The Department of Defense will no longer work with filmmakers on their movies if there is “demonstrable evidence” that they will kowtow to the Chinese Communist Party regarding censorship.
The Pentagon has worked with Hollywood on films for decades, advising the industry on military elements portrayed in them, though the department won’t anymore, according to the policy updated last Wednesday, if they censor aspects of the film to appease the Chinese government.
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This issue became prominent last year when several trailers for Top Gun: Maverick had the Taiwanese and Japanese flags removed from Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s iconic flight jacket. Chinese company Tencent, one of the film’s investors, pushed for that move, though after criticism from the United States, they dropped its investment, and the flags were returned to Maverick’s jacket.
The Pentagon “will not provide production assistance when there is demonstrable evidence that the production has complied or is likely to comply with a demand from the Government of the People’s Republic of China … to censor the content of the project in a material manner to advance the national interest of the People’s Republic of China,” the Defense Department document, obtained by the Washington Examiner, said.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) inserted language in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act directing the change to the department’s policy.
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The latest Top Gun film is not the only recent movie the Chinese government has requested changes in so the movie would be welcomed into China’s market. It urged the producers of Spider-Man: No Way Home to remove the Statue of Liberty, according to Puck, and wanted the filmmakers of Lightyear to cut a short same-sex kiss, according to CNN.
“The CCP will not make our film industry an arm of its propaganda machine now that the Pentagon has taken a stand. I am pleased that the Department of Defense has seen reason and will no longer assist studios that choose to kowtow to a foreign adversary.” Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) told the Washington Examiner.
