Joe Tharakan | Beijing’s Hollywood

Cup O' Joe | How China is influencing the American film industry

By Joe Tharakan 11/30/16 10:20pm

I’m a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the collection of superhero movies including titles like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and The Avengers. They are huge blockbusters filled with action and adventure, dazzling images and headspinning acrobatics, fantasy and thrill. They are not known for their incisive social commentary. Or to put it more bluntly, you don’t watch these movies for the plot.

The most recent Marvel movie, Dr. Strange, was much like every other Marvel movie, with dazzling fight scenes, funny one-liners and awkward character exposition in between.

In the comic books, neurosurgeon Stephen Strange suffers massive nerve damage to his hands in a car accident, and thus loses his ability to perform his work. Increasingly desperate for a cure, he goes to a Himalayan temple seeking the “Ancient One,” a Tibetan monk with magical powers who teaches him the mystic arts. Cue the CGI.

Except in the movie, he learns magic from a Celtic monk. That seems like a minor detail to change, but it isn’t. It was a very deliberate decision on the part of the studio to ensure that Dr. Strange could be marketed to Chinese audiences. In 2017, China’s box office revenue is expected to overtake the United States. This trend will only continue as the Chinese middle class grows.

The Chinese government has strict regulations on movies, only allowing 34 foreign films to be marketed to Chinese audiences per year. All 34 must pass the propaganda and censorship agency, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. The Chinese government also has an ugly history with Tibet. So the monk’s backstory was changed. Just like that, the “Ancient One” was Celtic and everyone was happy (except die-hard comic book fans).

This isn’t the first time Hollywood has changed its storylines to ensure China was satisfied.

The 2012 remake of Red Dawn was originally about young American guerrilla fighters rebelling against a Chinese invasion, but the enemy was changed to North Korea in post-production. In the book World War Z, the “zombie outbreak” originates in China. In the movie, it originates in South Korea. American film studios are voluntarily censoring themselves to appease the Chinese government in order to access the extremely lucrative market.

Of course, one might ask, “Who cares if Dr. Strange changes a minor plot point from the comic books? You don’t watch movies like that for the plot.” It is a fair argument. The biggest box office successes are not always known for their lasting merit, and are often more reliant on flashy CGI than meaningful storylines. Any movie that is in a position to self-censor to market itself in China is probably more similar to Transformers: Age of Extinction than Citizen Kane or Lawrence of Arabia.

But Chinese officials have already indicated that they will further open up their film market to American competition, and as this trend continues, it won’t just be the billion dollar box office movies that have to avoid stepping on the toes of the Chinese government.

There are only two ways out of this quandary: Either American filmmakers stop liking money or the Chinese government becomes more tolerant of political dissent. I’m not holding my breath for either. It looks like this is the new world order. Our massively influential media industry that shapes American culture could potentially be subject to the whims of a foreign government that does not put much premium on the importance of free speech. Xi Jinping’s speech two years ago stating that “Art should serve the people” has haunting echoes of the last Chinese cultural revolution.

So far, the Chinese government has used our films more as a business opportunity than a propaganda outlet, but the only safeguard guaranteeing it will stay that way is the Communist Party’s desires. The next time you watch a blockbuster, consider for whom it is being made.