[Epoch Times, May 31, 2022]Hello everyone, I’m Tang Hao, how are you today? “Crossroads of the World“
Today’s Focus: “The Lone Ranger” and “Doctor Strange” sold out, hiding the secret to Hollywood’s wealth? The world turns the tide, and resisting the CCP is good business? Repeatedly stepping on the red line of the CCP, Hollywood does not kowtow?
Hollywood blockbuster “Doctor Strange 2” was a hit and became the global box office champion of the year, followed by another sequel “Top Gun 2: The Lone Ranger” (also translated as “Defender 2: The Lone Ranger”) after its first week of release. Box-office record, becoming the best-selling movie in Tom’s career history. But these two sequel blockbusters have invariably hidden a winning code. What is this winning code? Hollywood has frequently kowtowed to the CCP in the past, but why has it frequently stepped on the CCP’s taboos and red lines recently? Why does resisting the CCP become an increasingly popular good business? Discuss with you in this episode.
Today we want to talk to you about a very interesting entertainment topic:
Why did Hollywood turn around when it resisted the CCP’s making a fortune?
Don’t know if you like watching movies? I myself am quite fond of movies, but I found that there is a very interesting phenomenon recently. There are two sequels of Hollywood blockbusters. After their release, the box office is very hot, and both sets new box office records. Moreover, these two movies have a common feature. They are not afraid of the CCP, and even challenge the CCP’s sensitive nerves.
Doctor Strange Episode 2
The first film is the second episode of “Doctor Strange”, which I believe everyone is quite familiar with, not only the box office success of the first episode, but also because of a special scene in the second episode of “Doctor Strange”. Accidentally became the focus of international public opinion.
That’s right, I believe you must remember that when Doctor Strange and the Octopus were fighting in the movie, a newspaper box of a Chinese newspaper appeared in the background of the street. This newspaper was our partner media “The Epoch Times“. The Epoch Times is an independent overseas media, exposing the CCP is very sharp, and it is certified by the Hoover Institution in the United States, and one of the very few Chinese-language media in North America that is not controlled by the CCP at all.
Therefore, the appearance of the “Epoch Times” newspaper box in the “Doctor Strange” movie means that it is likely to be blocked by Beijing. Unexpectedly, although “Doctor Strange 2” does not have the support of the Chinese market, it has created an amazing box office in the global market. Not only has it won the North American box office champion for three consecutive weeks, but the cumulative global box office has exceeded 800 million US dollars.
This box office figure beat the previous release of “Batman”, and “Doctor Strange” also officially ascended the throne of the world‘s highest-grossing film this year. see it? A film that publicly steps on the red line of the CCP and does not rely on the Chinese market can still sell well and make a lot of money, right?
“Top Gun” (“Top Gun”) second episode “Lone Ranger”
Let’s look at the second movie, the second episode of “Top Gun” just released last weekend, “Lone Ranger”. The Chinese title is “Top Gun” or “Defender”, but the subtitle is the same as “Lone Ranger”. . “The Lone Ranger” starring veteran Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise, has been 36 years since its first episode. Therefore, before “The Lone Ranger” was released, it was also questioned by film critics. How much box office can this film still have?
In particular, there is a very sensitive political taboo in the film, which makes this film likely to lose the Chinese market. Because the red flag of the Republic of China appeared on Brother Tom’s flying jacket, which was a taboo among the CCP, so overseas netizens also sneered at the CCP, saying that the 50 cents had to start counting how many to take off the shelves. Tom’s movie. Then why does the flag of the Republic of China appear?
In fact, as early as the first episode in 1986, Tom’s flying jacket had the flags of Japan and the Republic of China on it. This allusion is to commemorate the US cruiser who sailed through Japan and Taiwan in the 1960s, so the national flags on this coat have special historical significance.
However, please note that when The Lone Ranger released its first trailer in 2019, it was discovered that the national flag behind the jacket had been replaced, and the Japanese and Republic of China flags had disappeared, turning into inexplicable geometric figures, which caused a stir at the time. There is widespread controversy, criticizing the film maker Paramount Pictures for “kowtowing” to the CCP and self-censoring speech.
