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The Hello to Chinese Censors
Back in college, I worked as a theater usher and I think it was then that I began the practice of reading the credits. I would wait in the back of the theater for people to leave so I could sweep up popcorn and hope for dropped change. You have to wait for the end of the credits for two of my favorite trivia bits, the information about the music and locations. But sometimes you see something else interesting or odd. Now many wait through credits in Marvel and Pixar films for those extras, but I seat through all credits of all films I see in the theater.
The Farewell is a very good film in theaters now (rocking 99% at Rotten Tomatoes) about a family divided. A woman’s children have left China and migrated (one assumes legally) out of the country, one son to Japan and the other to America, New York City.
The opening credits read “Based on an actual lie.” When the mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she is not told, as we learn is commonplace in many Chinese families. Doctors go along keeping this news from the dying woman. Everyone else in the family knows, but not her. But to give the family a chance to say goodbye to their mother/grandmother, a sham wedding is planned.
It is a warm, sad, and funny film about families, and certainly is worth seeking out. (There is even a story about a church in the film that allowed me to write about it in my blog about films and clergy.)
But there is an extremely odd credit to be found if you’re looking for it. A credit for “Chinese Censorship Advisor”. The movie was filmed in New York and China, so it makes sense that this was a needed role. Sadly, it seems that many Hollywood films employ such a person, though they are usually not listed in the credits. Hollywood films don’t mind mocking conservatives or Christians, but it is important to be careful about offending the National People’s Congress.
Have you noticed special consideration given to the Communist Chinese in films? It is there. (And are there any other credit readers out there?)
Published in Entertainment
My problem isn’t Hollywood’s working within the Chinese system per se. It’s the contrast that “Hollywood” is quite willing to work with Chinese or other totalitarian censors to alter the content of their product, but then goes on to preen about some law in Georgia or Alabama or North Carolina, or some decision by a pizza joint in Indiana, that will have zero impact on any product or person connected with Hollywood as though their fellow Americans were the worst people on the planet with whom they can’t possibly do business.
I watch the credits most of the time. My particular interest is the “special thanks to” at the very end that gives clues about locations and who supplied information. As others have noted, I find interesting the ethnic nature of certain groups of names as to what work was done where in the world.
I am fascinated by what appears in credits these days that was not there 70 years ago. I can kinda understand why an armorer might want screen credit because his work actually appears in the film. But the accountant? or the caterer? or the shuttle van drivers? Do these people take 10% less fee if they get screen credit?
Honey wagon driver.
Or Audrey 2
Hell yes the accountant should get credit. Everything grinds to a halt without us. The money gotta flow.
Sweet! Hairy Janos was the name of my ficus.
Pharmaceutical Caterer.
🤦♂️
“Sir, there was twa of them!”
“Hairy Janos”? Suite!
No, it will get confused with the plant ‘Bob’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI_8I0BoJr4
I often wondered about credits and if someone making a film might say, “We need a ______. Go see who Bob Big Director used in his last film. They probably know what they’re doing.”
Sure they do.
Two reasons why they list so many people: About 30-40 years ago, credits stopped listing everyone up front, because filmmakers wanted to immerse audiences in the story right away. Credits moved to the tail end of the movie, so there wasn’t as much time pressure to get the show on the screen, and it provided a natural “walk out” interval for the theaters, which no longer had to wait for everybody to stand up and leave at once before refilling the theater for the next show.
The second reason was the much greater emphasis on soundtrack music and album sales, hardly a factor until the Sixties and Seventies. Composers were able to stretch out to almost whatever length they wanted.
What this all meant was suddenly they had extra time to fill, so why not list everybody? People were walking out, most of them, so it did no harm.
One other thing: special visual effects became much more important, even for non science fiction movies, and those crews are specialized and very large.
This book is one of the most interesting I’ve read about Chinese food. It was fascinating to see the many ideas involved in preparing food. The Chinese see eating as a communal act. That’s why there are so many courses and dishes. Nobody picks up General Tso Chicken to go.
The book is The Last Chinese Chef.
My wife (Chinese) and I saw it last night. She wasn’t interested at first to see it, but a friend convinced her. She thinks most Chinese movies are bad. She loves the TV shows though, lol
I think I liked it more than she did. The story hit close to home because my mother in law got kidney cancer and the family didn’t tell her everything either which was a total surprise to me. I don’t know how much she evens knows today about her condition.
We both watched the food carefully and made notes of how many dishes I have had in the film. The film is set in northern China so it’s mostly northern food.
The funniest part was the wedding photo scene. I lived through that myself and it was the worst 6 hours of my life. It’s a huge deal to Chinese families, but I was very uncomfortable because I can’t fit in Chinese sized clothes, lol
And then there’s this:
Unless China is currently being run by hawk-wielding Mongol invaders I don’t see how we can claim to know what a legendary Yuan Wei Dynasty figure’s take on insurrection would be.
Note that I am pro-HK all the way, but Mulan doesn’t shed any light on finding a solution.
If we want answers, we will have to look for them in quotes from a fictional wizard school headmaster.