{"id":1510107,"date":"2022-06-10T07:50:31","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T11:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1510107"},"modified":"2022-06-10T07:51:16","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T11:51:16","slug":"top-gun-maverick-proves-hollywood-can-succeed-without-kowtowing-to-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-gun-maverick-proves-hollywood-can-succeed-without-kowtowing-to-china\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Top Gun: Maverick\u2019 Proves Hollywood Can Succeed Without Kowtowing To China"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftop-gun-maverick-proves-hollywood-can-succeed-without-kowtowing-to-china%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1510107&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/dKP6heFk6ytDhfL6DskKK5.jpeg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Since released on the Memorial Day weekend, Tom Cruise\u2019s\u00a0\u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d has soared at the box office like an F-18 fighter jet. The movie\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/box-office-top-gun-tom-cruises-biggest-film-1235158714\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a>\u00a0earned $300 million in North America and more than $550 million globally so far, despite not being released in Russia or China. The film\u2019s financial success shows Hollywood can succeed without kowtowing to authoritarian regimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d ran into controversies early in its production. Tencent Holding, a Chinese tech giant, signed on to be one of the film\u2019s financial backers. The 1986 \u201cTop Gun\u201d film was immensely popular in China in the early 1990s. Executives at Paramount\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/top-gun-maverick-loses-chinese-investor-due-to-pro-u-s-messaging-11653643803\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a>\u00a0had hoped that with Tencent\u2019s money and involvement in marketing, the sequel would make at least $80 million at the box office in China, the world\u2019s largest movie market.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Driven by the pursuit of profit, Hollywood has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pen.org\/report\/made-in-hollywood-censored-by-beijing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a long history of capitulation to Chinese censors<\/a>. For instance, Marvel Studios changed a character from a Tibetan to a Celtic one in\u00a0\u201cDr. Strange\u201d\u00a0(2016) to win over Chinese censors. Disney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/how-disney-enlisted-mulan-a-200-million-folktale-to-court-china-11599050642?mod=hp_lead_pos11\">reportedly<\/a> shared the script of the live production of \u201cMulan\u201d (2020) with Chinese authorities \u201cto avoid controversy and guarantee a China release.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After Paramount released an early trailer of \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d in summer 2019, people quickly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/07\/22\/media\/top-gun-flags-intl-hnk\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pointed out<\/a>\u00a0that the image of Japanese and Taiwanese flags that decorated Maverick\u2019s iconic bomber jacket in the 1986 film was replaced with undefined symbols with similar colors in the sequel. <\/p>\n<p>Many saw the change as another example of Hollywood\u2019s appeasement of Chinese censors because China regards Japan as a strategic rival. On Taiwan, Beijing has long insisted that the self-governed island is a province of China and has stepped up\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/2018\/07\/25\/news\/companies\/taiwan-china-airlines\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pressure campaigns<\/a>\u00a0to compel foreign governments and businesses not to categorize Taiwan under their list of countries but only as Chinese territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Paramount probably hoped that removing Japanese and Taiwanese flags from the bomber jacket in \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d would keep Tencent happy and ensure the Chinese authorities approved the film. But Tencent withdrew its financial support by the end of 2019,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/top-gun-maverick-loses-chinese-investor-due-to-pro-u-s-messaging-11653643803\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">citing<\/a>\u00a0concerns that \u201cCommunist Party officials in Beijing would be angry about the company\u2019s affiliation with a movie celebrating the American military.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Paramount\u2019s capitulation to Beijing faced backlash in the states. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, asked in a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sentedcruz\/status\/1340805090488295424\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tweet<\/a>, \u201cWhat does it say to the world when Maverick is scared of Chinese communists?\u201d He\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/ted-cruz-introduces-bill-restrict-220220307.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">introduced legislation<\/a>\u00a0that would \u201cprohibit the U.S. government from providing technical or other types of support across agencies on movie projects if a studio anticipates a request or get one by the Chinese government to make edits on a movie.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>A few months later, then-Attorney General William Barr\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/attorney-general-william-barr-blasts-160919680.