China Seeing Red Over 'Red Dawn' Remake

The remake of Red Dawn repositions things a little bit, making the invading superpower not the Soviet Union (which, in a contemporary framework, would be impossible) but China. And China isn't too happy about it. Of course, the country has been trying to change its public image for year - damn you, Tiananmen Square - but certainly in terms of human rights, Tibet, and a laundry list of other complaints, China still has a long way to go before it's everybody's BFF. Filmshaft cites The Global Times, which says the movie could raise antennae about China as a potential nemesis to the US through its portrayal of fictional events:

“China can still feel US distrust and fear, especially among its people. Americans’ suspicions about China are the best ground for the hawks to disseminate fear and doubt, which is the biggest concern with the movie Red Dawn.”

Meanwhile, papers in China have featured headlines like "US Reshoots Cold War Movie to Demonize China" and "American Movie Plants Hostile Seeds Against China," which can't be helping diplomacy. But that's the thing about fiction: You need conflict and somebody's got to be the bad guy. The easiest solution, on the surface, may have been Islamic extremists, but would audiences really go for that right now? And then you'd also be demonizing a religion on top of it. I don't think anyone would buy North Korean troops hitting American shores, to that's out. Plus, there's something about a perceived China that's equally as monolithic as the old Soviet Union. But ultimately, I think everyone might be overthinking it. For MGM, however, any press (not related to being billions of dollars in debt) is good press. We'll see if it lasts when Red Dawn opens November 24th.

Comments

[J.Bradley]

I'm guessing there'll be some expositional titles at the beginning that sets up how China gets to the position that it CAN invade and the U.S. to the position it could allow it. The original movie did the same thing. I'd be more interested if this movie were about one or several states seceding from the U.S. and the U.S. GOVERNMENT invades to take them back. Now THAT would be a timely remake of "Red Dawn".