Selling Out to Tyrants: How Hollywood Bows to China’s Censorship

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that has ruled that country since 1949 is pretty easy to despise. Under Chairman Mao’s authoritarian psychopathy, tens of millions of Chinese people were murdered by their own government in the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).

And then there’s the Shanghai Massacre (1927), the Tiananmen Square Massacre (1989), the repression/genocide (depending on who you ask) of the Chinese Uyghurs in Xinjiang (2017–present), the repression of Tibet (ongoing), and the brutal crackdown on Hong Kong protests (2019-present).

And then, just for extra horror, there are the persistent allegations of forced organ harvesting from practitioners of the Falun Gong religion as well as Uyghurs, Tibetans, and other prisoners of conscience.

The CCP also abuses US companies that are stupid or desperate or greedy enough to engage with them. They engage in Intellectual Property (IP)* theft and corporate espionage, forced technology transfers, the installation of CCP spies in US companies, and a host of other pushy and smarmy behaviors.

It’s enough to make you mad that our government increased US regulations and restrictions to the point that US companies had to flee our shores in order to stay in business. It’s like Washington DC hates Americans and loves long, brittle supply chains, or something.

Or maybe half of congress is heavily invested in globe-spanning shipping companies? I dunno. It’s weird.

Anyway, all that said, when I think of the evils of the CCP, it really makes me furious and disgusted with… Hollywood. It is absolutely revolting what greedy, craven, cowardly, cucks Hollywood executives are when it comes to bending the knee to the CCP in order to access Chinese markets.

Some of the details and a description of how this came to be can be found in this video(also embedded below) but I’ll give you a breakdown of some of the worst examples here:

1. Mission: Impossible III (2006):

• Change: A scene showing Tom Cruise running through Shanghai with visible clotheslines was altered or removed because it suggested poverty (residents lacking dryers), which the CCP found unflattering.

• Reason: The CCP seeks to project an image of modernity and prosperity, and such imagery was deemed harmful to that narrative.

• Irony: Who knew communists were so petty and vain?

2. Red Dawn (2012 Remake):

• Change: The original script depicted a Chinese military invasion of the US. After the film was completed, the CCP objected, and the villains were digitally altered in post-production to North Korean forces, requiring changes to flags, uniforms, and dialogue.

• Reason: The CCP deemed the portrayal of China as an aggressor unacceptable, and studios feared losing access to the Chinese market.

• Irony: Right. The US invaded by North Korea. Totally plausible.

3. Iron Man 3 (2013):

• Change: The Chinese version of the film added a four-minute scene featuring Chinese actors Fan Bingbing and Wang Xueqi as doctors saving Tony Stark’s life, along with prominent product placement for Chinese brands like Yili Milk. These scenes were not in the global release.

• Reason: The additions portrayed China positively and helped the film bypass China’s foreign film quota by partnering with Beijing-based DMG Entertainment, increasing profits.

• Irony: Well, at least they didn’t make the rest of us suffer through that crap scene.

4. World War Z (2013):

• Change: The film’s script was altered to remove references to the zombie virus originating in China, a plot point from the source novel. The setting was changed to avoid implicating China.

• Reason: The CCP objected to any suggestion of China as the source of a global crisis, and the studio hoped to secure a Chinese release (which ultimately did not happen).

• Irony: Wha? A dangerous virus emanating from China? Inconceivable!

5. Robocop (2014):

• Change: Chinese diplomats forced Sony Pictures to make significant script changes, though specific alterations are less detailed in public records. The changes aligned the film with CCP-approved narratives.

• Reason: To secure access to the Chinese market, studios adjusted content to avoid political or cultural objections.

• Irony: One more reason to detest remakes. Hollywood is greedy and lazy.

6. Doctor Strange (2016):

• Change: The character of the Ancient One, originally a Tibetan monk in the comics, was changed to a Celtic character played by Tilda Swinton.

• Reason: Tibet is a politically sensitive topic for the CCP, and referencing a Tibetan character risked censorship or market exclusion.

• Irony: Pathetic, lazy, and weak. This is like taking a dump on the source material.

7. Mulan (2020):

• Change: Disney worked closely with the China Film Group Corp. and got the script approved by the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department. The film was shot partly in Xinjiang, and Disney thanked Xinjiang authorities in the credits, despite the region’s association with Uyghur detention camps.

• Reason: The CCP aimed to promote a sanitized version of Chinese culture, and Disney complied to ensure market access, though the film faced global backlash.

• Irony: Well, outrage, really. This is the complete abandonment of principle for $.

8. Top Gun: Maverick (2022):

• Change: The trailer initially removed patches on Tom Cruise’s flight jacket representing Taiwan and Japan, replacing them with neutral symbols to avoid offending the CCP. After backlash, the patches were restored for the final release, but the film was not shown in mainland China.

• Reason: Taiwan and Japan are sensitive issues for the CCP, and their inclusion risked market exclusion.

• Irony: I mean, again, can the CCP be more petty? Can you imagine kowtowing to schmucks like these people?

Greed Can Make People Do Shameful Things

So why does Hollywood act this way? Money, of course. The CCP uses its lucrative film market (valued at over $7.4 billion) and a strict quota system (34 foreign films annually) to pressure studios into doing embarrassing backflips to gain access.

Co-productions with Chinese firms bypass quotas but require CCP approval of scripts and content, ensuring positive portrayals of China.

Self-Censorship and Ritual Self-Flagellation

Studios often preemptively alter content to avoid CCP backlash, as seen in films like Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), where scenes were cut for Chinese release to remove references to Freddie Mercury’s sexuality.

Worse, the CCP’s influence extends beyond specific edits to discouraging films critical of China, such as Kundun or Seven Years in Tibet (1997), which led to temporary bans on studios like Disney and Sony in China.

I Condemn thee, Hollywood!

I despise Hollywood for behaving this way. I know art is also a commercial product, but there comes a time when you’ve compromised so much of your principles and vision that you’ve just become a whore.

Shame on you, Hollywood.

Naturally,

Adam

*As long-time fans know, I think IP is a fraudulent concept and I want all IP laws abolished. But still, the law is on the books and they are breaking it, to the detriment of US companies.

And here’s that video I mentioned: