Sam Worthington, Laz Alonso in Avatar (WETA / 20th Century Fox)
Government paranoia strikes again. The latest such instance, according to reports, comes from China. (Please read this follow-up: AVATAR: The China Ban Controversy.)
James Cameron's Avatar has been a worldwide blockbuster. It's now the #3 movie at the North American box office (not accounting for inflation or 3D/IMAX surcharges) and #2 worldwide (not accounting for higher ticket prices and so on). The film was apparently doing quite well in China since its opening on Jan. 4; so well, in fact, that it became that country's biggest box-office hit ever. Not surprisingly, some Chinese censor has decided that the science-fiction adventure tale set on a far off moon could become a threat to 21st-century China's stability.
According to a The Guardian article, Avatar 2D screenings will cease on Jan. 23 — instead of Feb. 28, as initially scheduled. Since China doesn't have many 3D/IMAX screens, the film will be allowed to continue playing only in that format.
Replacing the Golden Globe winner will be a biopic on the life of Confucius, directed by Hu Mei and starring Chow Yun-fat. The reason for the withdrawal remains murky, though rumors have it that the censors believe that the plight of the Na'vi is too close for comfort to what's going on with all those Chinese being evicted from their homes thanks to greedy property developers. Certainly not helping matters is that Avatar's $73.2 million gross has made it — and other major Hollywood productions — a "threat" to homemade movies.
Avatar has been met with controversy elsewhere as well. The film has been condemned as anti-American and anti-military by right-wingers; as racist by those who complain that Sam Worthington is white, not black (or perhaps some other nonwhite ethnicity); and as paganistic, nature-worshipping propaganda by the Vatican media.
Some have also complained that the film is overrated, tedious, and superficial. The Chinese government clearly disagrees. And now Avatar fans will be complaining that China has robbed their film of the chance to become the biggest worldwide blockbuster ever. Unless, of course, China or no China, Avatar ends up beating the Titanic record anyhow.
As a matter of fact, Vatican or no Vatican, Avatar had a $14.5m debut in Italy, supposedly a record for that country.
Can the media just report the facts and stop speculating for political ends? If China does intend to ban the film due to political reasons, Avatar wouldn't have been shown in China AT ALL.
Quite disgusted by the way the media puts itself in charge of political correctness.
Brandon,
You make an excellent point — and I did look for other sources on the matter. The "Los Angeles Times" posted something as well, but the sources seemed to be the same as those for "The Guardian." The only reason I wrote this brief piece is because "The Guardian" had reported it — and as far as newspapers go, that's a reliable one.
But then again, considering that 21st-century China looks more like a capitalist, right-wing dictatorship than a communist one, chances are the issue here is actually $$$. Maybe civil unrest was an afterthought. I'll do some more research on the topic, and if needed, I'll amend the post.
Also, as per the "Guardian" piece, China has relatively few 3D/IMAX theaters. That's why it's keeping "Avatar" in those. And that's why the title reads "(partially) banned."
Where is the evidence that the film is "banned"? I have read all the news on this topic in the last 2 days and the closest anyone has gotten (The Guardian) is to say that Hong Kong's "Apple Daily" reported that Beijing's Propaganda Chiefs ordered the film taken off the big screen in China starting January 23. As far as the reasons why, everything I have read has been pure speculation. The Telegraph had a story posted for a while claiming that the reasons were because the film might incite "civil unrest" and that it was garnering too much profits — but then that article was taken down from the Telegraph's website. It would be nice if there was some actual investigative reporting on this subject instead of mere speculation. The speculation seems to be based on reactionary impulses that China would "ban" another movie, but I think "ban" is the wrong word to use here. If they really wanted to "ban" Avatar, they wouldn't have let it be shown in theaters at all.
The US should put the same restrictions on Chinese films. This is depriving american companies of revenue and is against free trade. Better yet, tax all chinese goods until they change the rule.