Dilemma of Chinese Censorship: Hollywood's Problem Isn't Only in China

But Hollywood39s bottom linedrivenamp160sequel syndrome isn39t the only reason to expect the major studios to continue squeezing more of the same golden eggs from their goose du jouramp160 The rise of China as a movie market and a production partner figures prominentlyamp160 With revenue from Chinese movie goers baked into their corporate plans entertainment executives are showing no qualms about greenlighting politically anodyne escapist scripts in order to win an okay from Beijing39s censors a prerequisite to debuting hopedfor hits on China39s big screensamp160Shaping big budget movies to accommodate the Chinese communist party39s do39s and don39ts has paid off handsomely amp160But the black ink notwithstanding Hollywood is likely to find the ethical price of kowtowing to Beijing going up soonamp160 Just given lifetime tenure President Xi Jinping is tightening his authoritarian grip especially on the mediaamp160 Xi wants to peddle China39s political message more aggressively around the worldamp160 As he pushes his brand of soft power abroad studio executives should be ready to toe Beijing39s line outside China as well as withinThe reasons why China claims top billing in the studios39 strategic plans isn39t hard to figure outamp160 Reflecting the leisure pursuits of its expanding middle class spending by Chinese moviegoers is a powerful motor behind global box office growthamp160 In 2017 the Chinese accounted for onefifth of global box office salesamp160 Receipts in China hit 86 billion last year not far behind the 11 billion paid out in the United Statesamp160 With 51000 screens operating at yearend up 23 percent over 2016 theater and entertainment complex construction is moving into China39s smaller cities and towns pointing to even more growth aheadFor American filmmakers conforming to the demands of China39s official media overseers presents more than the usual share of hurdlesamp160 China is building its own movie industry and as in other business sectorsamp160Beijing blatantly favors local players a quota system limits the number of imported big budget films the revenues that flow back to Hollywood are skimpier than in US and European marketsamp160and joint ventures with Chinese partners a foreigner39s only option to skirt the film quota are subject to opaque regulations interpreted by officials who can nix even minor production detailsMore important new legislation gives Chinese censors more latitude to intervene when they see scripts or even behavior by foreign partners elsewhere in the world that they believe break Beijing39s political rulesamp160 The legal language has a lofty if Orwellian ringamp160 Regardless of where they are or their star power foreign film companies and their actors need to avoid words or deeds that could damage quotChina39s national dignity honor and interestsquot or quotharm social stability or hurt national feelingsquotamp160 Chinese partners or not studios that slip up can find not only their deals but also their future access to China in jeopardy or even shut downFor Hollywood the new rules pour oil on an already slippery slopeamp160 Even before the legislation the major studios had made a practice of selfcensoring to avoid running afoul of Chinese officials who must pass on their scriptsamp160 The evidence isn39t hard to find includingamp160tailoring movies like Transformers IV to extol the Chinese communist party rewriting Red Dawn to make its invading armies North Korean rather than Chineseamp160and recasting the mystic mentor of Dr Strange from Tibetan to Celtic to erase any mention of Tibet where China imposes a repressive occupationMany will argue that it39s just businessamp160 Censors say what39s offlimits and in China movie makers must complyamp160 Otherwise changing the nationality of heroes or villains are simply redos that give Chinese viewers what they want to seeamp160amp160In some cases of course that39s trueamp160 But that39s not what China39s new movie law demands or what Chinese officials are now telling foreign companies outside the film business if they transgressamp160 In fact Xi Jinping himself has energized China39s political and ideological watchdogs across the boardamp160 Hollywood would do well to take heedamp160Take China39s expansive position on control of the webamp160 In Beijing39s view it39s no different than policing physical bordersamp160 The Foreign and Cyberspace ministries assert territorial sovereignty applies to cyberspaceamp160 The policy isn39t only about China Beijing is advancing the concept in web governance forumsamp160 For entertainment industry leaders it39s not only a freedom of expression or human rights issueamp160 It39s a business threatamp160 Indeed Hollywood39s future depends on distributing products globally on multiple platformsamp160 The value of the major studios39 advocacy for an open worldwide web is obvious as is their choice amp160Speak out and risk their stake in China39s market or preemptively concede a role on the issue and keep their peacePaying attention to Beijing39s attempts to apply its censorship rules outside China is no less importantamp160 Last year Cambridge University Press initially complied with a Chinese request to purge offending articles from its China Quarterly web site for quotvisitors from Chinaquot amp160The publisher reversed the decision but Beijing made its point amp160The Chinese aren39t going to be shy about trying to remove what they see as politically objectionable content wherever it appearsamp160 Hollywood shouldn39t be surprised if it39s nextamp160 Consider a streaming video inventory including movies not distributed in Chinaamp160 Would say a Universal or a Disney jeopardize revenues from China for the sake of a couple of old flicks that show Mao in less than a flattering lightThe issue of course goes well beyond movies already in the canamp160 Under Xi the Chinese haven39t been subtle in taking actions to shortstop critical or embarrassing stories as they emerged around the worldamp160 From kidnapping publishers and booksellers in Hong Kong and Bangkok to stop their exposamp233s on China39s political elite to leveraging advertisers in Australia in order to stifle unwanted news in the local Chinese press Xi is sending the message that Beijing intends to shape the narrative about China abroadamp160 While most of the effort so far has targeted dissidents ethnic minorities and other nonconformists senior Chinese security officials have underscored their broader writ pointing out that platforms like Twitter and WhatsApp that distribute offending views are candidates for retaliation as wellIf they haven39t already Hollywood executives need to read the tea leavesamp160 It39s not just social media under threat amp160Ask Mercedes Benz Marriott and Delta Airlinesamp160 All three tripped up this year their sins involved errant social media and web site mentions of the Dalai Lama Tibetan independence movementsamp160and Taiwan39s status as an quotindependent countryquotamp160 Beijing39s treatment of the corporate miscreants China demanded apologies and Mercedes and Marriott were subjected to quotspontaneousquot social media attacks wasn39t only meant to express its ritual ireamp160 Twitter and WhatsApp the platforms used by Mercedes and Marriott are banned in Chinaamp160 The message Beijing expects conformity to its political rules no matter your business on more than China39s home turfIn the final analysis unlike many other companies that have stakes in China the major studios face a unique challengeamp160 As flagships of the global entertainment industry they represent a threat to a regime founded on the communist party39s absolute control of the media in all its formsamp160 Add to that Xi Jinping39s increasingly authoritarian exercise of poweramp160and Hollywood is not only competing in one of the most politically sensitive fields imaginable in China it also faces a growing ethical as well as business risk as Xi consolidates his controlamp160In his study Censors at Work Harvard historian Robert Darnton examined censorship from 17th Century France to 20th Century East Germany noting among other things that the relationships involved often verged on collaborationamp160 Darnton was talking about authors and censors not billiondollar corporations and their bottom linesamp160amp160 Having acceded to China39s censorship in its domestic movie market the question is obvious amp160As Xi pushes China39s influence abroad including his censors how far will Hollywood goClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Dilemma of Chinese Censorship: Hollywood's Problem Isn't Only in China

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Kent M. Harrington

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