For Country: Transformers fans in China must wait to see Transformers 3

Chinese fans of Transformers must wait longer than anyone else to see the third installment of the Transformers series. The country’s government has imposed a moratorium on new foreign films to enhance ticket sales for the state-sponsored propaganda movie, “The Beginning of the Great Revival,” which depicts young Chairman Mao as a revolutionary and a romantic.

China’s strict control of which films make it into its country’s theaters has defied the wishes of its younger citizens, but has given it a major share of box-office earnings. U.S. films grossed just 44 percent of the take in China in 2010, and Beijing is aiming to go bigger with its future productions.

For more on Chinese censorship of American blockbusters, see the following video:

Discussion Questions:

1.  Why is the Chinese marketplace so important for Hollywood’s longterm success?

2.  Is China trying to create its own Hollywood through government subsidies, or is its censorship practices merely propaganda?

3.  Do you think that China’s censorship of something like Transformers 3 violates free trade agreements? Why, or why not?