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Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy
An eye-opening and deeply reported narrative that details the surprising role of the movie business in the high-stakes contest between the U.S. and China
“In this highly entertaining but deeply disturbing book, Erich Schwartzel demonstrates the extent of our cultural thrall to China. His depiction of the craven characters, American and Chinese, who have enabled this situation represents a significant feat of investigative journalism. His narrative is about not merely the movie business, but the new world order.” —Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree and The Noonday Demon
From trade to technology to military might, competition between the United States and China dominates the foreign policy landscape. But this battle for global influence is also playing out in a strange and unexpected arena: the movies.
The film industry, Wall Street Journal reporter Erich Schwartzel explains, is the latest battleground in the tense and complex rivalry between these two world powers. In recent decades, as China has grown into a giant of the international economy, it has become a crucial source of revenue for the American film industry. Hollywood studios are now bending over backward to make movies that will appeal to China’s citizens—and gain approval from severe Communist Party censors. At the same time, and with America’s unwitting help, China has built its own film industry into an essential arm of its plan to export its national agenda to the rest of the world. The competition between these two movie businesses is a Cold War for this century, a clash that determines whether democratic or authoritarian values will be broadcast most powerfully around the world.
Red Carpet is packed with memorable characters who have—knowingly or otherwise—played key roles in this tangled industry web: not only A-list stars like Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, and Richard Gere but also eccentric Chinese billionaires, zany expatriate filmmakers, and starlets who disappear from public life without explanation or trace. Schwartzel combines original reporting, political history, and show-biz intrigue in an exhilarating tour of global entertainment, from propaganda film sets in Beijing to the boardrooms of Hollywood studios to the living rooms in Kenya where families decide whether to watch an American or Chinese movie. Alarming, occasionally absurd, and wildly entertaining, Red Carpet will not only alter the way we watch movies but also offer essential new perspective on the power struggle of this century.
“In this highly entertaining but deeply disturbing book, Erich Schwartzel demonstrates the extent of our cultural thrall to China. His depiction of the craven characters, American and Chinese, who have enabled this situation represents a significant feat of investigative journalism. His narrative is about not merely the movie business, but the new world order.” —Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree and The Noonday Demon
From trade to technology to military might, competition between the United States and China dominates the foreign policy landscape. But this battle for global influence is also playing out in a strange and unexpected arena: the movies.
The film industry, Wall Street Journal reporter Erich Schwartzel explains, is the latest battleground in the tense and complex rivalry between these two world powers. In recent decades, as China has grown into a giant of the international economy, it has become a crucial source of revenue for the American film industry. Hollywood studios are now bending over backward to make movies that will appeal to China’s citizens—and gain approval from severe Communist Party censors. At the same time, and with America’s unwitting help, China has built its own film industry into an essential arm of its plan to export its national agenda to the rest of the world. The competition between these two movie businesses is a Cold War for this century, a clash that determines whether democratic or authoritarian values will be broadcast most powerfully around the world.
Red Carpet is packed with memorable characters who have—knowingly or otherwise—played key roles in this tangled industry web: not only A-list stars like Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, and Richard Gere but also eccentric Chinese billionaires, zany expatriate filmmakers, and starlets who disappear from public life without explanation or trace. Schwartzel combines original reporting, political history, and show-biz intrigue in an exhilarating tour of global entertainment, from propaganda film sets in Beijing to the boardrooms of Hollywood studios to the living rooms in Kenya where families decide whether to watch an American or Chinese movie. Alarming, occasionally absurd, and wildly entertaining, Red Carpet will not only alter the way we watch movies but also offer essential new perspective on the power struggle of this century.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
October 20, 2024
A fascinating read: Chinese and American cultures meet, clash, tentatively begin to grow together, and finally walk off into the sunset…kind of.
A sense of American exceptionalism is clear in the author’s perspective, and some of the storytelling (like in the last chapter on Africa) feels more anecdotal than well researched. So, if you’re from anywhere else in the world you may roll your eyes in parts.
However we have some killer stories here of how US companies do business in China, and the long term vs. short term strategies they both employ. Also the creative problem solving hoops they need to jump through to do business in the country.