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">criticized<\/a>\u00a0Hollywood for \u201cregularly censoring its own movies to appease the Chinese Communist Party, the world\u2019s most powerful violator of human rights\u201d and giving the Communist Party \u201ca massive propaganda coup.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pen America, an organization dedicated to defending free speech, issued a damning report titled, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/pen.org\/report\/made-in-hollywood-censored-by-beijing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Made in Hollywood, Censored by China<\/a>.\u201d It blasted Hollywood for \u201cmaking difficult and troubling compromises on free expression\u201d and \u201cappeasing Chinese government investors and gatekeepers has simply become a way of doing business.\u201d One of the examples Pen America cited was the flag swap shown in the early trailer of \u201cTop Gun: Maverick.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This criticism and the withdrawal of Chinese money in Hollywood might have achieved some desired effect.\u00a0Early this year, Sony\/Marvel\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/china-banned-spider-man-no-142102432.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a>\u00a0rejected Chinese censors\u2019 demand to remove the Statue of Liberty from the film,\u00a0\u201cSpider-Man: No Way Home.\u201d The Chinese authorities prompted banning the movie from releasing in China, but the movie became a smashing hit anyway. It earned $1.9\u00a0billion\u00a0worldwide, making it the sixth highest-grossing movie of all time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpiderman\u2019s\u201d financial success seemed to have strengthened Hollywood\u2019s backbone. I went to see \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d last weekend. When Cruise put his iconic bomber jacket on, I was happily surprised to see the Japanese and Taiwanese flags on his back. Chinese censors certainly don\u2019t like it, but who cares. A movie about the prowess of the U.S. military shouldn\u2019t have to bend its knee to Beijing to begin with.<\/p>\n<p>I found \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d enjoyable for several reasons. The ageless Cruise was as charming as ever \u2014 the aviator sunglasses, the jacket, the bike, and the smile were irresistible. The shirtless beach sports scenes paid homage to the beach volleyball sequences in the \u201986 film. No one seemed to mind \u201ctoxic masculinity\u201d when seeing washboard abs and muscles on display.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the aviation fighting sequences were mind-blowing, and they were made for the big screen. You have to watch the movie in a theater to really enjoy it. After last year\u2019s disastrous and humiliating Afghan withdrawal, Americans have been hungry for some military success, even if a fictional one. Like the first film, \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d is unabashedly pro-America. It showcases our military at their best and is a huge morale booster. I hope \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d will aid military recruitment, as the \u201986 film did.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I also like the fact that \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d is free of wokism and political correctness, which is too common in today\u2019s entertainment industry. Americans want to be entertained, not lectured by overly privileged people about everything wrong with America. <\/p>\n<p>The Top Gun pilots for the challenging mission were a racially diverse group, but they didn\u2019t get there by demanding affirmative action to compensate for historical oppressions. Instead, they had to prove they were the \u201cbest of the best\u201d through rigorous training, competition, and relentless testing by their instructor, Maverick. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d\u00a0has proved that as long as Hollywood focuses on telling a good story in the most entertaining way, it can succeed financially without capitulating to China. Hopefully, more studio executives will take this lesson to heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Helen Raleigh, CFA, is an American entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. She&#8217;s a senior contributor at The Federalist. Her writings appear in other national media, including The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.  Helen is the author of several books, including &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Confucius-Never-Said-Helen-Raleigh\/dp\/1499185278\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&#038;keywords=Helen+Raleigh+Confucius+Never+Said&#038;qid=1606079469&#038;sr=8-1\">Confucius Never Said<\/a>&#8221; and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Backlash-How-Chinas-Aggression-Backfired\/dp\/1736008501\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&#038;qid=1606006113&#038;sr=8-1\">Backlash: How Communist China&#8217;s Aggression Has Backfired<\/a>.&#8221; Follow her on Parler and Twitter: @HRaleighspeaks.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since released on the Memorial Day weekend, Tom Cruise\u2019s\u00a0\u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d has soared at the box office like an F-18 fighter jet. The movie\u00a0reportedly\u00a0earned $300 million in North America and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1510107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1510107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1510107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1510107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1510107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1510107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1510107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}