Republican Senator Ted Cruz wants to stop Chinese censorship in movies

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   Stevennix2001posted 3 years ago

   Texas Republican Senator. Ted Cruz is trying to pass a new bill called SCRIPT act, which is short for "Stopping Censorship, Restoring Integrity, Protecting Talkies Act".  And according to various sources, the bill will essentially stop the Pentagon from working with movie studios in the foreseeable future if they try to censor movies to accommodate Chinese censorship.   
   
   It's not uncommon for the Pentagon to work with various movie studios, in order for films to use Pentagon assets like tanks, jets, and naval bases just to name a few things, as many filmmakers love using real life Pentagon assets in movies as it helps give a lot of movies authenticity in their stories.   
   
   Ted Cruz was quoted saying the following:
   
   "For too long, Hollywood has been complicit in China’s censorship and propaganda in the name of bigger profits. The SCRIPT Act will serve as a wakeup call by forcing Hollywood studios to choose between the assistance they need from the American government and the dollars they want from China."   - Ted Cruz 
   
   Part of the controversy that led to this bill even happening was in part to the highly anticipated "Top Gun:  Maverick" trailer that was released months ago.  Yes, they're making a sequel to "Top Gun" that starred both Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer for those of you who didn't know already.  In the trailer for "Top Gun:  Maverick", the two patches showcasing the Japanese and Taiwan flags on Tom Cruise's jacket were digitally removed because Hollywood doesn't want to offend the Chinese government.   
   
   Needless to say, this move pissed off a lot of fans of the original "Top Gun" movie, even Ted Cruz, who deems the original an American classic.  In fact, here's a direct quote to what he said about it at the time:
   
   "Top Gun is an American classic, and it’s incredibly disappointing to see Hollywood elites appease the Chinese Communist Party. The Party uses China’s economy to silence dissent against its brutal repression and to erode the sovereignty of American allies like Taiwan. Hollywood is afraid to stand up for free speech and is enabling the Party’s campaign against Taiwan" - Ted Cruz
   
   Here's a link if you guys want to read more: 
   
   https://nypost.com/2020/04/30/ted-cruz- … for-china/
   
   Given this information, what are your thoughts on this?  Personally I can see both sides to this issue honestly.  While I don't necessarily condone censorship myself, but is it really censorship if the studio that made the freaking movie volunteers to alter a film to appease China itself?   Wouldn't stopping them from altering their own films just to assure maximum profit be an indirect act of censorship itself?  I don't know.   It just seems like a slippery slope to me but what do you guys think?

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      wildernessposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, it is censorship.  That the studio wishes to change it's own property does not alter that.  Owners do not censor; they change.  Others, forcing owners (whether by brute force, economic force or political force) to change from what the owner wishes, censor.

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         Stevennix2001posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         Hm I guess you do have a point there, so I'm guessing your in favor of this act?

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            wildernessposted 3 years agoin reply to this

            As much as I dislike seeing it, yes.  "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"

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               Stevennix2001posted 3 years agoin reply to this

               The irony is we shouldn't even need to pass a bill like this to begin with, as joker  and the Disney star wars films proved you can make billions of dollars at the box office without Chinese support.     I understand why movie studios want to tailor to China, as even I said before the pandemic to a lot of people in private conversations, that China is on the verge of becoming the number one economic super power in the world if they haven't proven that already.  Yeah the USA is still number one for the movies to make most of their money but for how long?   I saw China as the future number one country for movies in the next ten years before the pandemic happened so I can understand Hollywood's position from a business standpoint.   
               
               However with everything going on in the world right now, and after reading your comments, I think this bill might need to be passed if we're going to ensure our future.   While movies and TV shows aren't essential to society, they have inspired future generations over the years and brought people together in the past.   And with as divided our country is right now, maybe we need to have more movies tailored to inspire American audiences again that can bring people together.   I guess we'll see what happens but I think you might be right as this bill might be a necessary evil if we want to galvanize USA moral.

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                  wildernessposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                  Well, I would fully support movies tailored to inspire American audiences.  But to require that, under penalty of law, not so much.

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                     Stevennix2001posted 3 years agoin reply to this

                     I wasn't saying that the movies should be required by law to inspire American audiences.   I do apologize if I didn't word that well, but I was just trying to say that we shouldn't censor movies anyways to appease China, or any foreign super power really is all i was trying to say.

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   PrettyPantherposted 3 years ago

   Seems like capitalism at its finest to me. The studio is tailoring its product to specific markets.

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      Stevennix2001posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      True so do you endorse Ted Cruz bill?

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   GA Andersonposted 3 years ago

   I don't support this bill. Even understanding the financial pressure, the owners still have a choice.
   
   I do not think the government has any place in this particular issue.
   
   GA

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      Stevennix2001posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      This is true as well. I remember when Quentin Tarantino made his last film, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", China threatened not to release the film unless they took out the scene where Brad Pitt's character kicked Bruce Lee's ass, and Tarantino said no, so it never got a China release there.   Therefore, you're right that studios do have a choice, but I can see Ted Cruz's point as well.

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