China In Hollywood:
Article 1:
- Films have had scenes cuts to appeal to the Communist ideology of the Chinese government for around 25 years.
- It is unlikely that Chinese censors will allow Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness to be shown in China, as it nods to Falun Gong, a spiritual movement which has been deemed as a cult by Beijing.
- China regulates their films according to the Film Administration regulations.
- The Chinese film market is worth $7.4 billion, and is overseen by the China Film Administration.
- Films such as Eternals and Shang-Chi were banned, as was Spider-Man No Way Home, as the Chinese wanted Sony to remove the Statue of Liberty from the film.
- The 2015 movie Pixels was approved after removing the scene in which the Great Wall of China was destroyed.
- Film studios are attempting to satisfy censors in China, all while appearing before American audiences and legislators as supporters of artistic freedom.
- Hollywood is pre-censoring films to avoid losing out on China's lucrative box office market.
- Any refusal to cut scenes can risk a studio's future business in China, and can get a bad reputation in China, possibly affecting other studios' business relationships with the country.
- China is also demanding that their version of the film is what should be shown worldwide. If this were allowed to happen, the studios are allowing China to push their ideology onto the rest of the world, rather than that which the filmmaker intended.
- The Philippines are fighting back against certain films which have been altered for Chinese audiences, showing Beijing's nine-dash line, demarcating China's claims to 90% of the scene. These movies are Unchartered and Abominable, which was created in conjunction with a Chinese studio.
Article 2:
- During the pandemic, China became the biggest market for Hollywood Blockbusters
- Sony decided not to distribute the film to China, sacrificing hundreds of million dollars in avoidance of bowing down to Chinese censorship.
- Chinese censors disapproved of the Statue of Liberty which featured in the film, as it represented American liberty.
- When Sony refused, they then proposed that scenes featuring the Statue should be reduced
- Sony once more refused, causing it not to be shown.
-The Beijing government is no longer just policing what it sees as negative characterisations of Chinese officials and politics, now erasing images symbolic of freedom in the United States.
- This strict restriction of films poses future challenges.
- In 1997, the plot of James Bond: Tomorrow Never Dies was rewritten to appease the Chinese government.
- After this, Chinese censorship of movies have become more commonplace.
- China has started investing in a film industry where political constraints are very clear
- In 2000, China's annual box office sales amounted to less than $20 million. In 2022, it was $7.3 billion.
- This allows China to further intimidate the US film industry.
- In 2022, US films only made 12% of box office revenue, compared to the 30% - 50% it had 10 years ago.
- Some US-based production companies now even avoid making films which will be rejected by Chinese censors, infringing on the artistic freedom of these film studios