchange for mining concessions as part of One Belt One Road colonialism. The film follows the workers of China Railway Engineering Company (CREC) as they construct a road. Two billion African and Chinese people comprise a quarter of the world’s population, but this is one of the few glimpses into how they think. The stars are the Chinese head of logistics Yang and his Congolese interpreter Eddy, who can speak Chinese, French, English, and Swahili. They are the ultimate odd couple, like Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour but for unintentional dark humor.
Yang and Eddy set off on what should be a simple mission - acquire the gravel needed to pave the road. In south Congo, that becomes a Kafka-esque tragicomedy. We see how painfully difficult their micro move on the macro geopolitical chessboard is. Laborers can’t be relied upon to show up. Some steal equipment. Local entrepreneurs are flaky and stubborn in negotiations. Most can’t fulfill the orders properly. Yang and his fellow lao bai xing (Chinese equivalent of blue collar average joes) have thousand-yard stares as they wonder how they got themselves into this Sisyphean situation. They banter about the absurdities with blunt truths, unshackled from Western woke political correctness.
The mimetic moment arrives halfway through he film. After witnessing yet another catastrophe of human errors, Yang sighs heavily. In Chinese, he mutters “这事真难搞啊 - zhe ge shi hen nan gao”. The literal meaning is “This issue is really hard to resolve.” However, the movie’s editors made meme magic by phrasing it as “It’s all so tiresome”.
The documentary has no music or voiceovers. Stark aesthetics provide all the social commentary we need. Dust flies everywhere, providing a natural filter the camera. Yang and Eddy are constantly jolted by potholes as they drive from one fruitless pursuit to another. Poverty and demoralization are ubiquitous. In the funniest scene, Yang expresses frustration when his tape measure breaks. Eddy points out that it was made in China.
The ending provides a harsh, relatable contrast between the fake and real. A charismatic politician who looks and sounds like Obama gives a speech promising that the road will bring his people prosperity. He pumps up bread and circuses, pledging that power will be dependable enough to watch the upcoming World Cup games. The ceremony concludes with a jubilant crowd cheering him on as he drives heavy equipment for a photo op. Meanwhile, Yang and Eddy are back in their bleak camp having a frank conversation on why nothing is getting done.
Lao Yang is the modern day based Confucius - here are some of his greatest hits:
“You were governed by a European country for so long. You should have learned how things work…. Experience should be passed on. Only that way can you develop. You went backwards instead of forwards.”
“Look at your railways. High technology from the 1930s. We didn’t have it in China back then... You neglected the things others had left you. What’s more, you completely destroyed them. It will take generations to put things right.”
“They first constructed this road in 1954. More than 50 years ago. Since the Belgians built it you guys did nothing to maintain it…. Unbelievable. You can’t imagine the effort it took to built it. The infrastructure has gone to waste. It hurts to see it.”
“With regards to money we Chinese differ from the Congolese, who learned from the Belgians. Money or not, they spend it. No stress... On pay day the men go crazy. Two days later they come asking to loan them money. They don’t hold their drink that well. They just like drinking. They stand at the bar drinking beer. And then start shaking their behinds. It’s wonderful.”
“The government here isn’t efficient. We’ve been negotiating with them since the New Year. Half a year of talking without any results."
“People here don’t have any sense of time. It’s hard to adapt to life here. They waste time in almost everything they do. So we go back and forth.”
“I feel sorry for them. But sometimes I also hate them. Especially the thieves. They steal fuel and act all innocent.”
The full hour-long documentary is worth a watch:
Perhaps the “Empire of Dust” sequels should be made in America in places like California, New York, North Carolina, and East Palestine:
It sounds to me like the people in the Congo are grifting just as the people here in the US do – only they're doing it on the back end (at the ground level).
Here is the US instead of stealing fuel, and asking for loans they do this:
Propose a piece of legislation, that’s supposed to produce something. It can be anything, but it’s usually a large infrastructure project, high-speed rail, the broadband deal, bridges, EV charging stations, things of that nature.
Then behind the scenes, you have politicians determine which engineering/consulting groups they want to work with. The politicians write into the law nonsense requirements for those consulting contracts, things that are generally unassociated with the work to be performed (that way even through there’s an “open bid” process, they will get the “right” consultants contracted). 😉👉
The legislation also has an exhaustive list of nonsense steps, requiring years worth of consulting work to be completed before anything ever happens in the physical world.
The consulting groups are working behind the scenes with the politicians; part of their unspoken agreement is to have the consulting groups and their employees donate to the political campaigns of the politicians who awarded them the contracts. This can be done various different ways.
All of this is by design, because as long as those consultants can stay on the job, they can keep laundering tax-payer money into the pockets of the politicians who awarded them the contracts. Everyone keeps getting paid. And most importantly – nothing is being built.
So, it’s the same mindset here in the US, only they steal the money at the front end. Still nothing of any real utility is built.
What a great piece, Yuri. We outsourced manufacturing and the innovation that comes with it. It is starting to show everywhere.