For instance, Disney’s solution to NOT being able to groom a younger generation (for a Disney World and movie launch) through the Disney Channel: Disney English where the cast members (teachers) are full time promo machines for Disney characters and storylines.
A solid read for anyone interested in storytelling, the movie industry, propaganda, and influence.
A sense of American exceptionalism is clear in the author’s perspective, and some of the storytelling (like in the last chapter on Africa) feels more anecdotal than well researched. So, if you’re from anywhere else in the world you may roll your eyes in parts.
However we have some killer stories here of how US companies do business in China, and the long term vs. short term strategies they both employ. Also the creative problem solving hoops they need to jump through to do business in the country.
For instance, Disney’s solution to NOT being able to groom a younger generation (for a Disney World and movie launch) through the Disney Channel: Disney English where the cast members (teachers) are full time promo machines for Disney characters and storylines.
A solid read for anyone interested in storytelling, the movie industry, propaganda, and influence.
February 7, 2022
One of the most important books of 2022. A deeply reported look at the growing dependency of Hollywood on the Chinese movie market. The author shows us how China opened its market to US filmmakers in the 1990s to build up the number of movie theaters there so that Chinese produced movies could eventually have enormous audiences.
The book charts how movie companies have bowed to a dictatorship with countless human rights violations in order to rake in extra millions for their increasingly simplistic comic book spectacles.
Disney also looked the other way in order to get a toehold for their theme park businesses.
The author compares the Chinese censorship of Hollywood movies dealing with Chinese politics and culture to the same practice in regards to Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Germany’s influence over Hollywood didn’t end until World War II.
The book is packed with fascinating and troubling material - from MGM changing the villains in ‘Red Dawn’ from Chinese to North Korean (in post production) to the blacklisting of Richard Gere by major Hollywood studios after the Chinese declared him persona non grata for his support of Tibet.
Ironically Hollywood films aren’t faring as well in China now because filmmakers have learned how to manufacture homegrown equivalents of ‘Transformers’ and ‘Pacific Rim.’
The book has scary applications beyond the movie business with China now a huge market for companies like Starbucks and the NBA. (When one team owner expressed support for the Hong Kong protests his basketball organization lost tens of millions of dollars from the Chinese cancellation of contracts.)
The book is a true must read.
The book charts how movie companies have bowed to a dictatorship with countless human rights violations in order to rake in extra millions for their increasingly simplistic comic book spectacles.
Disney also looked the other way in order to get a toehold for their theme park businesses.
The author compares the Chinese censorship of Hollywood movies dealing with Chinese politics and culture to the same practice in regards to Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Germany’s influence over Hollywood didn’t end until World War II.
The book is packed with fascinating and troubling material - from MGM changing the villains in ‘Red Dawn’ from Chinese to North Korean (in post production) to the blacklisting of Richard Gere by major Hollywood studios after the Chinese declared him persona non grata for his support of Tibet.
Ironically Hollywood films aren’t faring as well in China now because filmmakers have learned how to manufacture homegrown equivalents of ‘Transformers’ and ‘Pacific Rim.’
The book has scary applications beyond the movie business with China now a huge market for companies like Starbucks and the NBA. (When one team owner expressed support for the Hong Kong protests his basketball organization lost tens of millions of dollars from the Chinese cancellation of contracts.)
The book is a true must read.
July 30, 2022
What a read!
As a movie fan, this was a really disturbing read.
Shocking.
This book was EYE OPENING.
I found it interesting that (according to the book) movies are mandatorily screened and American movies are only shown during a small window in the year, overlapping with each other as not to surpass China's own internal campaigns.
I don't think I'll see cinema the same again - ESPECIALLY Disney. Noted are Star Wars, Marvel and particularly Mulan.
Wow.
It was also really sad about Africa - especially Kenya. For more on this eye-opening development, I recommend reading China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa.
Schwartzel is an outstanding and astounding author. The research and pure journalism is top notch.
I feel like I don't want to watch a movie for a while now.
Highly recommended.
4.8/5
As a movie fan, this was a really disturbing read.
Shocking.
This book was EYE OPENING.
I found it interesting that (according to the book) movies are mandatorily screened and American movies are only shown during a small window in the year, overlapping with each other as not to surpass China's own internal campaigns.
