redhawk23
Wrestlin'
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First off, I do not intend for this thread to be xenophobic or anti-Chinese. Rather, in recent news stories I have an increasing number of reports related to Hollywood's relationship with China, and I felt the topic was worth of discussion.
China is of course a rising world power and it's very large population is gaining in purchasing power so it is of no surprise that many companies are doing what they can to enter that market in any way they can.
This can at times be problematic though due to the strict rules the Chinese government enforces when screening western media. Their government regualarly blocks films, tv shows, and music with messages they don't like, even if they show China in only a tangentially negative light, or with messages they don't like. Oddly I've heard they are against ghost stories and in a number of cases time travel.
To ignore these regulations is to potentially lose out on tens of millions of dollars as was the case when the Chinese government blocked The Dark Knight, leading to it becoming one of the most pirated films in history as people turned to illegal means to see the film.
Because of this, many Hollywood studios are indeed bending their projects to fit the demands of the Chinese government.
The most egregious example that comes to mind is the still-shelved "Red Dawn" remake. The remake of the 80's film updated the antagonists from the Soviet Union to China. This of course China issue with and the decision was made to digitally replace all references to China with North Korea. Due to the mess MGM was in this movie still hasn't seen the light of day, but still fairly drastic changes were made to the film to appease China.
Other examples are less dramatic, but recently it was announced that their will be a separate, more China-focused cut of Looper. Originally the film was going to be partially set in Paris but this was changed to Shanghai to appeal to a Chinese investment firm.
One also has to wonder how other Chinese financed films, including Iron Man 3 are being affected.
I have no problem with films being made to fit the tastes of audiences outside of the United States or Europe, but I am very uncomfortable with the growing influence of the Chinese government upon the media and pulp culture worldwide.
What do you think?
China is of course a rising world power and it's very large population is gaining in purchasing power so it is of no surprise that many companies are doing what they can to enter that market in any way they can.
This can at times be problematic though due to the strict rules the Chinese government enforces when screening western media. Their government regualarly blocks films, tv shows, and music with messages they don't like, even if they show China in only a tangentially negative light, or with messages they don't like. Oddly I've heard they are against ghost stories and in a number of cases time travel.
To ignore these regulations is to potentially lose out on tens of millions of dollars as was the case when the Chinese government blocked The Dark Knight, leading to it becoming one of the most pirated films in history as people turned to illegal means to see the film.
Because of this, many Hollywood studios are indeed bending their projects to fit the demands of the Chinese government.
The most egregious example that comes to mind is the still-shelved "Red Dawn" remake. The remake of the 80's film updated the antagonists from the Soviet Union to China. This of course China issue with and the decision was made to digitally replace all references to China with North Korea. Due to the mess MGM was in this movie still hasn't seen the light of day, but still fairly drastic changes were made to the film to appease China.
Other examples are less dramatic, but recently it was announced that their will be a separate, more China-focused cut of Looper. Originally the film was going to be partially set in Paris but this was changed to Shanghai to appeal to a Chinese investment firm.
One also has to wonder how other Chinese financed films, including Iron Man 3 are being affected.
I have no problem with films being made to fit the tastes of audiences outside of the United States or Europe, but I am very uncomfortable with the growing influence of the Chinese government upon the media and pulp culture worldwide.
What do you think?
