China's Power in Global Cinema
How has China’s power shifted from years past now that a new audience in the hundreds of millions has emerged in the film market? This section exhibits a case study among two films fifteen years apart; 7 Years in Tibet (1997) and Red Dawn (2012). Both works displeased the Chinese government, but the response from the outside world was drastically different. Following the case study, there is a report on Xi Jinping’s tactics of “Soft Power” and what we can learn from the most popular films in China today.
In 1997, the film Seven Years in Tibet was released to the general public. It was one of the top 100 highest grossing films of the year producing box office revenue of over $130 million, and showed a harrowing depiction of the Chinese army’s occupation of Tibet. It was a critically acclaimed film and was praised for a sharp critique on China’s political actions at the time. However, according to industry professionals there is no longer a space for this kind of content in 2019. “You’re not going to see something that’s like ‘Seven Years in Tibet’ anymore,” said Larry Shinagawa, a professor at Hawaii Tokai International College. In an interview with the New York Times in regards to China’s growing content influence in Hollywood, Shinagawa, who specializes in Asian and Asian-American studies continued and said, “Studios that make films critical of China, risk being banned from releasing movies in the country.” Which, according to financiers and studio execs is far too great of a risk considering the new found business opportunity for distribution of film in China.
Studios that make films critical of China, risk being banned from releasing movies in the country.
President Xi Jinping, the indefinite ruler of China after The People’s Congress approved to amend the constitution of a two term presidential limit, and effectively allow a life term has far greater plans for his nation than to stay in the good graces of Hollywood power brokers. Mr. Xi has spoken repeatedly on the matter of foreign film censorship or disapproval in his nation and has emphasized that if Hollywood has any plans for films to enter the Chinese market that they need to “tell China’s story well”. To ultimately assure that a communist approved narrative is present in theatres across the sprawling nation.
...the film company spent roughly $1 million dollars “digitally erasing evidence of the Chinese Army, frame by frame, and substituting in North Koreans instead.
One example of Hollywood’s agreement to follow China’s film distribution guidelines was the release of a remake of the film “Red Dawn” in 2012. The original Red Dawn was a popular film that released in 1984 in the midst of the cold war starring Patrick Swayze and Lea Tompson. The film was about a group of teenagers who defend their town from a Soviet invasion. MGM studios sought out to do a reboot of the film except this time, who were the invaders? The Chinese and the Soviets. The script was somehow leaked in its early phases of development and went viral. The Global Times (a popular news outlet in Beijing which is also state-run), whose readers number over 1.5 million people read the headlines “U.S. reshoots Cold War movie to demonize China” and “American movie plants hostile seeds against China,”. At the end of this press fiasco for MGM, the New York Times reported that the film company spent roughly $1 million dollars “digitally erasing evidence of the Chinese Army, frame by frame, and substituting in North Koreans instead.”
The story of Red Dawn in itself is outdated and MGM should have not attempted to produce and spend tens of millions on a remake. Yes, at its most basic core it is a relatively mindless action film that they thought would be a “safe bet” but their safe bet blew up in their face. Chinese citizens and the press had a right to reason, and say that the plot line plays into xenophobia and the idea of trying to capitalize on the current geopolitical climate of the time of what some have called “a new cold war” between China and the United States. But to craft a film about a Chinese invasion of the U.S. is pure fantasy and demonizes the Chinese people. Following the release of the revamped Red Dawn with North Korean antagonists instead of Chinese, the film was never released internationally and MGM ended up losing money as Box Office Mojo reported that box office revenue came $20.2 million dollars below their production budget, and received a Rotten Tomatoes score of 14%. A real stinker.
This example of the Red Dawn reboot saga not only shows the harm of portraying senseless storytelling with the Chinese as antagonists, but also the economic harm that can follow, and most importantly that MGM, one of the most storied movie studios in the world had spent a million bucks because of Chinese discontent with the plot. What was once a practically non-existent market to Hollywood, willed a film studio through civil unrest to execute a major overhaul for a large budget film after it had been shot. That is influence.
Soft Power
Xi Jinping is utilizing China’s entertainment and film market to influence the creation of commercial art.
