Censorship Issues as China Bans "Avatar"

Robert Hsu, January 26, 2010

The headlines involving Google and China caused quite a stir in the past couple weeks, and truly brought the censorship issue to the forefront. In fact, recently another headline along these lines hit the front pages, this time with respect to the blockbuster hit film "Avatar."

I actually recently had the pleasure of watching "Avatar" in IMAX 3D. I liked the film, particularly the technology and innovative visuals created by filmmaker James Cameron.

And "Avatar" was also incredibly popular with the Chinese people -- the film already smashed the all-time Chinese box-office record high. However, the Chinese government has quite a different view of the film.

In fact, the China Film Group recently ordered all Chinese cinemas to stop showing the 2D version of the film. And since there aren't many 3D theaters in China -- only about 800 3D-capable screens -- the film isn't going to be seen by many Chinese going forward.

Why would the Chinese government do this?

Well, the primary reason is because many Chinese see the film's story line as a parallel to Chinese citizens attempting to protect their property from the Chinese government and real estate developers. China's government doesn't like the anti-growth message of the film.

The second reason why the Chinese government hastened the removal of "Avatar" is that it wants to protect the new state-approved film about the life of Chinese social philosopher Confucius.

And these protectionist measures are working -- last year domestic film growth accelerated to 42%. In fact, China is expected to become Asia's second-largest film market this year, surpassing South Korea, and could overtake Japan in five years.

While unacceptable in the U.S., this is an example of the lengths Chinese officials will go to ensure the success of their homegrown industries. The government wants to make sure that their state-supported industries -- in this case the film industry -- aren't threatened by foreigners.

And it shows; many of our most successful China Strategy investments are companies feeding China's internal demand. And as long as that internal demand is funneled toward homegrown companies, the strong earnings performance of these domestic firms will continue to accelerate -- handing my China Strategy readers hefty gains. So don't miss out -- join China Strategy today!

P.S. If you do see "Avatar," definitely see it in 3D -- this will ensure that you enjoy the full visual experience.

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