First disclaimer than comment, I am living and working in China for last 8 years.
As someone who lives in China and works for Western Companies here in China, entire this situation with Top Gun was somewhat cheerfully and extremlly disappointing.
For years I have watched how all kinds of Western brands (especially American ones), going full Woke back at home (BLM, Trans in female sports, CRT, canceling everyone who speaks up against woke ideology), while at same here in China, they are very happy to do anything what CCP requires, nothing is taboo. Many decisions made by Management in the West was not only conterary to Western values, but also represent irreversible damage to Western manufacturing and technological advantage, since for one positive earnings in China, many companies would gladly outsource key technologies to Chinese competitors, effectively gutting Western companies in the long run.
This Top Gun ordeal was small glimmer of light, were American Company stood up for something. But then it hit me, I have seen these glimmers before. West would celebrate, but after they to bookkeeping, and Wall Street ghouls see how much money they have "lost" by not selling our own country to CCP, they will quickly make sure, that this never happens again.
For me most painful to watch were how NBA, an American sport (my favorite), has bent over to the CCP to that extent, that they will do anything that is required from them. Second one was John Cena, when I was kid, I used to watch WWE, and John Cena was always "super Pro American", until the found out that he was more "pro CCP Money". Those are just examples, plenty others exists (Nike, Apple...)
If we really want, to help our companies, stop being subservant to CCP, first what needs to be done, is in one hand limit Wall Streets access to our politicians at home and then limit access of Wall Street to China. Wall Street represent the worst of American values, they will sell their own mother to the highest bidder with no questions asked, all the while cheering companies that killed American manufacturing and our middle class while at the same time building up Chinese manufacturing and middle class.
PS
If someone asks what am I doing in China, well you can thank to politicians and Wall Street, that have outsource entire manufacturing sectors from West to China.
Sometimes I think, that West is actualy under occupation by enemies, because no one in their right mind would deindustrialize on such scale as US had done in last 30 years without being forced by some foreign power. But hey, with our politicians, who needs enemies
As one writer noted, if keeping a patch on a jacket is what counts as courage in Hollywood these days, we'll have to be happy with what we can get. It's a small but welcome step. On a different note: what a great movie. I never cared for the original. TG:M has to be the most entertaining film I've seen in years.
After the 2020 Steal and Fox News' traitorous acquiescence to The Big Lie, I literally threw my satellite dish into my pond. It's remarkable how much it immediately lowered my anxiety level. I upgraded my Internet connection and now pick-and-choose news articles about a half-hour per day - just about the same amount of time my dad and I watched network news in the 'sixties. I haven't seen an NFL or NBA game in a year-and-a-half.
Right after I ditched my dish, a strange woman appeared in my living room. She said she was my wife.
The reptilian Vlad Lenin was prescient with his comment about selling rope to one's hangman. Whether the nerds behind the scenes in Hollywood snipping "offensive" scenes, to the hulking, glowering "King James" on bended knee, to to the prostrate corporate execs such as Jamie Dimon - he of the abject apology, they share the same greedy cowardice. China has been worming its way into our cultural life through buying influence, through "Confucian Institutes" and through planting its paid agents and spies throughout our nation. All allowed by our leaders. Payment by China? No problem. Sleeping with a Chinese spy? That's cute. Until the point where we have clear evidence that the sitting president of the United States received Chinese cash, laundered through his drug addicted son. And yet we do.....nothing. No outrage. No reforms. No prosecutions. So why are we surprised by this shocking level of influence in Hollywood by a malign, authoritative and thoroughly evil communist state? Why, indeed. As John Harington observed many centuries ago - "Treason doth never prosper, what's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it Treason."
Great piece. "...ideological rivalry between Washington and Beijing". What ideological rivalry? The Chinese are paying our politicians starting with the dementia patient's family inhabiting the Oval. Our 'elites' love the Chinese model of just doing what they want using the FBI as the Stasi to stifle dissent at all levels.
Like the 80's when I grew into a man serving against communism we are once again at a time of choosing. Unfortunately, our 'elites' are miring our assets into never-ending, useless(to the People) wars once again in Ukraine rather than continuing to build on the economic triumphs Trump's team gave us leading to the greatest economic period of all time for all Americans and our allies.
