Censorship in China has made it to American-made movies, including the 1999 Brad Pitt film, Fight Club, stirring wide reactions.
Despite the shocked reactions of online users, commentators who are familiar with Chinese policies highlighted a routine practice by censors in the country, where films that involve law enforcement figures are always modified to avoid any hint that they could be on any side but the right one.
In China, Fight Club has a different ending: instead of Ed Norton blowing up buildings, he's arrested by the state. Lord of War too: instead of evading justice Nicholas Cage is...arrested by the state.
— Gerry Shih (@gerryshih) January 24, 2022
Can't quite put my finger on the pattern @violazhouyi https://t.co/NaX3TbagPN
According to Vice, "It’s unclear if the ending was altered out of self-censorship or by government order."
On Twitter, people shared a screenshot from the alternative ending offered by China to Fight Club, inspiring many users to take similar screenshots from other films, where censorship served the same purpose.
Snippets from censored films have been posted on Twitter under the hashtag #ChinaEditChallenge, with a number of well-known people making their own contributions, including former American computer intelligence consultant Edward Snowden.
In the 🇨🇳 version of Lord of War, which is about 30 minutes shorter than the original, replaces the ending with a new caption, saying the arms dealer “confessed all the crimes officially charged against him in court, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.” #ChinaEditChallenge https://t.co/UdUUQRMv1P pic.twitter.com/sfXlcRL0bq
— 番 🐈⬛ (@1fanboh) January 26, 2022
Amongst the films that have been highlighted for changes made to their endings by China are Lord of War, Star Wars, Falling Down, Mission Impossible, and others.
