Chinese censors to ban 'Avatar'

Films plot will lead to civil unrest

The Golden Globe-winning film, which was expected to earn more than £45 million at the Chinese box office, will be replaced with a patriotic biopic on the life of  famous Chinese thinker and social philosopher, Confucius, Telegraph online reported.

“Avatar” has irked Chinese censors who are worried that the film’s plot, which has been hit by accusations of racism, could lead to civil unrest in the country.
The report quoted Hong Kong’s newspaper “Apple Daily” and stated that parallels have been drawn between the plight of the Na’vi clan in the film and people in China vulnerable to, often brutal, eviction by predatory property developers.

The paper reported that the state-run China Film Group has issued orders to cinemas across the country to stop showing the 2D version of the film and only show the film in 3D.

As of now, few cinemas have 3D technology and the order effectively prevents the blockbuster’s general distribution.

“The Central Publicity Department is said to have issued an order to the media prohibiting it from hyping up “Avatar”,” the newspaper said.
“Reportedly, the authorities have two reasons for this check on “Avatar”: first, it has taken in too much money and has seized market share from domestic films, and second, it may lead audiences to think about forced removal, and may possibly incite violence,” the newspaper added.

A porn parody in the making

London, pti: “Avatar” is set to become a real ‘blue’ movie as bosses at Hustler, a leader in exclusive porn content, are planning to make a parody of the movie. “This Ain’t Avatar XXX” is among the DVD releases planned by the company this year following the success of sex parodies of TV shows “Star Trek”, “Beverly Hills” and “90210”.