I want more real America in our films. No censorship by anyone, especially our enemies. Top Gun was inspirational to American men in 1986, and should also be in 2022. Just say no to the CCP and watch the magic happen here in the good old U S of A.
Important post in the recognition of just how deeply the ongoing propaganda is planted in our midst. What it feels like as we are subjected to being repeatedly played by the international Corporatocracy - deeply intersected alliance of governments, corporations, institutions around the planet. Once we see this thing we cannot unsee it.
Lots of predictive programming all around us from Shakespeare’s Hamlet to The Northmen to the films mentioned in this post. We’re being serially abused by masters of the art. Once we blow their covers and glimpse the full deceptions they have no further power. That’s the fatal flaw in the “art” of propaganda.
Which is why Hollywood has never made a film about the horrors of the Chinese Cultural Revolution 1966-1974. Many memoirs of the time could be brought to the big screen. A Schindler's List type film is what is required to showcase that horror. I will not old my breath.
In other words: Hollywood has always been a national propaganda machine - but now instead of being exclusively an American empire tool, it's being leveraged to accommodate Chinese propaganda, too.
Hollywood and hypocrisy go like peas and carrots, as Forrest Gump might say. How do the penultimate Wokies of the film industry, with their pride flags and their virtue signalling, square up with cutting homosexuality out of movies for the CCP? They are, apparently, the most brazen capitalists I can think of.
I think Top Gun is doing so well because it is patriotic. Hollywood has been giving us deviant dreck for so long that people ignore it. And haven’t the marvel cons gone on long enough?
What I find shocking is Grim Lizzie Warren concerned about China. I figured she be on their payroll for sure.
I just read an interesting story that offers additional insight on this. Republican politicians are beginning to wake up to the fact that too many corporate CEOs are pushing left-wing anti-American (IMO) policies. By and large their shareholders are much more conservative. One way to limit these shenanigans is to empower shareholders to go after some of the egregious CEO behavior.
First disclaimer than comment, I am living and working in China for last 8 years.
As someone who lives in China and works for Western Companies here in China, entire this situation with Top Gun was somewhat cheerfully and extremlly disappointing.
For years I have watched how all kinds of Western brands (especially American ones), going full Woke back at home (BLM, Trans in female sports, CRT, canceling everyone who speaks up against woke ideology), while at same here in China, they are very happy to do anything what CCP requires, nothing is taboo. Many decisions made by Management in the West was not only conterary to Western values, but also represent irreversible damage to Western manufacturing and technological advantage, since for one positive earnings in China, many companies would gladly outsource key technologies to Chinese competitors, effectively gutting Western companies in the long run.
This Top Gun ordeal was small glimmer of light, were American Company stood up for something. But then it hit me, I have seen these glimmers before. West would celebrate, but after they to bookkeeping, and Wall Street ghouls see how much money they have "lost" by not selling our own country to CCP, they will quickly make sure, that this never happens again.
For me most painful to watch were how NBA, an American sport (my favorite), has bent over to the CCP to that extent, that they will do anything that is required from them. Second one was John Cena, when I was kid, I used to watch WWE, and John Cena was always "super Pro American", until the found out that he was more "pro CCP Money". Those are just examples, plenty others exists (Nike, Apple...)
If we really want, to help our companies, stop being subservant to CCP, first what needs to be done, is in one hand limit Wall Streets access to our politicians at home and then limit access of Wall Street to China. Wall Street represent the worst of American values, they will sell their own mother to the highest bidder with no questions asked, all the while cheering companies that killed American manufacturing and our middle class while at the same time building up Chinese manufacturing and middle class.
PS
If someone asks what am I doing in China, well you can thank to politicians and Wall Street, that have outsource entire manufacturing sectors from West to China.
Sometimes I think, that West is actualy under occupation by enemies, because no one in their right mind would deindustrialize on such scale as US had done in last 30 years without being forced by some foreign power. But hey, with our politicians, who needs enemies
As one writer noted, if keeping a patch on a jacket is what counts as courage in Hollywood these days, we'll have to be happy with what we can get. It's a small but welcome step. On a different note: what a great movie. I never cared for the original. TG:M has to be the most entertaining film I've seen in years.
