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Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee on Wednesday criticized Netflix for defending its decision to green light a high-profile adaptation of Chinese science fiction writer Liu Cixin’s novels “The Three-Body Problem” Despite Its ” execrable views “on China’s treatment of its Muslim Uyghur population.
Netflix announced earlier last month that it had commissioned “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and DB Weiss and writer and producer Alexander Woo (“True Blood”) to produce a serial version of the Hugo award-winning trilogy. . In the wake of the news, Blackburn and four other Republican senators sent a letter on Sept. 23 to Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos expressing “significant concerns” about choosing to adapt a work by an author who had previously championed the policies. of the Chinese government. in Xinjiang, where the Chinese authorities have cornered an estimated one million Uighurs in internment camps as part of a campaign of forced assimilation that critics have called cultural genocide.
In an interview with the 2019 New Yorker, Liu Cixin defended the Chinese government’s actions by invoking talking points used by Beijing. “Would you rather have bodies attacked in train stations and schools in terrorist attacks?” he said. “If anything, the government is helping their economy and trying to lift them out of poverty.”
Netflix responded to Blackburn’s initial letter with a statement that twice expressed that it disagreed with Liu’s comments and three times repeated that “Mr. Liu is the author of the books, not the creator of this series. “Netflix’s full statement can be read here. The full letter from Blackburn and his Republican colleagues can be read here.
Blackburn’s defense of a Muslim minority group in China may come as a surprise to those familiar with the conservative politician’s past positions on issues related to Islam. Blackburn has defended Trump’s call to ban Muslim immigration and has criticized the lessons on Islam in high school world history classes as a “reprehensible indoctrination” of Tennessee’s youth. Elsewhere, artist Taylor Swift called the policy “Trump in a wig” in the Netflix documentary “Miss Americana,” and criticized her for voting against protections for women and LGBTQ communities.
The aggressive bipartisan turn against China in American politics has mixed ideologies that are often opposed. Republican senators have taken tough positions against immigration, Islam and China and its ruling Communist Party, but continue to criticize China for its treatment of its own Muslim minorities. Meanwhile, Hollywood likes to promote its liberal bona fides and drive to amplify the voices of underrepresented minorities, but big studios like Disney turned a blind eye to the plight of Uighurs when collaborating with Xinjiang authorities. to do the new live action “Mulan”.
Likewise, despite Blackburn’s harsh words on the humanitarian crisis in Xinjiang, his office did not respond to a question about whether it would support the United States in accepting more Uighur asylum-seeking refugees fleeing that crisis.
Below is an email interview conducted with Senator Blackburn’s office about Netflix and Hollywood.
Netflix responded to his letter by writing: “Mr. Liu is the author of the books, not the creator of this series. Mr. Liu’s comments do not reflect the views of Netflix or the show’s creators, nor are they part of the plot or themes of the show. “Are you satisfied with this answer?
I don’t think anyone reading the letter is satisfied with Netflix’s claim that Liu “is the author of the books, not the creator of the series.” The fact that he is not the creator does not mean that he does not have a role in its production. Many authors whose books are adapted into live action series are involved in the adaptation or production of their works on screen. What will be the role of Mr. Liu?
Furthermore, Netflix argues that his comments are not at all related to his book or the show. It is remarkable that Mr. Liu held such execrable views of Uyghurs while his book so vividly documents the plight of struggling artists and the alienation to which they were subjected. Despite the sympathy he seems to have for the characters in his book, he does not extend that same sentiment to the minority in his own country. Either Liu is an apologist for crimes against the Uyghurs or he is giving in to the doctrine of the Chinese Communist Party.
The conclusion of my letter was that Mr. Liu, when given a platform, chooses to use that platform to promote the genocidal rhetoric and fictions generated by the CCP. Netflix is choosing to expand Liu’s platform by adapting his original works into a series for its network. The collaboration is proof of Netflix’s complicity.
Why was the subject of Mr. Liu’s politics important enough to inspire him to spearhead the writing of the letter to Ted Sarandos?
