In this piece I want to talk about what I see as one of the biggest issues facing cinema today, the growing malicious influence of China in Hollywood, wherein the tyrannical state is using the latest blockbusters to either push its propaganda or to try and soften its image. Most studios are guilty of this and don’t show signs of changing any time soon, it is from this lens that Disney can release a film which thanks a Chinese concentration camp and it is just par for the course.
It is not just Mulan which shows how Hollywood’s biggest studios are bending over backwards for the CCP, it can also be seen in films like Abominable and Uncharted wherein the film’s feature maps of the South China Sea which willplease the oppressive state: maps which are internationally and legally false, but Hollywood doesn’t care.
Moreover, a lot of people will criticise big studio fare for not talking about or featuring openly LGBTQ+ characters, or for censoring same sex kisses and romances, but this issue too can see its roots placed firmly in China. Chinas incredibly strict censorship means that any films featuring these sort of progressive messages will be heavily edited for fear of not being allowed a release, this then leads to less representation worldwide as studios find it easier to release one cut of the movie everywhere rather than specific cuts for different regions. In the spirit of fairness I will state that it is not only China that demands LGBTQ+ scenes are edited out of films they grant a release to but also a swath of other countries as well, I simply point to China as they have the most importance towards Hollywood in terms of box office.
What can be done about this? To truly combat this problem people like you dear reader need to begin voting with your wallets, if you see a film that has strong ties to the Chinese regime then give it a miss and make sure you call out the studio on social media and let them know why you won’t be seeing their film, if enough people do that then Hollywood will realise that there is consequences for doing business with despots.
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Another Millennial Reviewer 