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Megan: China Kills "Dark Knight" for "Buy American" Comment
"The Dark Knight" officially not coming to China. Warner Bros said "cultural sensitivities" along with "prerelease conditions" blocked the Mainland release, according to the AP. International media are guessing that a cameo by Edison Chen, a Hong Kong celebrity and sex scandal graduate, and the portrayal of a Hong Kong mobster are reasons for rejection, despite the fact that the movie is playing in the fragrant harbor.
If those reporters had watched the movie on DVD like I have, they might have remembered something a bit more controversial:
"Carbon fiber, .28 Caliber, made in China. If you want to kill a public servant you should buy American."
The words spoken by Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent can be thrown in the pile with quotes from media reports of defective Chinese products from toys to milk powder and drywall to auto parts.
Every country, including China, should be accountable for their dangerous goods, but China has been turned into a veritable mudman for the number of times its name has been dragged through the muck.
I would wager it was more than a coincidence that Chinese press reports out just before the Warner Bros statement highlighted problems not with exports but imports: 57,000 tons of U.S. soybeans "tainted by pesticides," 3,108 Daimler autos recalled for "problems with air bags, brakes and spare wheels."
Regardless of the somewhat awkward comment, China should be proud to bring The Dark Knight to screens across the Mainland. I'm sure someone would appreciate the irony that the man who said "buy American" is also the man who loses his fiance and becomes a maniacal, two-faced villain. But maybe that idea too reeks a bit much of nationalistic over-indulgence.
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Megan Ko edits reports, interviews and blogs.
