Collateral Damage: China Pulls Avatar, Thinks It Will Help the Situation
What does the planet of Pandora have to do with Google's refusal to censor their search results in China? The aforementioned fictional planet is part of the James Cameron billion dollar 3D blockbuster "Avatar" and an analysis of the film's weak plot can help predict what how China will behave on the global stage.
Let us assume that China's leadership is at least trying to make rational decisions. Given that, it is also important to note that China's government routinely directs what foreign films are shown in theaters and how long they will run. The strange thing about the "Avatar" decision is its timing...why remove a popular global blockbuster film from all non-3D theaters at the peak of its popularity and replace it with a government-produced national propaganda film?
The film's plot is a standard colonist vs. native narrative. The locals, the "Na'vi", oppose the resources depleting human colonists on all fronts and the colonists do likewise. The Chinese still view Western culture and the US as "others" without distinction between US-based multi-national corporations, US-produced entertainment, and official US government policy. Of course their leaders understand the difference, but on another level these various regimes (multi-national corps, entertainment, etc.) function with much different goals than the US federal government, EU, etc.
The difference of goals in these regimes which all originate from one state might be more difficult for Chinese leaders to separate because in the US these regimes function much more independently from the central government than in China. The US federal government does not dictate what Google's search results should be.
In other words, China is using its leverage against what they perceive as US interests by removing "Avatar" early. But the effort is wasted. Removing "Avatar" is not going to influence Google to comply with Chinese demands. China could remove every American movie nationwide and it would not affect Google's decision a bit, because the film industry has no leverage over Google.
There are two facts that will cause more issues like this to arise between China and global-oriented regimes such as states and corporations. China will not cede its control over its citizens to any corporation, especially one based in the US. Second, Google's internal and external pressure to maintain openness and free flow of information is more important strategically than the potential gains in the Chinese market.
Souces:
LaFraniere, S. (2010, January 24). China Curtails Run of ‘Avatar’ as It Fills Theaters. New York Times Online. Retrieved January 24, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/world/asia/20china.html?hp
Zacher, M. W., & Sutton, B. A. (1995). Governing Global Networks International Regimes for Transportation and Communications (Cambridge Studies in International Relations). New York: Cambridge University Press.http://bytesizebio.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/pandora-avatar.jpg