I don't think I'll see cinema the same again - ESPECIALLY Disney. Noted are Star Wars, Marvel and particularly Mulan.
Wow.
It was also really sad about Africa - especially Kenya. For more on this eye-opening development, I recommend reading China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa.
Schwartzel is an outstanding and astounding author. The research and pure journalism is top notch.
I feel like I don't want to watch a movie for a while now.
Highly recommended.
4.8/5
June 6, 2022
This book by a film journalist explores the history of moviemaking in China and Hollywood’s relationship to China. I was impressed that the author remained completely disinterested; even at the end, I had no idea what his personal opinions were on any of it.
China began accepting art and entertainment into its culture in the 1990s, importing a few Hollywood movies a year at first. (Joe Biden eventually renegogiated for more.) As China became a bigger and bigger market (especially after DVD sales in the U.S. tanked in the 2010s), Hollywood began self-censoring to gain Chinese approval. Richard Gere’s career pretty much ended because of his reverence for the Dalai Lama. You will never see a Hollywood movie about Tiananmen Square or portrays China as a world enemy or Taiwan as its own country.
“Since Hollywood began exporting movies to China in 1994, protecting the country’s ideological barrier has fallen to a clandestine group of party leaders, retirees, and film studies professors who inspect every movie before it plays for Chinese audiences. Before studios can access the hundreds of millions of dollars in box-office grosses, they must first demonstrate that their movies have no adult themes (violence, nudity, drugs), political third rails (Tibet, Tiananmen), or even problematic metaphors (rebellion, resistance, questioning authority). As Hollywood’s studios began shipping more and more movies to China, they learned that while their industry had catered to the tastes of foreign markets since its founding, none of those countries had ever had the economic muscle China had now.”
In more recent years, China’s filmmaking skills have fully matured and they no longer need Hollywood. They are creating and exporting their own movies and along with it an image and messages. Interestingly, in recent months (after the book’s publication) we have seen a little bit of Hollywood resisting censorship: The makers of Spider-Man: No Way Home refused to edit out the Statue of Liberty at China’s demanding, and the Taiwan flag on Tom Cruise’s Top Gun jacket apparently is back in the movie after being editing out earlier.
The book touches on the Belt and Road Initiative, which interestingly enough has been touched on in every nonfiction China book I’ve read lately. This book explains it the best—a neocolonization scheme. So while China builds ports and infrastructure in Africa and then takes control of them, they pacify the locals with affordable entertainment.
It’s a very interesting book, and Mr. Schwartzel does a good job at making it engaging and easy to read.
China began accepting art and entertainment into its culture in the 1990s, importing a few Hollywood movies a year at first. (Joe Biden eventually renegogiated for more.) As China became a bigger and bigger market (especially after DVD sales in the U.S. tanked in the 2010s), Hollywood began self-censoring to gain Chinese approval. Richard Gere’s career pretty much ended because of his reverence for the Dalai Lama. You will never see a Hollywood movie about Tiananmen Square or portrays China as a world enemy or Taiwan as its own country.
“Since Hollywood began exporting movies to China in 1994, protecting the country’s ideological barrier has fallen to a clandestine group of party leaders, retirees, and film studies professors who inspect every movie before it plays for Chinese audiences. Before studios can access the hundreds of millions of dollars in box-office grosses, they must first demonstrate that their movies have no adult themes (violence, nudity, drugs), political third rails (Tibet, Tiananmen), or even problematic metaphors (rebellion, resistance, questioning authority). As Hollywood’s studios began shipping more and more movies to China, they learned that while their industry had catered to the tastes of foreign markets since its founding, none of those countries had ever had the economic muscle China had now.”
In more recent years, China’s filmmaking skills have fully matured and they no longer need Hollywood. They are creating and exporting their own movies and along with it an image and messages. Interestingly, in recent months (after the book’s publication) we have seen a little bit of Hollywood resisting censorship: The makers of Spider-Man: No Way Home refused to edit out the Statue of Liberty at China’s demanding, and the Taiwan flag on Tom Cruise’s Top Gun jacket apparently is back in the movie after being editing out earlier.
