China Bans Screening Of Avatar In History Today, January 20, 2011

Poster Movie Avatar. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - On January 20, 2011, the Chinese government banned 1,600 cinemas in its country from showing the Avatar movie. The ban came two weeks after the premiere took place in the country. Why?

Avatars, which can be viewed in standard format or in 3D, are prohibited from showing in theaters that do not have 3D technology. This was done to make way for the biographical film, Confucius, a domestically produced film.

Confucius is a film based on the life of a philosopher, including his romantic attachment to a concubine. First released in Beijing on January 14, 2011, starring Chow Yun-Fat and produced by Dadi Shidai Ltd.

Citing Business Standard, Avatar made a record-breaking profit in China, which was 76 million US dollars. The film's financial success was seen as the destruction of local films. Several reports from Mainland China and the US indicate that the government wants to continue to promote and protect the domestic film industry.

Cinema illustration. (Photo: Unsplash/Felix Mooneeram)

At that time Avatar was also widely available on pirated DVDs in China. Studio Twentieth Century Fox hopes that audiences will still be able to watch the film in theaters, although getting tickets for 3D cinema is very difficult given the number of fans.

Foreign Film Restrictions

Only 20 foreign films are allowed to be screened in China per year. This is done to reduce competition for local and foreign films. Foreign films are only shown for 10 days and are often restricted during major holidays. There is an unwritten rule in China that at certain times of the year, such as the Spring Festival or National Day in October, Chinese films take precedence in theaters.

This was agreed by the President and Chief Executive Officer of Wolf Group Asia, a Beijing-based corporate consulting firm, David Wolf. Citing the New York Times, David Wolf said Chinese officials were limiting the screening of Avatar because they wanted to protect the box office revenue of local films. He said Avatar had been playing for more than 10 days, longer than allowed for foreign films.

Illustration (Photo source: Unsplash)

Meanwhile, another report stated that the reason the Chinese government stopped screening Avatar was because there were scenes that were considered to trigger the idea of rebellion in China. In the film, which depicts the native Na'vi people carrying out a rebellion, the scene is considered to trigger the imagination of the Chinese people to trigger a similar popular uprising. In 2008, the Chinese government banned the screening of The Dark Knight, due to cultural concerns that could offend the Chinese people.

Some Chinese people also think that there are similarities between the film's story about the struggle of the Na'vis and the Chinese people. In Avatar, the Na'vis fight to protect their land and culture, while Chinese citizens fight to protect property from the government and developers.

*Read other information about TODAY's HISTORY or read other interesting articles from Putri Ainur Islam.

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