The Pentagon has announced that it will no longer work with film studios that censor movies based on the preferences of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The Department of Defense “will not provide production assistance when there is demonstrable evidence that the production has complied or is likely to comply with a demand from the Government of the People’s Republic of China . . . to censor the content of the project in a material manner to advance the national interest of the People’s Republic of China,” an agency document first obtained by Politico reads.
According to the new guidelines, any forthcoming projects greenlit by the Department of Defense will have an officer assigned to work directly with the production’s leadership. If the Chinese government insists on any alterations to the film, the official must be notified “in writing of such a censorship demand, including the terms of such demand, and whether the project has complied or is likely to comply with a demand for such censorship.”
The policy update drew the approval of Representative Mark Green (R., Tenn.). “I applaud the Pentagon’s decision not to provide production assistance to film studios that allow the CCP to censor their content. American tastes and opinions should guide film studios’ creative decisions, not an adversarial nation’s political interests,” the Tennessee lawmaker told National Review on Monday.
In early March, Representative Green reintroduced the Stopping Communist Regimes from Engaging in Edits Now (SCREEN) Act aimed at protecting Hollywood studios from CCP pressure. If passed, the SCREEN Act would prevent the government from collaborating with production houses working with certain Chinese companies and require American filmmakers receiving federal help to report prior movies that were edited to satisfy the CCP.
“My legislation will create the incentive for more Hollywood studios to take a stand against Communist China,” Green said during his speech introducing the bill at the time. “It’s intolerable to think that Hollywood would allow their films to be dictated by a foreign regime.”
Green first presented the SCREEN Act last March following revelations that Top Gun: Maverick, the 2022 summer blockbuster, had been edited to appease the Chinese government. Producers of the Top Gun sequel had reportedly bowed to CCP pressure and agreed to remove Taiwanese and Japanese flag patches from Maverick’s famous bomber jacket.
The incident was one of many that Green cited in an op-ed touting the importance of insulating America’s film industry from foreign influence. According to Green, black American performers had also been removed from Star Wars and Dune promotional movie posters in China to appease CCP sensibilities.
Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas), whose similar push in the upper chamber was reportedly the impetus behind the Pentagon’s rule revision, was likewise happy about the announcement.
“The Chinese Communist Party spends billions on propaganda and censorship,” Cruz told Politico. “For years Hollywood helped them by censoring movies so they could be screened in China, while still working with the U.S. government to get those very same movies developed.”