Soft power, hard cash: the seductive China-Hollywood tango comes into sharper focus
- A new book and report argue for pursuing the China-Hollywood relationship further, but with caution
- Beijing will keep trying to expand its global ‘soft power’ and reputation, analysts say
China’s growing influence in Hollywood is forcing the US to grapple with fundamental questions involving values, artistic integrity and self-censorship as economic and political tensions rise between the two giants, film industry analysts say.
Walt Disney, a fierce anti-communist who died in 1966, may well have objected – but his company has long courted China as a market for its films and theme parks.
Even as Barr spoke, Disney hoped to announce a new release date for one of its biggest films this year: the live-action version of Mulan, a Chinese tale of a fearless young woman who disguises herself as a man to serve in the military that Disney first told in animated form in 1998.
The pandemic almost defeated Disney – which announced on Tuesday that it would release Mulan online on September 4 – but the China-Hollywood relationship continues to strengthen. In just the past week, a new book and report that each focus on China’s rising influence in the film industry have reached conclusions far different from Barr’s. Rather than cutting back that relationship, they argue for pursuing it further, though cautiously.
Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA and American Business, by entertainment executive Chris Fenton, contends that continued cultural engagement is essential to stem a dangerous breakdown in relations.