The book touches on the Belt and Road Initiative, which interestingly enough has been touched on in every nonfiction China book I’ve read lately. This book explains it the best—a neocolonization scheme. So while China builds ports and infrastructure in Africa and then takes control of them, they pacify the locals with affordable entertainment.
It’s a very interesting book, and Mr. Schwartzel does a good job at making it engaging and easy to read.
February 18, 2022
If you’ve wondered why most of Hollywood’s tentpoles all kinda feel the same, there’s a reason. If you’ve wondered what happened to Richard Gere, there’s an explanation. If you’ve wondered why they greenlit three new Avatar movies, there’s a culprit. If you’ve wondered what the future of movies might be, there’s a vision.
Scary, enlightening, intriguing. A must-read.
Scary, enlightening, intriguing. A must-read.
May 28, 2022
Well-reported and thought-provoking in ways that go beyond the entertainment industry. Does a great job of exploring how the soft power battles of the 21st Century are being fought through storytelling and how corporate consolidation and globalization are complicating the US’s once unassailable lead in exporting its values via the media.
May 25, 2022
1. Glad I've always been so suspicious of big franchise movies and honestly relieved to no longer feel culturally obliged to watch 5,000 hours of Marvel slop. 2. Big American corporations would merrily sell us all to hell in a handbasket for cash, cool cool cool. 3. Disney English schools are the most disturbing thing in this book; it says a lot that Disney is so easily able to rival an authoritarian state in bizarre brainwashing, surveillance, and censorship.
This was a bunch of stuff most of us all sort of know a little about, like the political controversies surrounding the censorship of the NBA during the Hong Kong protests, the boycott of the live action Mulan movie, and China's investments in Africa, but it's laid out with solid research that proves that Chinese censorship has entirely taken over Hollywood and that its soft power is changing world order. Considering how convincingly America is playing the role of a failing state, it's no wonder.
This was a bunch of stuff most of us all sort of know a little about, like the political controversies surrounding the censorship of the NBA during the Hong Kong protests, the boycott of the live action Mulan movie, and China's investments in Africa, but it's laid out with solid research that proves that Chinese censorship has entirely taken over Hollywood and that its soft power is changing world order. Considering how convincingly America is playing the role of a failing state, it's no wonder.
February 8, 2024
Loved this as an audiobook
March 22, 2022
Red Carpet is the rare book that weaves together different genres, seamlessly—nonfiction, history, international relations, business, arts & entertainment, culture, and identity, to name a few. Maybe also Chinese cuisine? I was craving dumplings throughout this book, along with noodles. But I digress...
This is a fun, informative and incredibly well-researched book, providing a warning to people around the world who value freedom of expression. Erich Schwartzel's book starts off with a jaw-dropping, definitive event in Chinese history ("Hearts and Minds", p.39):
"Mao's Cultural Revolution, a reset of the country that banned art and expression that went against the state, began in 1966, and filmmakers, actors, and storytellers of all stripes were consigned to the countryside and often publicly castigated. Many were killed. Others killed themselves. The Cultural Revolution treated certain expression as a form of treason. To ensure that political enemies wouldn't shout revolutionary statements before their execution, their tongues were sawed off."
Sadly, the Chinese government has not much evolved its approach towards its citizens' creative expression. Taiwanese-born filmmaker Ang Lee described, "I love stirring things up rather than sticking to the Chinese ideal, which is to appeal for calm", (p.61). However, "the censors keep China in a perpetually PG-13 world, one where drug use, naked bodies, and violence do not exist", (p.105). As a mild example, Tang Wei, a Chinese actress who starred in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, angered the Chinese government by filming explicit sex scenes in the movie. The authorities consequently pulled a promotional campaign Tang signed on to as retribution, all a part of their "if they step out of line, they could disappear", (p.262) strategy to rein in Chinese celebrities and executives. Much worse has happened to others, reminiscent of Mao's Cultural Revolution—literal disappearances, mysterious deaths, surveillance and imprisonment, often with "re-education" programming. "The most unfortunate thing is [our] dreams [are] suppressed", a Chinese movie star lamented.
