The other day I found a report by PEN America called “Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing.” There’s no visible date on it, but there are references to 2023, so it’s either recent or recently revised. It goes into detail about how American movie makers bend to the Chinese government’s will. It’s not the threat of arrest or property seizure that impels them, but economic and social pressure. “The Chinese Communist Party, in fact, holds major sway over whether a Hollywood movie will be profitable or not — and studio executives know it.”
Well-known actors can be affected even by what they say and do outside movies.
High-profile examples of presumed-blacklisted members of the film world include actress Sharon Stone, actress/singer Selena Gomez, actor Harrison Ford, and Richard Gere. In these cases, the blacklist has been avowedly political, reportedly occurring after the actors participated in films critical of China or simply in events that the CCP frowned upon, such as a photo opportunity with the exiled Dalai Lama.
Most publicly, Richard Gere has alleged that he has since paid a significant professional price for his long-standing activism on Tibet, saying in one 2017 interview that “There are definitely movies that I can’t be in because the Chinese will say, ‘Not with him’. . . . I recently had an episode where someone said they could not finance a film with me because it would upset the Chinese.”
Chinese pressure has significantly affected the content of the movies we see:
These efforts have borne fruit. In Hollywood today, there is widespread compliance with Beijing’s censorship strictures. Such compliance, not infrequently, goes further, with studios actively cooperating with Beijing’s propagandistic goals. Although many may not consciously view their actions in those terms, the effect is the same: some of Hollywood’s biggest films today have been developed in keeping with the goals of the Chinese government’s censorship regime. As a result, the Chinese Communist Party current enjoys significant control over what stories are seen by audiences across the globe.
The PEN report stresses Chinese economic influence, but social influence is also a significant factor, largely by discouraging the criticism of China that would otherwise push back against the economic pressure. Many people of socialist inclinations love China’s economic authoritarianism, even if it’s a fascist variety, with nominally private companies toeing the line, rather than “pure” socialism. Emerson College punishes criticism of China and smears it as “hate.” When the selection of Chengdu for the 2023 Worldcon was announced, some loud voices in fandom claimed that objections were “racist.” They’ve crawled back into their holes since GoH Lukianenko started cheerleading for Russia’s Ukraine invasion.
Self-proclaimed socialist Elon Musk has declared his support for China’s “core socialist values” and favors annexation of Taiwan. Whether this is sincerity or opportunism is a matter for debate, but his statements have gotten relatively little attention, even though the news media are ready to jump on every word he says. It’s safe even for unpopular people to support Chinese imperialism, but imagine the reaction Musk would have gotten if he suggested that Ukraine should become a Russian “special administrative zone.”
For a long time, Facebook banned all posts arguing that COVID originated from a lab leak in China. The issue is still being debated, and Facebook now allows arguments in favor of the hypothesis, but its decision to suppress evidence and arguments supporting it shows how widespread the pressure not to criticize China is.
Writers hoping for international distribution or movie contracts could be affected by Chinese pressure. It takes courage for such people to speak against Chinese tyranny and imperialism, and that’s a rare quality in Hollywood.