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Disney Removes Simpsons Episode For Hong Kong

Debater Slayer

Vipassana
Staff member
Premium Member
They want to make money from airing it in Hong Kong, so they have to abide by local censors or lose revenue. Capitalism in action, eh?

I can't really fault the Simpsons producers for this unless they pretend to be some champions of morality and justice no matter the cost, which they haven't (although Disney has). And even if they pretended to be so, that one reference wouldn't help the targets of the CCP's brutality either way.
 

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
USA didn't ban child labor until 1938, but it eventually did mostly due to photographs of the children laboring in industries...or so I hear.

Child Labor

There is a photo on that page from year 1911 of a five year old child working as a shrimp picker who cannot speak English. He is right here in my home state, just over 100 years ago. Imagine a five year old who doesn't get to play and is not taught anything. All he gets to do is work on some tedious task. Somebody saw this picture and realized it was wrong.

The first attempt to ban or regulate child labor in the 'states was in 1916 in a law called the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act. Our supreme court struck that law down, saying that the Federal government didn't have the authority. The president who signed the 1916 law was Woodrow Wilson. It can take time and multiple attempts to stop an evil thing.
 

Soandso

Well-Known Member
Honestly, this is nothing new. I'm kind of surprised they just removed the episode altogether when usually the CCP has the corporate entity kiss their ring and alter the offending parts
 

Debater Slayer

Vipassana
Staff member
Premium Member
The thing is, Simpsons are almost as fearless as South Park.
It's not the Simpsons, it's ths Mouse who's catering to Xi.

There's no fearlessness in defying Chinese censors while living in the US or Europe. It's not like the producers can be arrested from their home countries; the worst would be loss of revenue.

The Mouse cares about profit too, no matter how much it tries to paint itself as a pioneer of diversity in media through performative gestures.
 

Father Heathen

Veteran Member
It's always money first. Another example is corporations who display pride rainbows everywhere except in the middle eastern market. Pretending to care about things has always been about image.
 

Debater Slayer

Vipassana
Staff member
Premium Member
It's always money first. Another example is corporations who display pride rainbows everywhere except in the middle eastern market. Pretending to care about things has always been about image.

I don't think it would be realistic for them to put up pride flags in countries where that could result in vandalism of their premises or even legal action. I do think a lot of corporations use the pride flags merely for PR purposes, though.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Dang...I thought the news was funny, &
made China look as oppressive as usual.
Dint expect all the hostility towards Disney.
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
There's no fearlessness in defying Chinese censors while living in the US or Europe. It's not like the producers can be arrested from their home countries; the worst would be loss of revenue.
It sometimes involves defying death threats. Of course China isn't ISIS or Al Qaeda, but with these "usual suspects" of equal opportunity offenders it's usually the networks and not the show producers.
And Disney and anyone else who bows to China can jump off a cliff. It shouldn't happen, and it's letting China call the shots here.
 

Debater Slayer

Vipassana
Staff member
Premium Member
It sometimes involves defying death threats. Of course China isn't ISIS or Al Qaeda, but with these "usual suspects" of equal opportunity offenders it's usually the networks and not the show producers.
And Disney and anyone else who bows to China can jump off a cliff. It shouldn't happen, and it's letting China call the shots here.

I don't see it as bowing to anyone. It's just pragmatic: they can't change the world by breaking state laws via airing cartoons. If they specifically aired something pro-CCP in order to appease the authorities there, I would see that as bowing. So far, all they have done was to change a joke in one episode.

China calls the shots on its home soil. Whether we agree with how they do that is a different story; we can't change their domestic decisions by merely insisting to air one joke.
 

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
Dang...I thought the news was funny, &
made China look as oppressive as usual.
Dint expect all the hostility towards Disney.
Lol Disney is a pretty popular punching bag.
I suspect the last straw was due to all their remakes that annoyed folks.
So the last of the good will and leniency has gone from folks.
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
I don't see it as bowing to anyone. It's just pragmatic: they can't change the world by breaking state laws via airing cartoons. If they specifically aired something pro-CCP in order to appease the authorities there, I would see that as bowing. So far, all they have done was to change a joke in one episode.

China calls the shots on its home soil. Whether we agree with how they do that is a different story; we can't change their domestic decisions by merely insisting to air one joke.
China calls shots in other places. Like the Spiderman movie No Way Home, China nearly had images of the Statue of Liberty removed. If they don't like something they get it pulled. If they don't like an absence of Chinese characters they'll get one forced in. If something may not be good for Chiness propaganda then Chinese censors will try to make it so no one in the world sees it in a final product.
 

Debater Slayer

Vipassana
Staff member
Premium Member
China calls shots in other places. Like the Spiderman movie No Way Home, China nearly had images of the Statue of Liberty removed. If they don't like something they get it pulled. If they don't like an absence of Chinese characters they'll get one forced in. If something may not be good for Chiness propaganda then Chinese censors will try to make it so no one in the world sees it in a final product.

In other instances, perhaps. I don't think this is one of those. This seems to be strictly about local airing.
 
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