One personal note: I have written an article on the topic of China's Influence in Hollywood, published soon after the Academy Awards ceremony in 2021 (See: "Hollywood's Other Foreign Censor: Saudi Arabia", The American Conservative, 29 May 2021). The reason I was alerted to, and began pulling at the threads of Chinese government influence in Hollywood, was due to Chloe Zhao's acceptance speech, in which she speaks in Chinese and recites an ancient Chinese poem; the "Three Character Classic", which serves as the foundation for every student's education in China—wealthy or poor. Chloe's upbringing in China was wealthy; her father was a Beijing steel magnate and her mother a People’s Liberation Army doctor, and the narratives of her films often portray America in a demoralizing light. In spite of this context, it was referenced in "Sequel" (p.328) in Red Carpet that Chloe Zhao's win at the Academy Awards was muted in Chinese media, after interviews surfaced of her being mildly critical of Chinese society, years before her win. There are mixed interviews of her also praising China—common for citizens whose family members are prominent in Chinese society and still reside in China. I have Chinese-American friends in the US who hold US citizenship, and still refrain from posting critical opinions of China publicly, to ensure they can visit their relatives in China.
There is justified sensitivity in the United States surrounding racism and social justice; at a time when criticism of a Chinese director can be easily misconstrued as anti-Asian or anti-Asian-American prejudice. Zhao's win as the first "woman of color" to receive an Academy Award for Best Director is a cause célèbre for many Americans, and yet the crucial context of her win was not in the limelight. Thanks to Erich Schwartzel for painstakingly researching the decades of growing Chinese influence in Hollywood, not only in terms of box office/financial influence, but national government and industry censorship. Red Carpet provides the vital context and nuance that evades the rhetoric of our current, partisan news cycle, fueling "black or white" opinions (i.e. you're either Democrat or Republican, I'm good and you're bad; there's no middle ground). It also details times in our own history when we have censored artists or created propaganda.
If there is anything one can learn from the movie industry, and art itself—the imagination knows no bounds; our minds are meant to be free to explore, think, and feel critically, and ultimately empathize with one another as humans.
This is a fun, informative and incredibly well-researched book, providing a warning to people around the world who value freedom of expression. Erich Schwartzel's book starts off with a jaw-dropping, definitive event in Chinese history ("Hearts and Minds", p.39):
"Mao's Cultural Revolution, a reset of the country that banned art and expression that went against the state, began in 1966, and filmmakers, actors, and storytellers of all stripes were consigned to the countryside and often publicly castigated. Many were killed. Others killed themselves. The Cultural Revolution treated certain expression as a form of treason. To ensure that political enemies wouldn't shout revolutionary statements before their execution, their tongues were sawed off."
Sadly, the Chinese government has not much evolved its approach towards its citizens' creative expression. Taiwanese-born filmmaker Ang Lee described, "I love stirring things up rather than sticking to the Chinese ideal, which is to appeal for calm", (p.61). However, "the censors keep China in a perpetually PG-13 world, one where drug use, naked bodies, and violence do not exist", (p.105). As a mild example, Tang Wei, a Chinese actress who starred in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, angered the Chinese government by filming explicit sex scenes in the movie. The authorities consequently pulled a promotional campaign Tang signed on to as retribution, all a part of their "if they step out of line, they could disappear", (p.262) strategy to rein in Chinese celebrities and executives. Much worse has happened to others, reminiscent of Mao's Cultural Revolution—literal disappearances, mysterious deaths, surveillance and imprisonment, often with "re-education" programming. "The most unfortunate thing is [our] dreams [are] suppressed", a Chinese movie star lamented.
One personal note: I have written an article on the topic of China's Influence in Hollywood, published soon after the Academy Awards ceremony in 2021 (See: "Hollywood's Other Foreign Censor: Saudi Arabia", The American Conservative, 29 May 2021). The reason I was alerted to, and began pulling at the threads of Chinese government influence in Hollywood, was due to Chloe Zhao's acceptance speech, in which she speaks in Chinese and recites an ancient Chinese poem; the "Three Character Classic", which serves as the foundation for every student's education in China—wealthy or poor. Chloe's upbringing in China was wealthy; her father was a Beijing steel magnate and her mother a People’s Liberation Army doctor, and the narratives of her films often portray America in a demoralizing light. In spite of this context, it was referenced in "Sequel" (p.328) in Red Carpet that Chloe Zhao's win at the Academy Awards was muted in Chinese media, after interviews surfaced of her being mildly critical of Chinese society, years before her win. There are mixed interviews of her also praising China—common for citizens whose family members are prominent in Chinese society and still reside in China. I have Chinese-American friends in the US who hold US citizenship, and still refrain from posting critical opinions of China publicly, to ensure they can visit their relatives in China.