We are in an age where the politics and ethics of celebrities are considered alongside their professional work. Why Netflix seems to believe that its entry into the Chinese market could be devoid of politics, or ethics in this case, is beyond my understanding.
Generally speaking, what do we risk losing if US content creators continue to adapt material to suit the Chinese market?
We have already seen these risks manifest themselves. I encourage everyone to read PEN America’s excellent report on this topic, from top studios refusing to make movies with Chinese villains, to Beijing’s quota system for Hollywood movies, to outright censorship of opinions that don’t. they align with the Communist Party. Look at the case of Tibet. You cannot mention Tibet in a movie, quote the Dalai Lama, or even have a Tibetan character. Marvel Studios rewrote a Tibetan monk into a Celtic one because “if you recognize that Tibet is a place … you run the risk of alienating a billion people.” [as “Doctor Strange” writer C. Robert Cargill told the Double Toasted Podcast in a 2016 interview]. This is the kind of pervasive cultural erasure that we are facing, and that Netflix is supporting through projects like these.
Given that many Chinese citizens and creatives probably have views similar to Mr. Liu’s on Xinjiang and other issues, should American entertainment companies completely avoid collaborating with Chinese entities on creative ventures? Do you think a creative exchange should happen? If so, how do you think companies can participate responsibly?
I don’t think it’s fair to assume that the majority of Chinese citizens believe that Uyghurs should stay in re-education camps. The people of China see the oppressive governing style of the Communist Party, and my conversations with Chinese freedom of expression and human rights activists have led me to believe that they want their government to be more responsive to their concerns.
Frankly, I think the decision to produce Mr. Liu’s work is a loose one on Netflix’s part. Perhaps the company did not investigate Mr. Liu’s horrible beliefs, but it also missed an opportunity to tell a really compelling story from a Tibetan or Uyghur. Netflix has made the decision to break into the Chinese market, and they will have to deal with the consequences of working with a Communist Party apologist, which could damage the streaming platform and perpetuate a false narrative dictated by the CCP.
In a broader sense, when it comes to companies like Disney that chose to work directly with the CCP government entities in their production of “Mulan,” they fell prey to the fallacy of thinking that creative exchange is possible by negotiating with Beijing. Companies that believe such collaboration is possible are lying to themselves. Too many American companies have lost intellectual property, and worse still, to the Chinese government when they archive their securities for heinous maneuvers to gain market share.
What did you think of Disney’s “Mulan”, who thanked various Chinese government entities directly involved in the perpetration of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, including the US-sanctioned Turpan Public Security Bureau? ? How do you think American companies should balance values with their bottom line?
As my colleagues and I wrote in our letter to Disney, the company’s apparent cooperation with officials in the People’s Republic of China, who are primarily responsible for committing atrocities or covering up those crimes, is deeply disturbing. “Mulan” is a moving story about a young woman who was told that she could not fight for her country because of her gender. Today, Uighurs are told that they cannot live freely in Chinese society because of their religion. Disney should acknowledge that contradiction and acknowledge its complicity in perpetuating crimes against Uighurs.
When it comes to Disney’s values, the company has stated that “they believe that social responsibility is a long-term investment that serves to strengthen our operations and competitiveness in the market, improve risk management, attract and engage talented employees. and maintain our reputation. “Earlier this year, the company pledged to donate $ 5 million to organizations that support social justice. Does Disney’s social justice awareness only apply to domestic issues? Where do they draw the line?
Given that Hollywood is unlikely to stop trying to create content that can cross over to China, which will soon overtake the US As the world’s largest film market, what do you think can or should be done to make Hollywood change its own content to meet? the demands of that market? How can we achieve more transparency in the ways that US content companies change or censor their products for China?
Netflix’s company culture statement states that “Entertainment, like friendship, is a fundamental human need; changes how we feel and gives us common ground. ”However, Netflix declined to respond if it has a policy regarding entering into contracts with people who face the public who, whether publicly or privately, promote principles incompatible with this corporate culture. This is concerning, although given the company’s recent choices, perhaps not surprising. I would encourage Netflix, and all content companies doing business with China, to take a hard look at its values and how its projects current align with those values.
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