China syndromeChina Uses Its Market Power to Censor, Alter American Films, Threatening Free Speech, Artistic Expression

Published 10 August 2020

In a report out last week, the literary and human rights group PEN America said Chinese government censorship is exerting influence on Hollywood and the global filmmaking industry, posing a clear threat to free speech and artistic expression. The U.S. film industry, in ways large and small, has over the past decade increasingly capitulated to Chinese government pressure to alter and censor films. Studios have made content changes to films, either at the direct request of government censors or increasingly through voluntary self-censorship in order to gain or sustain access to the tightly controlled and lucrative Chinese film market; in some instances, studios have even permitted state censors on film sets or in production studios.

In a report out last week, the literary and human rights group PEN America said Chinese government censorship is exerting influence on Hollywood and the global filmmaking industry, posing a clear threat to free speech and artistic expression. The report, Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing: The U.S. Film Industry and Chinese Government Influence, reveals how one of the most censorious governments in the world has made its influence felt on filmmaking in the United States, subverting one of the U.S.’ most potent cultural exports.

“The Chinese Communist Party is increasingly shaping what global audiences see,” said James Tager, deputy director of free expression research and policy at PEN America and a lead author of the report. “While we are all well aware of the strict controls that China’s government maintains over dissent, independent thought, and creativity within its own borders, the long arm of Chinese censorship—powered by vast economic incentives—has also reached deep into Hollywood, shaping perceptions, inculcating sensitivities, and reshaping the bounds of what can be shown, said, and told.”

PEN says that through dozens of interviews with industry insiders as well as secondary research, PEN America found that the U.S. film industry, in ways large and small, has over the past decade increasingly capitulated to Chinese government pressure to alter and censor films. Many producers and screenwriters spoke to PEN America anonymously, citing the financial and professional risks associated with any criticism of China’s growing influence. 

Studios have made content changes to films, either at the direct request of government censors or increasingly through voluntary self-censorship in order to gain or sustain access to the tightly controlled and lucrative Chinese film market; in some instances, studios have even permitted state censors on film sets or in production studios. Individual actors, directors, screenwriters, and producers who are seen to resist Chinese influence may find their own career opportunities compromised.

As one scholar noted in the report, the Chinese government “will focus on everything that has a China component in it. Don’t think that if you’re doing something that’s not intended for China, that’s an indie film meant for a small market, that China won’t notice and that it won’t hurt your blockbuster film. It will.”