Later, someone familiar with the matter revealed that it was Tencent who proposed changes to the film maker. Because Tencent also invested in the film, they asked to replace the national flags of Japan and the Republic of China, otherwise they were worried that they would not pass China’s film censorship.
But the film was postponed due to the outbreak, and Tencent quietly withdrew from the film as a shareholder. So, when “The Lone Ranger” was officially launched this year, Tom’s coat was restored to its original appearance, and the flags of Japan and the Republic of China appeared again. This small change in detail immediately made “The Lone Ranger” a hot topic in international discussions. .
What is even more surprising is that the first weekend of the release of “The Lone Ranger”, the North American box office immediately exceeded 100 million US dollars, becoming the North American box office champion, and the global box office also exceeded 240 million US dollars, both breaking Tom’s personal box office record. “The Lone Ranger” became the highest-grossing film of Tom’s career.
Moreover, “The Lone Ranger” is not only a hit at the box office, but also the content of the film. On the professional film website IMDB, the evaluation is as high as 8.7 points, which is a very good standard. Even the filmmakers themselves had never thought of these popular results. The director of Paramount laughed heartily and said, “These results are incredible and amazing!”
Stepping on the red line of the CCP to create a new box office record
OK, am I right? The sequels of these two Hollywood blockbusters have both stepped on the CCP’s sensitive nerves or stepped on the red line, but both films were super hot sales, setting new box office records. Why is this so? Is it because Tom and Doctor Strange are both too handsome? Yes, there is this factor, just look at the gap between me and them. But I think the more interesting point is, why has Hollywood’s attitude towards the CCP changed so much?
You must still have the impression that in the past few years, several Hollywood films have been criticized for “kowtowing to the RMB” because they constantly self-censored and modified the plot and elements of the films in order to enter the Chinese market.
For example, in the movie World War Z, also called Doomsday, the original script was that the zombie virus came from mainland China, but in order to cater to the political correctness of the CCP, the movie changed the source of the virus to “Rabies from Taiwan”. The “Lone Ranger” previously changed the flags of Japan and the Republic of China to cater to the CCP.
How can it be successful without the Chinese market?
But why, from last year to now, more and more Hollywood films and literary works have begun to dare to challenge the CCP’s taboos and touch the CCP’s political red line? And their box office results are very dazzling, and the CEO of Disney is happy to say, even if there is no Chinese market, I believe it can be successful? Of course, there is something tricky behind this change.
Reason 1: Beijing’s strong push of dynamic clearing hits the Chinese film market
As we all know, film is not only an art industry, but also an economic industry, which is meant to make money. In the past, Hollywood films were willing to kowtow to the CCP in order to break into China’s market of more than one billion people. However, in the past two years, the Beijing authorities have strongly promoted the policy of “clearing zero”, which has resulted in the closure of cities and districts in various places, and the restrictions on film entertainment industry has had a huge impact.
According to the latest statistics this year, as of May 24, there were 8,111 movie theaters still in operation in China, but they were disappearing at an average rate of 100 per day, and now there are 4,297 fewer than before the epidemic. In the movie theaters that exist today, only 67% of them can still open, but the actual attendance rate is miserably less than 5%. In other words, there may be more cats entering the cinema than the audience.
In business, since the Chinese film market is no longer as glorious as it used to be, and can only survive under the iron fist of “clearing”, then of course there is no need for Hollywood filmmakers to continue to worship the CCP as a guest, and the content of the film is not If it must be handed over to the CCP for censorship, of course, the scale of creation will become more and more free.
Reason 2: Submitting to the CCP may not necessarily benefit or even lose a lot because of small things
In the past, Hollywood was willing to self-censor because they thought that if they wanted to please the CCP, they would get money and candy. However, after a few years, they found that this method of “self-castration” not only might not get candy, but also censor the CCP. The more the appetite grows.
Like the “Zombie World War” just mentioned, the movie has automatically changed the source of the virus from China to Taiwan, and the line “Beijing is covering up the epidemic” has also been deleted, but the movie still cannot be released in China until now, which is equivalent to a bamboo basket. Draw water, nothing.
In addition, even if the filmmakers succeed in courting the CCP and enter the Chinese market for broadcast, the monetary benefits earned may not be worthwhile, and the small losses may outweigh the gains. how to say? for example. Disney’s live-action film “Mulan,” featuring Liu Yifei, was released in China for three days and earned $22 million at the box office.
