China Says No More Movies And TV Shows About Time Travel

from the don't-even-think-about-it dept

Thu, Apr 7th 2011 8:31am — Mike Masnick

It's no secret that time travel stories in movies and TV are a bit cliche at this point, but that doesn't stop people from using them repeatedly. It's just such an easy plot device. But, don't expect to see much more of it in China. Ima Fish alerts us to the news that the General Bureau of Radio, Film and Television in China has announced that time travel stories are no longer allowed on TV or in movies. Apparently, such stories are "disrespectful to history" and that many of the "stories are totally made up." Apparently, the General Bureau of Radio, Film and Television in China is unfamiliar with the definition of fiction.

It sounds like time travel stories had become especially popular in Chinese media, and it sounds like someone at the Bureau just got sick of it. Along similar lines, the Bureau has apparently also declared that no more TV/movie versions shall be made of "the four great classical novels of China." Honestly, it really feels like someone (or some people) involved in this Bureau just got sick of seeing similar shows and decided to issue a ban.

Of course, the real question is how long will it take for people in China to create a video that involves going back in time to restock the General Bureau of Radio, Film and Television with people who seem less silly?

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: censorship, china, movies, time travel, tv

57 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Hephaestus (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 8:10am

Re: the four great classical novels of China
What do you mean no more Monkey King??

"It sounds like time travel stories had become especially popular in Chinese media, and it sounds like someone at the Bureau just got sick of it."

I wish they would do they same in the US with all the stupid teen vampire TV shows and Movies.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- weneedhelp (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 10:10am
  
  Re: Re: the four great classical novels of China
  "I wish they would do they same in the US with all the stupid teen vampire TV shows and Movies."
  
  And stupid no talent whores that get reality shows too.
  And all those stupid high school shows where everyone is gay or on the verge of sex.
  And all those stupid CSI-in-every-flavor shows.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - James Carmichael, 7 Apr 2011 @ 11:05am
    
    Re: Re: Re: the four great classical novels of China
    How about just making stupidity illegal? You'd need a LOT more jails.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
James Carmichael, 7 Apr 2011 @ 8:41am

In Soviet Russia, time travels you!
Hey China, I have a whole list of things I don't like, could you ban those too? Pretty pleeeeeaaaase?!

- Anchovies
- Any mention of iPod's, iPad's, or anything that starts with a lowercase 'i' followed by an uppercase letter
- American politics
- Nepal
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Fushta, 7 Apr 2011 @ 12:35pm
  
  Re: In Soviet Russia, time travels you!
  I'd like to add:
  
  - No more naming dogs "General Zhou" or "Hunan Chicken"
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Movies, 26 Apr 2011 @ 11:17pm
  
  Re: In Soviet Russia, time travels you!
  I don't see how they'll stop access to streaming movies which contain such plots... completely retarded!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- G, 29 Apr 2011 @ 9:57pm
  
  Re: In Soviet Russia, time travels you!
  Why is it u don't like Nepal?? If it's some kinda personal reason, then fuck you..you better have a good explanation 4 ur dislike.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2011 @ 8:41am

Well, at least this makes the U.S. relatively less of a laughingstock.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2011 @ 8:45am

"Along similar lines, the Bureau has apparently also declared that no more TV/movie versions shall be made of "the four great classical novels of China.""

Hum...I don't know all four of them, but I assume the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin" are among them. The Government has every motivation to supress these classics, because some people might read them and start having some crazy ideas. Crazy ideas that involve rebellions and such.

PS: I highly recommend reading about those two stories. They are actually very good.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Ima Fish (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 8:52am
  
  Re:
  From Wikipedia: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin (aka Outlaws of the Marsh), Journey to the West, and Dream of the Red Chamber (aka The Story of the Stone).
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2011 @ 8:54am
    
    Re: Re:
    D'oh...should've Googled it before loking like an ass.
    
    Thanks.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - el_segfaulto (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 3:25pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      I'd say it's pretty impressive that you remembered two of them without resorting to a search. Kudos for what it's worth.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Nick Coghlan (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:40pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        I only knew Journey to the West, and that's purely due to the TV show and computer games it has inspired.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - VigilanteCrusader, 9 Apr 2011 @ 11:42pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Journey to the West? No Dragonball? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    But then again im not even living in china, nor am i affiliated with communists
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- xs (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:49am
  
  Re:
  Not everything in China is related to "crazy ideas", you know. The true motivation to ban further remake is because there're 3 or 4 remakes in the last few years on the "Dream of Red Chamber" alone. And each one is a worse adaptation than the one before to boot. There are suspicion that those productions are actually money laundering efforts.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Whatis42? (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 8:46am

This is gonna piss off...
Dr. Who and the Proprietors of the Restaurant at the End of the Universe
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- justok (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:34am
  
  Re: This is gonna piss off...
  K-9 and Marvin spin off series.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
wallow-T, 7 Apr 2011 @ 8:59am

On movie versions of the Classical Novels of China: the shortened-for-USA-theaters version of John Woo's "Red Cliff" was utterly dazzling, if you like historical war movies. I still have not gotten to the 5-hour complete DVD version, dang it. IIRC, "Red Cliff" was made with the complete cooperation of the Chinese government, which furnished Chinese Army resources for set building and for extras.