After the 2020 Steal and Fox News' traitorous acquiescence to The Big Lie, I literally threw my satellite dish into my pond. It's remarkable how much it immediately lowered my anxiety level. I upgraded my Internet connection and now pick-and-choose news articles about a half-hour per day - just about the same amount of time my dad and I watched network news in the 'sixties. I haven't seen an NFL or NBA game in a year-and-a-half.
Right after I ditched my dish, a strange woman appeared in my living room. She said she was my wife.
The reptilian Vlad Lenin was prescient with his comment about selling rope to one's hangman. Whether the nerds behind the scenes in Hollywood snipping "offensive" scenes, to the hulking, glowering "King James" on bended knee, to to the prostrate corporate execs such as Jamie Dimon - he of the abject apology, they share the same greedy cowardice. China has been worming its way into our cultural life through buying influence, through "Confucian Institutes" and through planting its paid agents and spies throughout our nation. All allowed by our leaders. Payment by China? No problem. Sleeping with a Chinese spy? That's cute. Until the point where we have clear evidence that the sitting president of the United States received Chinese cash, laundered through his drug addicted son. And yet we do.....nothing. No outrage. No reforms. No prosecutions. So why are we surprised by this shocking level of influence in Hollywood by a malign, authoritative and thoroughly evil communist state? Why, indeed. As John Harington observed many centuries ago - "Treason doth never prosper, what's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it Treason."
Great piece. "...ideological rivalry between Washington and Beijing". What ideological rivalry? The Chinese are paying our politicians starting with the dementia patient's family inhabiting the Oval. Our 'elites' love the Chinese model of just doing what they want using the FBI as the Stasi to stifle dissent at all levels.
Like the 80's when I grew into a man serving against communism we are once again at a time of choosing. Unfortunately, our 'elites' are miring our assets into never-ending, useless(to the People) wars once again in Ukraine rather than continuing to build on the economic triumphs Trump's team gave us leading to the greatest economic period of all time for all Americans and our allies.
I want more real America in our films. No censorship by anyone, especially our enemies. Top Gun was inspirational to American men in 1986, and should also be in 2022. Just say no to the CCP and watch the magic happen here in the good old U S of A.
It's about time. Now, if they could just become a little more creative we might have a movie industry.
Important post in the recognition of just how deeply the ongoing propaganda is planted in our midst. What it feels like as we are subjected to being repeatedly played by the international Corporatocracy - deeply intersected alliance of governments, corporations, institutions around the planet. Once we see this thing we cannot unsee it.
Lots of predictive programming all around us from Shakespeare’s Hamlet to The Northmen to the films mentioned in this post. We’re being serially abused by masters of the art. Once we blow their covers and glimpse the full deceptions they have no further power. That’s the fatal flaw in the “art” of propaganda.
Ah... M. Bowles in The Atlantic on San Fran: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/06/how-san-francisco-became-failed-city/661199/
(Haven't read yet. Sorry if paywalled.)
Which is why Hollywood has never made a film about the horrors of the Chinese Cultural Revolution 1966-1974. Many memoirs of the time could be brought to the big screen. A Schindler's List type film is what is required to showcase that horror. I will not old my breath.
If we are bringing back Top Gun from 1986 can we also please bring back Ronald Reagan?
In other words: Hollywood has always been a national propaganda machine - but now instead of being exclusively an American empire tool, it's being leveraged to accommodate Chinese propaganda, too.
Hollywood and hypocrisy go like peas and carrots, as Forrest Gump might say. How do the penultimate Wokies of the film industry, with their pride flags and their virtue signalling, square up with cutting homosexuality out of movies for the CCP? They are, apparently, the most brazen capitalists I can think of.
The same people who deny the existence of Taiwan also deny the existence of Women. They also deny the existence of America...
Those who deny the reality of billions to please a Powerful Few do so for a reason - to make the world of the Powerful Few a reality.
Deny THEM.
I think Top Gun is doing so well because it is patriotic. Hollywood has been giving us deviant dreck for so long that people ignore it. And haven’t the marvel cons gone on long enough?
What I find shocking is Grim Lizzie Warren concerned about China. I figured she be on their payroll for sure.
I just read an interesting story that offers additional insight on this. Republican politicians are beginning to wake up to the fact that too many corporate CEOs are pushing left-wing anti-American (IMO) policies. By and large their shareholders are much more conservative. One way to limit these shenanigans is to empower shareholders to go after some of the egregious CEO behavior.