However, during the anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong in 2019, Liu Yifei spoke out in support of the Hong Kong police’s suppression of Hong Kong protesters, which aroused strong dissatisfaction among overseas netizens, and launched a movement to boycott the movie “Mulan” overseas; The filming, at the end of the film, also thanked the Xinjiang authorities for persecuting Uyghurs, causing the international community to fry the pot and boycott them one after another. Finally, “Mulan” can only be quietly broadcast through online platforms in North America, and the global box office revenue has shrunk significantly.
Finally, the global box office revenue of “Mulan” is 66 million US dollars, but the production cost is as high as 200 million US dollars, in a simple sentence: a miserable loss. Therefore, the result of Disney’s kowtow to the CCP this time is that it is 100% that the loss outweighs the gain. Perhaps because of this, Disney decided not to throw away the CCP’s censorship and let go of “Doctor Strange 2”, which turned out to be a lot of money.
Reason 3: The CCP’s Wolf Warriors provoke disgust and resistance and create topics and business opportunities
In the past two years, the CCP has vigorously promoted “wolf warrior diplomacy” and “mask diplomacy”. Not only has it frequently spoken out against overseas societies and subverted universal values, but it has also repeatedly bullied Taiwan and other countries. The CCP also boasted that the epidemic in China was “open and transparent.” ”, which resulted in a high degree of disgust towards the CCP in the international community. In the U.S. alone, more than 80 percent of people have a negative view of China.
The same is true in the film industry and art world. Artists do not want the content of their works to be determined by the CCP, and audiences are also tired of filmmakers being led away by the CCP’s “carrots and sticks.” Even though filmmakers are willing to self-censor and kowtow to the RMB, audiences from all over the world are becoming more and more disgusted and resistant to the CCP’s sharp power and political and business bullying. Under such a big environment, a new business opportunity to resist the CCP was born.
The song “Glass Heart”: “I’m sorry for hurting you and hurting your feelings. I heard a voice, and it was the glass heart that was broken.”
Singer Huang Mingzhi’s “Glass Heart” immediately became a global hit after its release in October last year. Not only is the song beautiful, but the lyrics accurately and vividly combine current affairs topics to ridicule and criticize the CCP. It has accumulated 46.7 million hits so far. , the phenomenon of “glass heart” has become the focus of discussion in the global media and self-media. We also did an episode of the show in the past to analyze, and those who are interested can find this episode to watch.
And, more importantly, the revenue generated by “Glass Heart” exceeds tens of millions of Taiwan dollars. In other words, the anti-communist is a good business, and the anti-communist is a good business opportunity. Because the anti-CCP conveyed the dissatisfaction of countless people with the CCP, helped countless people express their disgust and disgust to the CCP, and at the same time safeguarded the moral values and universal values that a normal society should have. These are the most important things in people’s hearts. , Unshakable fundamental value.
Reason 4: Excessive regulation of foreign companies and foreign companies decoupling from China
Although the CCP keeps saying that it wants to open up its market to the outside world and welcomes foreign investment from foreign companies, in fact, in the past two years, its words and deeds have been inconsistent and it has acted in the opposite direction. The slogan of “anti-monopoly” strengthens the supervision and restrictions on enterprises, which not only beats down Chinese Internet companies, but also makes many foreign companies and foreign businessmen seek to leave China.
For example, Microsoft’s “Linkedin” website announced the closure of its Chinese website in October last year; Yahoo also quit the Chinese market, and two days ago, the world-renowned homestay website Airbnb also announced its withdrawal from the Chinese market, becoming the last network to quit China. giant.
The same regulation and restrictions also occur in the film industry. Not only does the CCP impose strict quotas on foreign films every year, but whenever there are any “politically sensitive” issues, the CCP immediately blocks them. Marvel blockbuster “The Eternals” directed by Chinese director Zhao Ting cannot be released in China. This method of blocking freedom of speech and creation overseas through commercial sanctions has tired Western society. Therefore, the film industry between the United States and China is gradually moving in opposite directions and gradually decoupling.
