Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Multiple media outlets reported on Angry Asian Man's post about the Disney Mulan remake. There was a script that once again focuses on a hero white man in an Asian fetish relationship. This has since been clarified not to be the case and the film will instead have a full Chinese cast. If the script was unchanged, it would have just resulted in another stale and uninteresting film. Multiple box office failures attest to this, like Shanghai (2010) and Blackhat (2015). This issue also came on the heels of the recent Bruce Lee biopic, which also took a film about a Chinese hero and made it about some white guy with an Asian fetish. These nonsensical plots and their tired portrayals don't do well.



Hollywood and Western entertainment in general has been doing this sort of thing for decades. Joint Chinese productions haven't helped at all. This is not an issue Chinese in China are knowledgeable in, though they are starting to see the racial and gender bias in film portrayals. In the past, Asians never really had the influence or voice to make their objections known so this sort of offensive disrespect became the norm. Things are changing today.



We saw with the backlash to Matt Damon in the Great Wall, many people are tired of this white hero trope in films where it makes no sense. As Hollywood looks to grow its links with China and seek out the Chinese market, it is incumbent on China to make clear such things will not be tolerated and there will be a price for those that do it.



The messages these films portray are in fact directly opposed to any number of officially stated concerns. Contrary to telling the story of China in a positive manner, these films instead tell the viewers that a white savior is needed. Contrary to opposing hostile forces and their agendas in pushing chaos in China, the foreign worship message instead makes Chinese viewers ripe for foreign propaganda. Contrary to building a healthy society, these films fuel an inferiority complex that put foreigners on an undeserved pedestal. Contrary to the belief that having some white guy makes the film more "international" and thus more successful, these portrayals have produced one box office flop after another. Occasionally they even cause a harsh backlash. These films push destructive portrayals to Chinese society and don't even have any benefits for China.



Awareness level in China for these issues is not high, so unfortunately many times Chinese are part of these very films either in acting or financing. This must be corrected. China has become strong in many areas, but Chinese society itself has lagged far behind. The mentality doesn't match the country's capability at all. One of the biggest reasons for this is because of the entertainment and media in China. The messages they convey are not being considered carefully.



It's long past time that Chinese media started coordinating their responses and taking on this issue seriously. They should be on the front lines criticizing films that push foreign worship on Chinese society. Actors, actresses and companies that participate in such films must be called out. Chinese celebrities aware of the issue should speak out about it more like Daniel Wu has. Even Wanda's Wang Jianlin has criticized similar societal problems.



These sorts of films should not get approval to be shown in China. The strict guidelines on media and entertainment are focused on completely wrong areas. Reincarnation themes aren't going to harm Chinese society remotely as much as blind foreign worship is.



Regardless of whether the Mulan remake pulled the hero white man nonsense or not, the simple fact is they have been doing this for years and there will be examples after Mulan. What needs to change is how China deals with the issue. Chinese need to become more aware and real consequences imposed on Chinese enablers.



The author is a writer from Kulture Media, a media watchdog on behalf of Asian Americans. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn Follow us on Twitter @GTopinion