Shang-Chi won’t be coming to China soon, despite some Chinese fans praising the film’s cultural portrayal.
Without a Chinese box office that looks farther away than ever as the country draws closer to a total ban on the Simi Liu movie, Shang-Chi has been on a tear in the West and most of the world.
China may ban ‘Shang-Chi’
Because Shang-Chi is the first mainstream Asian superhero, it was thought that his arrival would attract even more moviegoers than normal, given Marvel Studios’ increasing popularity in China.
However, negotiating the seas of Chinese censorship is not simple. The Communist Party of China’s Propaganda Department identified enough problems with Shang-Chi’s content and cast members to prevent the nation from approving a premiere.
According to a recent Variety story, Chinese officials are preparing to permanently ban Shang-Chi owing to remarks made by the film’s lead Liu dating back to 2017.
The Canadian actor was born in China and lived there until he was five years old, although he has spoken about the kinds of tales his parents told him as a child, such as about the Great Chinese Famine. So it’s no surprise that the Communist Party is furious.
Liu remembers his relatives telling him, “They lived in the third world. They saw Canada as a pipe dream.”
This is in addition to worries over Shang-Chi’s contentious and objectionable source material, even though many Chinese audiences who have watched the film have failed to understand how it disrespects Chinese culture.
Instead, due to how effectively it portrays key elements of society, most people note the polar opposite.
Liu’s controversy in China is to a high degree
In China, Liu’s controversy has reached such a high degree that a recent GQ video in which the actor lists his essential must-have goods attracted many backlashes due to his fondness for Vitasoy bubble tea. This Hong Kong business has lately been subject to Chinese boycotts.
The way Chinese censors and certain sections of China’s online communities seem to be criticizing Shang-Chi appears to be centered on the actors rather than the film or its stereotyped roots.
Remember when China and Disney (under Iger) we’re friends $DIS
Worsening China / Hollywood relations is a BIG deal that is not getting enough exposure https://t.co/eUYJri1R9F
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Due to his previous support for Hong Kong protesters and the fact that the Mandarin, like most Shang-Chi’s cast, is not a native Mandarin speaker, even superstar Tony Leung falls into this category.
Only Meng’er Zhang, who portrays Shang-Chi’s sister Xu Xialing, is a native Mandarin speaker. Although some Chinese viewers have complained about the accents, many native speakers have complimented Shang-Chi’s Mandarin dialogue for its quantity and quality.
Given that Eternals is likely to be banned in China owing to filmmaker Chloe Zhao’s critical remarks about Chinese politics, Kevin Feige may have to accept the loss on Shang-Chi, China, and the hundreds of millions that might have been.
Image courtesy of GQ/YouTube