Spider-Man: Why did China ban the movie Spider-Man?

  Spider-Man: Why did China ban the movie    Spider-Man?

The movie 'Spider-Man, No Way Home', which was released in December last year, was very well received by the cinema-goers. The film raised flags at the box office and grossed about Rs 1.55 trillion. Crowds flocked to the cinema to watch the film, and it proved to be a new hope for the Corona epidemic-affected film industry.

 But Chinese audiences could not see the film because it was banned there. China has long banned any material that, according to China, challenges its sovereignty.

 But there was nothing in Spider-Man's film that hurt Chinese values. There was not a single reference to China in the film, nor was there any mention of China. Then there is the question of what is going on between the Chinese government and Hollywood.

 Why did China ban Spider-Man? The BBC has spoken to some film industry experts to find out the answer to this question.

 China and Hollywood

 Prior to 1949, China's film industry was very limited. Its scope was limited to a few Hollywood films as well as films made in China. But with the rise of Chinese leader Mao Zedong and the founding of the People's Republic of China, things changed.

 Films made in Hollywood and Hong Kong have been banned in China since 1951. In China at the time, cinema cars roamed the country. Through which the stories of peasants and workers were shown in which they talked about their loyalty and commitment to the Communist Party.

 Similar films dominated China for three decades.

Wendy Xu, author of the book China Encounter with Global Hollywood, says that in those 30 years, only one American film was shown in China. Hardly anyone has heard of this movie. This movie is 'Salt of the Earth'.

 The story of Salt of the Earth is based on the life of miners in New Mexico.

 Hollywood blacklisted filmmakers for alleged links to the Communist Party. This was one of the main reasons why the film reached Chinese audiences.

 After the death of Chinese leader Mao in 1976, the Chinese film industry took a turn for the worse. The film industry, which for decades had been a government propaganda machine, was now free. But his condition worsened as government funding cut off.

 "China's film industry was in deep trouble," says Wendy Xu. Many movie studios went bankrupt. The number of people going to the theater has decreased.

 The Chinese filmmakers did not have the money to make the film and then the authorities came up with a new proposal.

 Wendy Soo says that she advised the government's film bureau that we should buy Hollywood movies that have become hits. People in China will love these movies too. If she goes to the theater, we can make money. And with that money, we'll be able to help make movies in China. That's where the idea of ​​bringing Hollywood movies to China began. "

 In 1994, the Hollywood blockbuster The Fugitive was released in China. It is the story of a man accused of killing his wife and trying to disprove it.

 The film stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Johns. He left a lasting impression on the Chinese audience.

 Wendy Soo says: "Filmgoers in China never imagined that a Hollywood blockbuster movie would be so interesting. A fast-paced action movie. You can imagine that it was a thrill and a surprise for them. Because for more than thirty years he had no contact with the international world.

It was the beginning of a new era. Not only for Chinese moviegoers but for the entire film industry of the country but China had decided that only 10 Hollywood movies would be shown every year. Hollywood received one-tenth of the box office gross for each of these films, but these films were invaluable to the Chinese people.

 He was keen to see the outside world, but the government only wanted to make money by showing films that did not challenge the Chinese system of government.

 Restrictions and reconciliation

 In 1997, three Hollywood movies were released. His stories led to a "break-up" in Sino-Hollywood relations. Two of them were Seven Years in Tibet and Kundan. It spoke of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet.

 The third movie was Red Corner. It showed the flaws in China's legal system. None of the films were made to be shown in China, but their stories angered the Chinese administration, which banned the three studios from making the films. As soon as the three big banners Sony, MGM and Disney were suddenly shown the way out, Hollywood came on the back foot.

 Stanley Rosen, a professor at the University of Southern California, says: "In those days, the Chinese film market was not big enough for Hollywood, but China bullied from the beginning. He told all Hollywood studios that if you If you make a film, it will not be shown in China and they will not only ban this film, but will ban all your films. China has been trying to tell Hollywood from the beginning who the boss is. '

 At the time, China's film market was small, but American filmmakers had explored the potential. Now some veterans have entered the scene.

 Disney boss Michael Eisner and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger plan to restore China's confidence. All three Hollywood studios have since reopened to Chinese fans. But things began to change in China.

 "At the time, Chinese newspapers were reviewing Hollywood movies," says Stanley Rosen. Movies like Saving Private Ryan, Titanic, Star Wars were very successful in China but newspapers were writing that Hollywood movies would be helpful to the world for their thinking. If he makes a Russian film, it will have a lot of spices, if he makes a film on Africa, it will have a lot of people.