"Red Cliff" is drawn from a small chunk of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- crade (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 11:01am
  
  Re:
  Red Cliff is actually inspired by the (historical documents) and is quite a bit different from The Romance of the Three Kindoms. In Romance, Zhou Yu is pretty much a villain, and in Red Cliff he's like the main hero. Personally I thought the full lenght movies (red cliff 1 + 2) are way better than the shortened version since they actually made sense :)
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Michael, 7 Apr 2011 @ 8:59am

More breaking news...
*** This Just In! ***

US Political news and all statements from the US Entertainment industry have been banned in China.

Apparently, such stories are "disrespectful to history" and that many of the "stories are totally made up."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- DannyB (profile), 9 Apr 2011 @ 11:06am
  
  Re: More breaking news...
  I wish they would please identify which of the time travel stories are NOT totally made up.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:08am

The bureau is the final resting place of the god Nuggan.
He will soon issue bans on the depiction of harmonicas, the color blue and staplers.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Berenerd (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 10:21am
  
  Re:
  Scuse me! I think you have my stapler!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ddub, 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:09am

I don't blame them..
.. after watching a season of "Heroes", I felt the same way.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
baslow (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:09am

Never the Twain shall meet?
Will A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court be grandfathered in?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
RadialSkid (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:16am

Cliched.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Saurabh, 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:16am

vampires...
Can we get a similar law here with no more vampire/werewolf shows/movies?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Barry Solow (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:20am

Should we fear...
...for the fate of the counterfactual conditional in China?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:25am

Make a time travel movie where these jerks never came into power, or there was a massive revolution, and China becomes a utopia because of it. I bet they'd love that. Kickstarter anyone?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:26am

Mike, are you sure this is for real, and not a hoax? I mean, it just sounds so utterly bizarre. Why would the Chinese government go on a genrecidal rampage?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Ima Fish (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:48am
  
  Re:
  I'm the guy who gave the link to Mike. I have my doubts about it, but the original link is from April 3rd, so it's (probably) not an April Fool's joke.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Ima Fish (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:56am
    
    Re: Re:
    I just read through the comments at the original site. No indication from anyone in china that it's a fake story.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:34am

I believe that the General Bureau of Radio, Film and Television in China is actually run by a time traveller from the 46th Century and he's frightened of the populace discovering the truth.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2011 @ 9:37am
  
  Re:
  That might make a decent movie...
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
The Devil's Coachman (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 10:12am

Probably a bunch of doddering old coots behind this.
Idiotic, reactionary crap from some of the many pants-crapping, three-toothed, drooling morons in the Chinese government are an everyday occurrence, and there won't be any change in that for a long, long time. I'm sure most of them still venerate the little red book like the bible thumpers do theirs. This isn't even news.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Berenerd (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 10:23am

What about time travel...
...into the future? I mean, does that count? How can it hurt the past if its in the future???
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
crade (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 10:55am

No more Three Kingdoms flicks? You may has well just shut down the film industry over there then. At least they polished off Red Cliff first.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bored SysAdmin, 7 Apr 2011 @ 10:56am

Someone jumped the gun with wrong translation
use google translate:
http://news.qq.com/a/20110402/000116.htm
They talk about cloning western drama movies and shows in general (vs creating original ideas), not specific to single subject of time travel....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- xs (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 11:55am
  
  Re: Someone jumped the gun with wrong translation
  Yep. What were stopped was only remake of the 4 classics. And that's only with "no more remake in the short term", not a complete ban. For time travel shows, it's only "Not encouraged", because of the distortion of historical fact, and lack of artistic value. Cloning of western shows are also only limited, but not banned, with an aim to have original shows comprising 60% of content.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - crade (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 12:15pm
    
    Re: Re: Someone jumped the gun with wrong translation
    Not encouraged means you can make them, but we will take them away, send you to a reabilitation camp and break your legs.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
BoredSysAdmin (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 11:00am

Someone jumped the gun with wrong translation
use google translate:
http://news.qq.com/a/20110402/000116.htm
They talk about cloning western drama movies and shows in general (vs creating original ideas), not specific to single subject of time travel....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
cj, 7 Apr 2011 @ 11:08am