For example, the annual box office of China’s film market reached RMB 47.2 billion last year, but most of them are “main theme films” of the CCP, such as “Changjin Lake”, but the box office revenue of overseas imported films only accounted for 20%; last year’s Chinese box office Of the top 30 films, only five were American.
Under this increasingly stringent control, it is becoming more and more difficult for foreign companies and foreign films to survive. Of course, their interest in the Chinese market will become weaker and weaker, and they will gradually withdraw from China and turn to other overseas regions. Development, it is no longer necessary to look at the face of the CCP to create.
Reason 5: Beijing’s ideology locks the country and blocks Western cultural goods
Since last year, the Beijing authorities have launched a comprehensive rectification and supervision of education and training, online games and other industries, and began to restrict English teaching courses in schools. It is obvious that Beijing wants to cut off the language ability of Chinese young people to contact Western culture and Western information. .
At the same time, the Beijing authorities have stepped up efforts to promote the party spirit education of “Xi Jinping Thought”, instilling “red genes” to “bacon quiche” for young people, ah no, it is “bacon casts the soul”. In fact, these two measures are both to control the mind. On the one hand, it tightens the acceptance of foreign ideas and cultures, and on the other hand, it accelerates the instillation of CCP ideology and party spirit. The combination of these two measures means that the CCP is initiating an “ideological lock-up” and is in the process of ignoring China. The people’s thinking is dynamically cleared, and Western culture and universal values must be cleared.
Under such a political atmosphere, do you think the CCP’s censorship of Hollywood films will become more relaxed or stricter? It must be strict, and Hollywood has also discovered this. In the future, the Chinese market will strengthen its rejection of Western cultural goods and film works, no matter how much kowtow is useless. Therefore, when mountains don’t turn around, people don’t turn around. Hollywood starts not to abandon the CCP, and starts to take a path that doesn’t rely on the Chinese market. Of course, they don’t have to pay too much attention to the CCP’s censorship.
Well, seeing this, I believe you should understand why Hollywood movies have recently shifted from “kowtow to the Communist Party” to “challenging the Communist Party”. Of course, all of this is just the beginning, and Hollywood’s public challenge to the CCP has not been so sharp, but just like Huang Mingzhi’s “Glass Heart”, this kind of cultural resistance war against the CCP not only proves that there is a market, It can also win the unanimous resonance of the transnational masses.
Predict three trends
So, next we can predict that several new trends will emerge:
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First, resisting the CCP is a good business and a good business opportunity. In the future, whether it is the film industry, the music industry, or other arts and cultural circles, it is estimated that more and more cultural products that mock the CCP and challenge the CCP’s red line will be launched one after another. Will get a warm response from the market.
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Second, the CCP implements an ideological lock-down to prevent contact with Western culture. In addition, the zero-clearing policy scare away foreign-funded foreign companies. Foreign investors believe that the cost and risk of doing business in China are too high. Therefore, the Chinese market will attract foreign investment. The power will continue to be degraded, which will also reduce the CCP’s control and penetration of the international community.
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Third, the CCP restricts the people from learning English and reduces the import of Western cultural products. Although it can consolidate the ideological castle of the CCP, it will inevitably lead to the narrowing and shallowness of the Chinese people’s worldview, and it will become more and more distant from the universal value of normal society. the farther away. In this way, the differences in thinking, words and deeds between the Chinese people and overseas people will become wider and wider, and in the end, there will only be more conflicts between China and overseas people, not less.
Finally, let’s say again that Hollywood’s attitude toward the CCP has changed more and more recently. There are actually several main reasons behind it:
Reason 1: Beijing’s strong push of dynamic clearing hits the Chinese film market
Reason 2: Submitting to the CCP may not necessarily benefit or even lose a lot because of small things
Reason 3: The CCP’s Wolf Warriors provoke disgust and resistance and create topics and business opportunities
Reason 4: Excessive regulation of foreign companies and foreign companies decoupling from China
Reason 5: Beijing’s ideology locks the country and blocks Western cultural goods
Well, because TV shows have a time limit, that’s all for today. You can search “Tang Hao” or “Crossroads of the World” online to see the full program. Thanks for watching, see you next time.
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Wangqiong Guchen North
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Tang Hao*
“Crossroads of the World” Production Team
Responsible editor: Li Hao#