There is justified sensitivity in the United States surrounding racism and social justice; at a time when criticism of a Chinese director can be easily misconstrued as anti-Asian or anti-Asian-American prejudice. Zhao's win as the first "woman of color" to receive an Academy Award for Best Director is a cause célèbre for many Americans, and yet the crucial context of her win was not in the limelight. Thanks to Erich Schwartzel for painstakingly researching the decades of growing Chinese influence in Hollywood, not only in terms of box office/financial influence, but national government and industry censorship. Red Carpet provides the vital context and nuance that evades the rhetoric of our current, partisan news cycle, fueling "black or white" opinions (i.e. you're either Democrat or Republican, I'm good and you're bad; there's no middle ground). It also details times in our own history when we have censored artists or created propaganda.
If there is anything one can learn from the movie industry, and art itself—the imagination knows no bounds; our minds are meant to be free to explore, think, and feel critically, and ultimately empathize with one another as humans.
July 23, 2022
This was a very fun read. I felt like I had followed the news about the US-China film industry, but this book went into a wonderful amount of detail. It covers the entire history of the Chinese film industry, and ends with an eye-opening section on how China is using its entertainment industry in Africa to its advantage.
Using the metric of "how many times did I mention something I learned to my wife", this book easily deserves 5 stars.
Using the metric of "how many times did I mention something I learned to my wife", this book easily deserves 5 stars.
April 7, 2022
Must-read.
February 15, 2022
4.5 stars
January 30, 2023
Another superb piece of journalism about how the Chinese government has supergrown its cinema infrastructure, and a great read to follow up to Kissinger's "On China" as Kissinger worked as one of the key liaisons in building Hollywood relationships with China. America has led the world thanks to its economic might and media "soft power." In its rise to the second largest economy in the world and growing appetite for Chinese cultural exports through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has both reverted its Mao era policies and superboosting its domestic cinematic actors while also clamping down on dissident voices both in and outside of its borders. The book is a particular tale about how China has been able to merge its global ambitions within a tightly controlled narrative, and how it has used its economy and purchasing power to bend Hollywood to its whims. It's a cautionary tale to policymakers and businessleaders alike, but also pose the question of "can China truly uproot Hollywood" in that it has been fast to emulate and adopt, but is still trailing market trends that is now curving away from big-time cinema titles in favor of streaming services.
March 27, 2022
As someone who grew up in the age of globalization, I remember the allure of discovering Hollywood's storytelling, special effects and star power, when Titanic, Harry Potter, and Transformers marked the industry's first foray into an awakening Chinese market.
As a kid, I found it curious that the former president Jiang Zeming allegedly recommended Titanic to party members; rumor or not, it drove box office success - and even more success for the pirated DVD vendors on the street.
Schwartzel's Red Carpet takes you on an eye-opening tale of what happens next. Given the exponential consumer spending power, it was inevitable that Hollywood would eventually reflect China's own elements in its blockbusters, but the extent to which writers, producers and actors would bend to its demands was never revealed with such clarity to outsiders. There is a reason that studios marry Chinese and American plots in a Frankenstein fashion: it's the money of course, but it's also more than money.
Schwartzel elevated the reporting by deeply examining the influence of China's rising entertainment industry in geopolitics, traveling to investment areas under the auspices of the Belt & Road initiative. The quest of soft power might not be obvious to Americans in their comfortable bubble, but it's just beginning, and it's a story worth telling.
As a kid, I found it curious that the former president Jiang Zeming allegedly recommended Titanic to party members; rumor or not, it drove box office success - and even more success for the pirated DVD vendors on the street.
Schwartzel's Red Carpet takes you on an eye-opening tale of what happens next. Given the exponential consumer spending power, it was inevitable that Hollywood would eventually reflect China's own elements in its blockbusters, but the extent to which writers, producers and actors would bend to its demands was never revealed with such clarity to outsiders. There is a reason that studios marry Chinese and American plots in a Frankenstein fashion: it's the money of course, but it's also more than money.