In 2013, the president of China Film Co-Production Corporation stood in front of a room full of Hollywood executives. “We have a huge market, and we want to share it with you.” Zhang Xun stated. The executives turned to each other in agreement, maybe even salivating at the idea of the hundreds of millions of new consumers that they could have paying to see their content. President Zhang continued with a condition “We want films that are heavily invested in Chinese culture, not one or two shots,” she said. “We want to see positive Chinese images.” This interaction coupled with Xi Jinping’s statements in regards to representing China in a positive light is a strategy that many have referred to as “soft power”. Soft power describes the use of persuasion rather than coercion to achieve international diplomacy and goals. In this case, Xi Jinping is utilizing China’s entertainment and film market to influence the creation of commercial art. He is utilizing this medium to shift the cultural perspectives of foreigners to become positive towards China. To create films that cater to the governing bodies of China, and ultimately see the nation in a new light.
China’s attempt to construct soft power over some of the biggest players in storytelling over the past five year period can not only be seen through these statements and accounts, but also by the numbers. From the period of 1997-2013 China financed 12 films that placed in the annual list of top 100 highest grossing films worldwide. However from 2014-2019, Chinese production companies financed and/or produced 41 blockbusters that made it to the top 100 list.
So what are the most popular films in China today? What genres can they be considered? Is there an underlying theme to these commercial hits?
The most successful films in the history of China and what it means:
[Chinese people] are exhausted after a day’s work. They have a lot of pressure in life. So when they go to the cinema they say: ‘We don’t want a history lesson. We don’t want an experience that is similar to sitting in a classroom. We don’t want to be educated. We just want to be entertained.
It is undeniable that in the midst of Xi Jinping’s patriotic charge into international and cultural diplomacy that the most popular films among Chinese citizens wield a flag of heroism and courage. Raymond Zhou, who has been heralded by the LA times as “Beijing’s answer to Roger Ebert” is one of the most famous film critics in China, and spoke in regards to the current cinema viewing climate in 2017 in an interview with the Guardian. He stated, “[Chinese people] are exhausted after a day’s work. They have a lot of pressure in life. So when they go to the cinema they say: ‘We don’t want a history lesson. We don’t want an experience that is similar to sitting in a classroom. We don’t want to be educated. We just want to be entertained.’ At this stage of economic development it’s quite understandable.” This alludes to the fact that the two highest grossing movies of all time in Chinese history are the films Wolf Warrior 2 (2017) and Operation Red Sea (2018). These two blockbusters are action packed and are filled to the brim with nationalism.
Jonathan Papish, an industry expert from China Film Insider stated that the colossal success of Wolf Warrior 2 was “definitely a product of Xi’s reign and the idea of the rejuvenation… It is a China that won’t take shit from other countries, that won’t be bullied,” he said. “It’s the mentality that the 100 years of oppression from foreign powers is over and we are now in a phase where China can stand on its own feet and defend itself and its citizens. The general population … is very proud of the role that China can play now.” The sentiment and praise for this film is clear by the numbers, as Wolf Warrior 2 raked in $867,000,000 in the Chinese market alone.
It’s the mentality that the 100 years of oppression from foreign powers is over and we are now in a phase where China can stand on its own feet and defend itself and its citizens. The general population ... is very proud of the role that China can play now.
Operation Red Sea (#2 highest grossing) was released in 2018, has grossed over $570 million domestically, and “introduced the public to Beijing’s new navy”. The plot of the film is set off of the coast of Africa where a group of highly trained navy special forces troops aim to rescue a group of Chinese citizens from pirates, which then unfolds into a deeper storyline involving Islamic terrorists. In regards to the film, Robert Farley an editor at The Diplomat wrote that, “The call-outs to American films are obvious: The pirate sequence at the beginning reminds the viewer of Captain Phillips, without the calming presence of Tom Hanks, and the hostage rescue raids evoke Black Hawk Down. The overall thrust is similar to that of Michael Bay’s Thirteen Hours, with which it shares a garish depiction of military violence… The imprint of the PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy) is glaring and obvious, as the commandos rarely hesitate to declare their institutional affiliation before gunning down some nameless terrorists… Operation Red Sea simply seeks to demonstrate that the Chinese Navy can be every bit as lethal as its American counterpart. ” PLAN reportedly aided in the funding and production of the film as it conveyed a raw display of the effectiveness and heroism of the Chinese military. Thus, as it stands today a large portion of Chinese cinema goers are simply looking to unwind. As film critic Raymond Zhou said, “We don’t want a history lesson” in regards to the current tastes of the film market. They want action, a hero at the end of the movie with a smoking gun proud to call himself a citizen of China.