Pentagon Crackdown Hollywood China Appeasement Background Barbie Bans

American war movies may be a casualty of rising tensions between the United States and China. Last week, the Pentagon announced that it will no longer cooperate with movie studios that comply or will likely comply with the Chinese government’s censorship demands. Perhaps inspired by this move, United States partners and allies are taking a stand against China’s cultural and market power. Only July 4, Vietnam banned the Barbie movie over a Chinese nationalist map, and the Philippines is considering a similar ban. Movie studios must now choose between access to Chinese markets and supporting U.S. strategic aims and international law.

The Pentagon’s ban does not restrict Hollywood’s speech. It simply refuses to offer Department of Defense assistance to movies that advance China’s strategic goals—especially those that conflict with international law and U.S. interests. Hollywood has been kowtowing to China’s censorship demands for years. China has censored scenes involving discussion of Tibet or negative portrayals of Chinese culture, and studios have preemptively made choices to avoid offending China.

The issue that spurred the Pentagon decision appears to be the release of Top Gun: Maverick, a celebrated depiction of American Navy pilots and military culture. The flags of Taiwan and Japan were initially removed from Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s flight jacket in the film’s trailers, allegedly to appease Chinese investor Tencent. Following criticism, and Tencent’s reported withdrawal of its investment, the flags were reinstated in the final release. When introducing language into the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) boldly asked on the Senate floor, “What does it say to the world when Maverick is scared of the Chinese communists?”

Moviemakers have long benefitted from the Pentagon’s access and counsel, such as shooting on military bases or Navy vessels, as well as the Pentagon’s technical expertise. While the U.S. military benefits greatly from positive portrayals of military service and fantasies of war in the American consciousness, it is willing to sacrifice these benefits in order to avoid the costs of promoting China’s worldview.

U.S. partners and allies, too, are restricting market access to oppose China’s cultural warfare. On July 4, Vietnam banned the Barbie movie for depicting the Nine-Dash Line, a feature of Chinese Communist Party maps which presents as part of China maritime claims belonging to Vietnam. The image of the line is illegal in Vietnam, and Vietnam considers its use in the movie an affront to its sovereignty. The Philippines, which has regular and increasing clashes with China over disputed territory in the South China Sea, is also considering a ban on the movie. In 2016, the Philippines won a landmark arbitration against China which invalidated the Nine-Dash Line under international law. The Nine-Dash Line also violates maritime claims by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

While much smaller markets than China, a ban by Vietnam and the Philippines could cause substantial impact to Warner Brothers. Major Hollywood movies earn between $5 and $10 million in each country. Merchandising impact will be still greater. If other Southeast Asian nations follow suit, and political blowback in the United States continues, Barbie may be pressured to update her Dream World. However, doing so may alienate China, or cause the movie to be banned there.

Given the Pentagon restriction, the Vietnam ban and the Philippine controversy, Hollywood studios will have heightened political considerations in future movie releases. The great conflict between patriotism and capitalism has reached a cliffhanger. Get out the popcorn—the final story might make a good movie.