Obviously only approved historians are licensed to be "disrespectful to history" and make up stories about the past. At least the Chinese own up.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
John, 7 Apr 2011 @ 12:05pm

If only
Now if only we could get american idol and any spinoff shows banned in America
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ben, 7 Apr 2011 @ 12:09pm

Chinese time travel/history?
"disrespectful to history"

Most of China's history is made up, in an advertisement for a Chinese opera on local TV they began with the usual statement about 5000 years of history! Hard to have a history that goes back 5000 years when your written language only goes back 3000 years (please don't mention "oracle bones")http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language. Chinese History is about as old as Greek history (except that Greek history hasn't been heavily re-written). Just as China tries to claim that the "great-wall" is 2000 years old when only a tamped earth wall existed prior to 220 AD, but they always show the 15th century section when making these claims. The Chinese also claim to have "invented" the crossbow, regardless of the fact that crossbows existed everywhere, and despite the absurd bragging the Romans used crossbows, Alexander used crossbows. The Persians used crossbows earlier than the Chinese. The only things that the Chinese invented were silk, fireworks and propaganda.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ben, 7 Apr 2011 @ 12:09pm

Chinese time travel/history?
"disrespectful to history"

Most of China's history is made up, in an advertisement for a Chinese opera on local TV they began with the usual statement about 5000 years of history! Hard to have a history that goes back 5000 years when your written language only goes back 3000 years (please don't mention "oracle bones")http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language. Chinese History is about as old as Greek history (except that Greek history hasn't been heavily re-written). Just as China tries to claim that the "great-wall" is 2000 years old when only a tamped earth wall existed prior to 220 AD, but they always show the 15th century section when making these claims. The Chinese also claim to have "invented" the crossbow, regardless of the fact that crossbows existed everywhere, and despite the absurd bragging the Romans used crossbows, Alexander used crossbows. The Persians used crossbows earlier than the Chinese. The only things that the Chinese invented were silk, fireworks and propaganda.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- crade (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 3:50pm
  
  Re: Chinese time travel/history?
  oracle bones.
  Also, lol.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2011 @ 2:14pm

This is what I pretty much said for Batman and Spiderman films; I haven't seen any since the mid-00's. I got everything I possibly could out of the medium and no longer wished to experience anything further.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- crade (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 3:44pm
  
  Re:
  Medium? I love that show. Thats the one with that guy who can read people's minds and tells if they are lying right? Hilarious guy!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jesse (profile), 7 Apr 2011 @ 6:32pm

Apparently, such stories are "disrespectful to history" and that many of the "stories are totally made up."

I'm more curious about the time travel stories that weren't made up...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
mirradric, 8 Apr 2011 @ 2:06am

From my reading of the qq article
From what I've read in the article it's more of a statement that they do not advocate and will not approve broadcasting certain categories/genres of shows during prime time. The categories mentioned are time travel, imitations/remakes/clones of foreign (to china, like hollywood) productions and remakes of the 4 classics.The rational is that there are simply too many of these after these genres gained popularity and many are of low quality in terms of plot and production.
They do not encourage wholesale imitation/remake of foreign films but hope that they can contain more than 60% of original material. Time travel films were specifically mentioned as an example of poor plots and weak devices.
More importantly, the article makes no mention of a ban. To the contrary, it mentions that some of the films have been approved for broadcast in non-prime time slots creating a new "midnight prime time" although the bureau does not encourage submitting films for midnight slots just to get approval.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 Apr 2011 @ 6:34am

All future Star Trek movies/shows should be made in China.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
through the cracks, 10 Apr 2011 @ 2:11pm

Re: RE: re: Re:
What about a film where we go back in time & stop the production of Ishtar & Pat?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
PaulLev (profile), 13 Apr 2011 @ 2:02am

what more do you expect from totalitarian countries? http://paullevinson.blogspot.com/2011/04/china-goes-totalitarian-about-time.html
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
phoebe, 2 May 2011 @ 7:07am

?????
what are you talking about ??????????????????????
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
phoebe, 2 May 2011 @ 7:09am

?????
some say something diffrent please
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
michaelz, 6 Jun 2011 @ 9:45am

Scientist warning about China Time Research
I heard this guy on Art Bell a year ago warning about China's time travel research and that they were getting into it in a BIG way. If you search for David Lewis Anderson and Coast to Coast Radio on youtube you will find it. Also, just saw this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxfbEpSZyzE.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
dan, 6 Jan 2014 @ 6:02am

"putting an original spin on history is kind of the point of a time travel movie"

Its also the point in communist governments, the reason they ban stuff like this may not be as "silly" as we think. The forces behind these governments know that the key to control of humans lies in perception and they have indeed rewritten history and do not want anyone else changing the perceptions they have put out themselves.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]