Memoirs of a Geisha is nominated for six Academy Awards
Hollywood film Memoirs of a Geisha has been banned in China after coming in for criticism in the country's media. The decision to cast Chinese actresses Ziyi Zhang and Gong Li in leading roles as Japanese women has caused controversy in China.
Critics say it is insensitive because of Japan's atrocities during their occupation of China in the 1930s.
The Oscar-nominated film, based on Arthur Golden's 1997 novel, was due to be released next week. 'Negative response'
The decision follows a reported ban on Oscar favourite Brokeback Mountain, which was judged too controversial to be shown in China, where homosexuality is taboo.
Film company Sony Columbia Tristar Pictures said Memoirs of a Geisha would not be released in China "because of the negative social response to the film reflected on various media".
"We were pleased with the acceptance of the film in November and were disappointed by this decision," a spokesman for Sony Pictures Entertainment said.
Illegal copies of the film are already available in China, one of the main sources of imported pirate film DVDs in the UK.
Excuse me but I think its racism if you ban something because of somebodys race/ culture/ religion/ etc..!!
First of all, racism is the belief that one race is superior to another.
China did not ban Memoirs of a Geisha because it feels she's superior to Japan. The government did it because allowing Memoirs of a Geisha to be shown would spark some national outrage and dig up old ghosts.
I suggest all of you said communism and racism and close-mindeness to google 'Rape of Nanking'. Maybe you'll understand this issue better.
^ That's total b.s. then, there was no sex scene....unless China has a completely different idea of what a sex scene constitutes.
As for the ban, here's what I think...China banning a movie because it takes place in Japan and focuses on a specific cultural aspect of Japan because of the history between the two coutries is a bit much imo. Have your opinions, and hold your grudges for what is in the past, but really, it's just a movie, banning it is a bit extreme/
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I think the producers of the film did not care about cultural frictions. They simply wanted to make a film for a western audience. It's not just China, but it also got alot of slack in Japan. This is still a tough issue. Even though it was released in Japan, still alot of people there really resented the fact that chinese actresses played main roles...and especially as Geishas.
I suppose for people who don't understand asian culture and the conflicts of history, it's hard to explain.
It's not really a political issue to be honest. If this film was to be released in China, people would probably burn cinemas down and other things. Well maybe not that far but there would definitely be trouble.
And again I feel it's simply an issue that's hard for others to understand.
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Ok ... as far as I understand, very nationalist chinese people may not be happy that high-profile chinese actresses portray japanese women ... and even promote a culture that is completely alien to many people (esp. old ... remember that Chine opened up recently, but minds hasnt on everyone).
And on Japan ... they're very proud of being japanese, and they cud easily take offense that one of their most beloved symbols -geisha- are bein represented by gaijin (non japanese).
Ok ... you have to cut some slack to both countries ... they do have a hundreds of years history and rivers of blood has been spilled. Now ... this is the XXI century ... carring all that karma is not good!
Stopping the chi from flowing is no good!
So ... I guess if I was a chinese fan of Zhang I'd be bummed, but I cud still buy or rent the dvd.
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Ok ... you have to cut some slack to both countries ... they do have a hundreds of years history and rivers of blood has been spilled. Now ... this is the XXI century ... carring all that karma is not good!
Stopping the chi from flowing is no good!
Well said!!
But on the other hand, if here we can't talk about this topic in peace, we shouldn't be surprised about what's going on out there in real..
I thought it wasn't banned...it is just not being released? It's just not added to the quota of foreign films showing...where did I read that...err...
besides...there are so many pirated disks available if Chinese people wanted to see it they'd have no problems getting a copy. I got mine back in December
Memoirs of a Geisha is nominated for six Academy Awards
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