Schwartzel elevated the reporting by deeply examining the influence of China's rising entertainment industry in geopolitics, traveling to investment areas under the auspices of the Belt & Road initiative. The quest of soft power might not be obvious to Americans in their comfortable bubble, but it's just beginning, and it's a story worth telling.
September 22, 2022
The subtitle of this book is a good summary of it: Schwartzel uses the story of how China forced Hollywood to make only movies it approved of to illustrate the impact the country is having around the world, especially with its Belt and Road initiative. Hollywood wanted access to the untapped movie-going market in China, but China won't countenance anything it disagrees with. That includes challenges to its views on Tibet, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, as well as any admiration of the Dalai Lama. Because of his advocacy of the cause of a free Tibet and the Dalai Lama, Richard Gere became unemployable by the major studios. The Belt and Road program is saddling developing countries with debt for infrastructure projects, while providing them with satellite TVs that show propagandistic Chinese fare. Schwartzel uses the example of Kenya to show that although the Chinese films and TV shows are sometimes so dogmatic as to be boring, still the Kenyans are starting to see the Chinese as admirable compared to Americans. This was an extremely interesting book. My only criticism is that some of his reporting on the fate of various movies in China became bogged down in too much detail, and it was sometimes hard to keep it straight.
August 7, 2025
This was a book I chased down for a bit and was so excited when I found it at a book sale in my local mall.
Did you also wonder why in the years 2010 - 2020 there was a lot of focus on how China was absolutely a must when it came to a movie 'making it'? Did you also wonder why movies like Pacific Rim, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Godzilla: Kong Island had a random Chinese actress with not a lot of lines? Or about what Fan BingBing went through? This gives you that answer, plus more: where did this obsession or fear of what China thinks.
I mean, there is some racist stuff in the 90's that China had a right to point a finger at - but also some odd choices of not showing China's vulnerability and weakness as well, and it had to do with Disney and Hollywood curbing the narrative.
I also figured how Richard Gere got blacklisted from China, along with Brad Pitt (they were involved with the Disney mess).
Honestly, if you're a fan of cinema, gossip / scandals, and 'team no one', you need to read this book. Both sides are in the wrong for different reasons, but the explanation of said reasons is very eye-opening.
PS: The fact that Disney has schools (Elementary) in China with curriculum built around Disney characters and their movies that come out is absolutely bizarre. And they still exist today! (Picture rooms decorated with Disney characters with objects that stay in those certain rooms, and English lessons that are focused around Disney characters. Wild.
Did you also wonder why in the years 2010 - 2020 there was a lot of focus on how China was absolutely a must when it came to a movie 'making it'? Did you also wonder why movies like Pacific Rim, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Godzilla: Kong Island had a random Chinese actress with not a lot of lines? Or about what Fan BingBing went through? This gives you that answer, plus more: where did this obsession or fear of what China thinks.
I mean, there is some racist stuff in the 90's that China had a right to point a finger at - but also some odd choices of not showing China's vulnerability and weakness as well, and it had to do with Disney and Hollywood curbing the narrative.
I also figured how Richard Gere got blacklisted from China, along with Brad Pitt (they were involved with the Disney mess).
Honestly, if you're a fan of cinema, gossip / scandals, and 'team no one', you need to read this book. Both sides are in the wrong for different reasons, but the explanation of said reasons is very eye-opening.
PS: The fact that Disney has schools (Elementary) in China with curriculum built around Disney characters and their movies that come out is absolutely bizarre. And they still exist today! (Picture rooms decorated with Disney characters with objects that stay in those certain rooms, and English lessons that are focused around Disney characters. Wild.
April 24, 2022
I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. I thought the focus would be more narrowly on film and Hollywood (which I wouldn’t have been mad about), but I loved that the book also incorporated a lot of politics, history, and international relations. This book is incredibly well-written and thoroughly researched. The author does a good job of having a pretty balanced perspective on the good and bad parts of different events and each country’s actions. I learned a lot!
I thought this would be one of those books where you learn a lot but it’s kind of a slog to get through, but that wasn’t the case! The last 2/3 was more interesting to me, because it was more recent and referenced movies and events that I’ve seen or are relatively fresh in my mind. Highly recommend this book!
