3 ms·

We can blame a lot of the dumbing down on Hollywood's kowtowing to China

fullshark 5y ago
Every example here is a female protagonist also, I think it's also partially kowtowing to feminist cultural critics who are vocal online and are particularly sensitive to perceived slights.
- Strawhorse 5y ago
  That's ironic, because China hates strong female role models or protagonists in movies due to an endemically sexist culture
  - fullshark 5y ago
    I think the Mulan update was a huge flop in China FWIW, so maybe Disney tried to thread the needle there and failed. New Star Wars movies also I think didn't do well there. https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/why-china-hates-disney-mulan-1234770198/ https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/why-china-hates-disney-mu... > The most fundamental flaw, most felt, was that Disney’s new heroine starts out from childhood already equipped with superhero-like abilities, thanks to her extraordinary reserves of “qi,” the force that she cultivates and controls to excel as a fighter. > Turning her into a superhero removes Mulan’s everywoman appeal, and leaves her with no room to grow as a character, huge swathes of Chinese viewers said. Basically the exact criticism of the youtube video interestingly enough
    - Strawhorse 5y ago
      I think the new Mulan fail was due to some social media shitstorm about the lead actress or something; the spastic Chinese internet trolls had a feeding frenzy on something she said. At the same time, the movie got trashed in the West for being, well, shit.
      - fullshark 5y ago
        In any case I think the macro issue is trying to placate too many audiences with their own agendas (hardcore fanboys, Chinese censors, feminist cultural agitators, etc) instead of telling a good story with interesting characters, at least for the cinema the video maker is focused on (big budget IP).
        Strawhorse 5y ago
        Tell that to Hollywood, man. A lot of their movies now are being passed by Chinese censors first with the domestic market somewhat of an afterthought. Interestingly, though, China hasn't produced a single decent movie in a decade or two, and they certainly don't give a fuck about the foreign market. But I agree with what you said there.

Every example here is a female protagonist also, I think it's also partially kowtowing to feminist cultural critics who are vocal online and are particularly sensitive to perceived slights.

Strawhorse 5y ago
That's ironic, because China hates strong female role models or protagonists in movies due to an endemically sexist culture
- fullshark 5y ago
  I think the Mulan update was a huge flop in China FWIW, so maybe Disney tried to thread the needle there and failed. New Star Wars movies also I think didn't do well there. https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/why-china-hates-disney-mulan-1234770198/ https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/why-china-hates-disney-mu... > The most fundamental flaw, most felt, was that Disney’s new heroine starts out from childhood already equipped with superhero-like abilities, thanks to her extraordinary reserves of “qi,” the force that she cultivates and controls to excel as a fighter. > Turning her into a superhero removes Mulan’s everywoman appeal, and leaves her with no room to grow as a character, huge swathes of Chinese viewers said. Basically the exact criticism of the youtube video interestingly enough
  - Strawhorse 5y ago
    I think the new Mulan fail was due to some social media shitstorm about the lead actress or something; the spastic Chinese internet trolls had a feeding frenzy on something she said. At the same time, the movie got trashed in the West for being, well, shit.
    - fullshark 5y ago
      In any case I think the macro issue is trying to placate too many audiences with their own agendas (hardcore fanboys, Chinese censors, feminist cultural agitators, etc) instead of telling a good story with interesting characters, at least for the cinema the video maker is focused on (big budget IP).
      - Strawhorse 5y ago
        Tell that to Hollywood, man. A lot of their movies now are being passed by Chinese censors first with the domestic market somewhat of an afterthought. Interestingly, though, China hasn't produced a single decent movie in a decade or two, and they certainly don't give a fuck about the foreign market. But I agree with what you said there.