
'Avatar' pulled from 2-D screens by Chinese government - fiaz
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/01/avatar-pulled-from-2d-screens-by-chinese-government.html
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mingdingo
Looks like it's to protect domestic Chinese films, as the 3-D version is still
playing in theaters.

Alternate point of view:

"According to a report in the Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily, the move was
made at the urging of propaganda officials who are concerned that "Avatar" is
taking too much market share from Chinese films and drawing unwanted attention
to the sensitive issue of forced evictions."

Apparently only 20 foreign movies are allowed to be shown in Chinese theaters
every year.

Regardless of the reasons, it's still a very fenced-in society.

~~~
yummyfajitas
Someone tell me again why we allow Chinese imports?

We should seriously consider allowing only 20 kinds of Chinese-made consumer
electronics into the US, and banning any model which gets popular enough to
threaten non-Chinese manufacturers.

~~~
maxklein
But...that's what THEY are doing. Do you not become the same when you do that?

~~~
yummyfajitas
If someone punches you and you punch them back, do you become the same as
them?

There is an important difference between starting a fight and finishing one.

~~~
ErrantX
> There is an important difference between starting a fight and finishing one.

Not really. The difference is usually in how you do it.

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Steve_Baker
Anyone who wants to see Avatar (or any western movie) in China can just plunk
down the 9-10 yuan (<$1.50) for a (probably pretty decent) bootleg DVD that
can be found in just about any marketplace. I'm sure this is mostly for
posturing and perhaps economic reasons. I'm sure they sometimes do these
things just to remind people that they're there and that they can, even if the
people there aren't overly impressed or bothered by it.

My inlaws in China probably watch more American movies than I do and I have
netflix.

~~~
dw0rm
Here (in Russia) we watch everything for free in HDTV quality.

~~~
mahmud
Doesn't your government broadcast PlayBoy TV for free?

~~~
modoc
/me moves to Russia

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c1sc0
I think these recent signs of heightened sensitivity by the Chinese censor is
actually a good sign. Are they panicking because it is impossible to turn the
information tide?

~~~
netcan
I think China is getting incredibly good at operating in an imperfect rule
where they do not control all information and cannot stop information
completely. They control or influence enough flow to influence public opinion,
commonly accepted narratives and history.

I think that this makes them extremely robust. Sneak ten thousand satellite
internet connections into North Korea and you will have a measurable impact.
There is no equivalent for China.

~~~
andreyf
_They control or influence enough flow to influence public opinion, commonly
accepted narratives and history._

American power does this without tyrannical media control just fine, it just
takes a lot more resources. It's a matter of PR efficiency, more than
anything.

~~~
netcan
You have a point, it's all a matter of degrees.

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eraad
Google should license the film and put it on YouTube for Chinese to watch it
for free.

~~~
ronnier
I don't think that watching it for free will be a problem in China.

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maxklein
So? China is not a capitalist country or a free market country, and they are
under no obligation to enable an American company profit for as long as it
wants. Most of the money being taken in by Avatar comes from normal chinese
people, and is sent straight to America. A controlled market economy is
supposed to keep this outflow of cash controlled.

It's a different economic model being practised in China, and this move is
perfectly in line with the stated goals of the model.

Nobody loses, it's just an American Multinational that does not profit as
much.

~~~
netcan
An economist might say the people who don't get to watch the movie lose.

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maxklein
It's available as a DVD in the stores.

~~~
netcan
As long as they would have chosen to go to see the movie potential utility has
been lost, from a basic economics perspective. How much exactly depends on the
maximum they would have paid to see it, how much it would have cost and what
alternatives (eg dvd) are available

~~~
maxklein
What about the grocers etc that lose because of the money that was transported
overseas rather than locally?

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eru
America has grocers, too.

~~~
netcan
Just to make things more complicated, those grocery stores carry many Chinese
goods.