Despite this, the number of Hollywood movies shown in China continued to increase. In 2001, the number of Hollywood movies screened in China increased from 10 to 20. In 2012, that number rose to 34. Hollywood's earnings from China also increased by 10 to 25 percent, but after a while it seemed that the love of Chinese moviegoers for American movies is decreasing.

 "It's true to some extent," says Stanley. There are many reasons behind this. One is that Chinese people are making their own films that have special effects. Those with big budgets. Including stars. There were no big movies in China before. No movie stars. There were stars like Jackie Chan of Hong Kong and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It now has its own movie stars in China. The same thing is repeated in other Hollywood movies and Chinese moviegoers are not as surprised as before.

 The preferences of Chinese moviegoers may be changing, but the problem for Hollywood is not the Chinese moviegoers but the censor board.

 The choice of China is important

 "While I was researching the issue, a man told me that half the issue was related to Chinese censorship and half to US capitalism," said James Tiger, research director at Pan America, a New York-based organization. Is from

 James explains what kind of deals Hollywood is making to reach Chinese moviegoers.

 He says that in 2020, China's box office became the largest in the world and access to China could make or break the economic fortunes of big Hollywood movies.

 "There are economic benefits to having a censor board in mind for these big companies," says James. These days we see Hollywood studios censoring themselves. They want to fix it. Films made by him can be shown in China.

 James says it is difficult to know whether Hollywood is making up stories with Chinese moviegoers in mind, or whether scenes that could cause controversy are later removed based on Chinese censorship.

But a small glimpse of it came out in 2014. When emails from Sony company representatives were hacked. This made the discussion about the science fiction comedy film 'Pixels' clear.

 The film shows space creatures attacking the Taj Mahal and some of Washington's most important monuments. The Great Wall of China was also included. Sony's owners were wondering if the related sensations were removed and eventually deleted.

 "Things like that are rare," says James. It showed us how common it is for studio representatives. They will discuss whether the film should hit the Chinese market or not. Which part needs to be changed? I mean to say that the studio representatives are writing to each other that the sensor is strict about it or that if there is any problem in passing the sensor it should be cut off.

 The changes were also different. For example, conversations between gay or lesbian characters were changed. James says a lot of people can feel the big deal.

 But it does mean that the world's best centers seek permission from the Chinese Communist Party's propaganda center for their stories. James says that in such a situation, many political messages can be inserted in the story of the film.

China's censor board and Hollywood's difficulty

 Ian Cox, an associate professor at the University of Virginia, says "a successful release in China for a big-budget blockbuster could double the US box office earnings."

 In 2020, China surpassed the United States in terms of the world's largest audience for Hollywood movies.

 It is important to remember that behind the glamor of Hollywood there are people who are under pressure from investors to make money in different ways.

 Ian Cox says that when talking about a company like Disney, you will find that they try to enter the Chinese market through their films. Their goal is not just to make money from movies. They also want to create such intellectual property. Which has power It can be used to sell goods, create theme parks, video games, clothes and toys and other products.

 However, no one can say with certainty about China's censor board.

Last year, Marvel's superhero film "Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" was released. The film was not released in China. The main reason given was that the main cast of the film had in the past criticized the Chinese administration.

 Spider-Man's latest film, Nine Way Home, has been cited as one such minor reason. The reason for the concern is that Hollywood is unable to predict what China might object to.

 Ian Cocas says this is a new face of the challenge. It's not like there will ever be a superhero movie. It's an ongoing tussle where studios have to decide how their film will be viewed in China. For those who communicate and direct the studio, the studio will have to think about what the future holds for what they are doing. "

 Lessons learned from 1997 are also presented. The studio was then fined for making films that were not to be released in China.

 "There is definitely no clear answer to this question," said Ian Caucas. I think one thing that needs to be understood is that there may come a time when Hollywood studios will consider relying on the Chinese market for big budget movies. "

 "It simply came to our notice then.
 Returning to the same question, why did China ban Spider-Man?

 In short, the answer is that it gives the United States the image of a proud and powerful country that was unbearable for China.

 Second, the Chinese government wants more space for Chinese films that promote the country's ideology. Now the question is, if Hollywood continues to chase after Chinese fans, what will be the effect on the story of the film?

 Our third expert, James Tiger, says that if a writer wants to tell the story of a concentration camp, he is rarely allowed to do so because no such film can be shown in China because he is currently holding Muslim Uyghurs in concentration camps. have been. That is, such a film will never be made.