I thought this would be one of those books where you learn a lot but it’s kind of a slog to get through, but that wasn’t the case! The last 2/3 was more interesting to me, because it was more recent and referenced movies and events that I’ve seen or are relatively fresh in my mind. Highly recommend this book!
December 31, 2023
4.5 stars. Schwartzel provides an insightful look at the growth of Hollywood, and it’s history of pandering to foreign demands to increase sales. And then he ties it in with modern Hollywood, and it’s increasing reliance on the Chinese market for everything. And it’s impact on the industry at large. He looks at script changes, blacklisting of actors, what is and is not improved, and how China has developed its own entertainment industry. He also examines china’s use of soft power and expanding its influence globally. For such a dry and expansive topic, this could’ve been a disaster of a book. But instead Schwartzel nails it. I only marked it down because the last chapter before the epilogue was overly long and beating a dead horse. Overall though, a good primer for anyone wanting to understand why Hollywood studios act like they do in the 21st century so far.
June 14, 2022
A thoroughly reported and well-written book about China’s financial influence on Hollywood, pursuit of cultural supremacy and entertainment washing. A much larger political power play than I expected. Schwartzel’s anecdotes coupled with the background context are extremely compelling. From Disney to Top Gun, it’s chilling to consider what makes up some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. I recommend to anyone with even a slight interest in film and global politics.
March 31, 2022
4.5 stars rounded up
This non-fiction book about Hollywood and China was so good that I binged it like an addicting TV show. A fascinating blend of history, international relations, business, and pop culture - I learned a lot and have been thinking critically more about business and media ever since
This non-fiction book about Hollywood and China was so good that I binged it like an addicting TV show. A fascinating blend of history, international relations, business, and pop culture - I learned a lot and have been thinking critically more about business and media ever since
May 28, 2022
Wholly engrossing, often alarming historical analysis of the seismic shifts that have defined the unstable relationship between the US and China, narrated by following both countries' changing film industries. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the past twenty years of Hollywood history.
June 2, 2022
This well-researched title details the relationship between China and the American movie industry. American entertainment companies wanted to take advantage of the consumer market in China and some movies were altered to be more appealing to China. There is a lot of detail about politics, which may be overdone for readers seeking movie history.
May 12, 2022
This was a great combination of topics I’m interested in (movies and pop culture) and things I want to be interested in (politics and history)! It was really fascinating to see how movies can play a big role in geopolitics and vice versa.
March 5, 2022
I really don’t know how to sum up the impact this book had on me. It’s not like I didn’t know what China has been up to in general terms, but this book expertly details how they manipulated the entertainment industry. It’s disturbing, nauseating, frustrating, and left me with a lot of sadness. God is in control, and I will pray, but China is a dark problem.
May 4, 2022
There were a few dull bits, but by and large I found this fascinating! I had no idea how much China causes Hollywood to self-censor.
June 20, 2022
Release the China cut of Red Dawn 2012!
April 29, 2023
A shocking look at the evolution of China’s symbiotic relationship with Hollywood. Despite its vast scope, Schwartzel explores politics, capitalism, and jingoism in a nuanced and accessible way. This is top shelf nonfiction.
February 5, 2023
This is a terrific read. The book chronicles China's use of movies to burnish its image, and as a leverage in negotiations with companies including Disney and Sony.
February 16, 2022
The ascendance of China as a global power is a trend that I've been following and interested in for a while, primarily understanding it as a function of mistrust of the U.S. and a focused effort on offering investment and aid to vulnerable countries around the world.
What is fascinating about Schwartzel's book is that it narrows the focus of this issue to a single industry - the film and television industry. In doing so, however, he's able to explore how intentional this shift of power has been by China, how expansive the approach by China has been, and how vulnerable our capitalist society is to helping it happen.
Really well-researched and fascinating to read.
What is fascinating about Schwartzel's book is that it narrows the focus of this issue to a single industry - the film and television industry. In doing so, however, he's able to explore how intentional this shift of power has been by China, how expansive the approach by China has been, and how vulnerable our capitalist society is to helping it happen.
Really well-researched and fascinating to read.
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