Is the China of 'The Karate Kid' the real China?

I took my son to see "The Karate Kid" Wednesday night and I found myself with a lot of explaining to do. Don't get me wrong, we had a good time, since if you're a stone-cold Jackie Chan fan, like my 12-year-old, its worth the price of admission to see Chan give a nicely nuanced, almost totally effortless performance as a mysterious maintenance man who turns out to be a canny kung fu instructor, teaching a forlorn American kid (played by Jaden Smith) how to find himself by mastering the art of kung fu. 

If you've only seen Chan mug his way through the "Rush Hour" movies or breathtakingly defy gravity in Hong Kong classics like "Super Cop: Police Story 3," the role is a treat, since he gives a remarkably restrained performance, walking slowly and gingerly, like a man who's broken nearly every bone in his body, then rousing himself into action when wrongs must be righted.

But back to my original point: Why did I have so much explaining to do?

First off, as my  kid asked afterward, if the movie is all about kung fu, why is it called "The Karate Kid"?  He's seen the original 1984 "Karate Kid," so he has kind of figured out that the movie is a brand, but still -- why not call it "The Kung Fu Kid"? At least it would be accurate, since almost any 12-year-old can tell the difference between kung fu and karate. I had to explain that in Hollywood, brand trumps accuracy and authenticity every time, which is why -- according to this recent story by my colleague John Horn -- when Sony tried to change the title, the film's producer, Jerry Weintraub, said essentially, no dice. (He also produced the original.)

Speaking of Weintraub, the film offers an intriguing lesson in Hollywood insider politics. My son is a huge Will Smith fan, so he knows that Smith is one of the biggest stars in the business. On the other hand, he's never heard of Weintraub, who's more of a behind-the-scenes force in the industry (but not so behind the scenes that he hasn't been all over TV and radio recently shilling for his memoir, "When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories From a Persuasive Man"). So how was it possible that, when it came to display the film's producer credits, that the biggest star in Hollywood had to share a crowded credit block with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith and his production company partners, James Lassiter and Ken Stovitz, while Weintraub got a producer credit block all to himself?

Ah, my son, that is a sign of true power in action. I'm betting that Smith and Co. tried to negotiate a better credit-block deal, but once again, Weintraub said, no dice.

But the brand that gets the best treatment in the movie is the brand of China. For Sony, the idea of having the film set in China was a huge inducement to make the film, since it gave the studio the opportunity to bolster the film's enormous global appeal. Finding a way to have your summer movie play in China is a rare opportunity indeed, since the country is so restrictive that it only allows roughly 20 non-Chinese movies into its theaters each year. By cutting China's state film arm into the action -- China Film put up $5 million, roughly 1/8 of the movie's budget -- Sony was allowed to actually film in China, even in such normally inaccessible locations as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

Of course, in return, China clearly had veto power over any issues involving the film's portrayal of the country. I know that "Karate Kid" is intended as pure entertainment, but it operates as a wonderfully organic propaganda tool for China, presenting a largely sanitized version of the country. There are no political dissidents, no shots of environmental disasters, no one trying in vain to reach thousands of restricted Internet sites.

Although there is a plot wrinkle involving a pack of teenage bullies who prey on Jaden's character, the rest of the populace is portrayed as happy, contented and well-fed, without any complaints, even about the unbearable air and the hideous traffic. The parks are full of people exercising and playing sports, the schools are full of well-mannered, upwardly-mobile kids. Jaden's romance with a local Chinese girl is as chaste as anything you'd see on the Disney Channel (though as Horn's story points out, not chaste enough for the Chinese censors, who made the filmmaker cut out a teeny-tiny kiss between the kids for the Chinese version of the film).

So if Sony benefits by getting access to the huge Chinese market, China benefits too, by having its society presented in the film as it was during the Summer Olympics, as a benign place of wondrous growth and unlimited potential.

I had only one other small piece of explaining to do. After the film was over, my son said, "Dad, that was a really good movie, but why was it soooooo long?" (By our count, it was well over 2 hours.) I didn't really have a good answer for that, since, well, like so many other movies these days, there really was no good reason for it being that long. All I could say was: "I guess if you have to go all the way to China to make your movie, you want to get your money's worth."

 Photo: Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith in "The Karate Kid." Credit: Jasin Boland / Columbia Pictures

Comments

[James X]

Actually chinese city life is pretty much like that. Well fed people, polite students, and the issues that american care about most chinese don't. Things like social unrest are pretty unheard of in big cities. But that was 3 years ago when I went to visit. It may have changed in recent years.

[Carol]

If the Kung Fu Kid had been made here, how much of our darker side would they have shown? None! This is a movie for kids, not a documentary or even a serious drama.

[Ashutosh]

This is really a nice written article. The thing about china's image is quite right. china always shows the best they have and always hide the real china from outside. I must say, it's a nice propaganda to attract international tourists and depict china as developed country. Any country that has no freedom of speech and press, media can never be trusted as developed.

[Hayden]

"but it operates as a wonderfully organic propaganda tool for China, presenting a largely sanitized version of the country. There are no political dissidents, no shots of environmental disasters, no one trying in vain to reach thousands of restricted Internet sites."

Wow. That's just a ridiculous statement. I'm not saying those problems don't exist but does every movie set or about China have to address/show those issues? Do we expect a Hannah Montana movie to show racism or urban decay or abortion bombings because those problems exist in America?

[Benjamin]

Why don't they just call it "KUNG FU KID" and be done with it.

[Joe Sullivan]

Sir,

Unfortunately, you sound like the typical westerner it the way you think of China. I don’t have the time nor inclination to explain what I learn in China, about China, over the last twenty years.

You only help fuel the xenophobia of Americans, about Asians, and Chinese in particular… our new and best enemy,.

I’m reminder of the interview on national TV here, with Gen William Childs Westmoreland when he was the top military officer in Vietnam. In this interview, Westmorland (a supposedly educated man-- from eagle scout to West Point) describes the Asian people in an inhuman way.

Hopefully,.. just perhaps, your readers are also readers of history and current events.

Joe Sullivan (USMC 1964-1968)

[GD]

"I know that "Karate Kid" is intended as pure entertainment, but it operates as a wonderfully organic propaganda tool for China, presenting a largely sanitized version of the country. There are no political dissidents, no shots of environmental disasters, no one trying in vain to reach thousands of restricted Internet sites." --Perhaps this is news to Mr. Goldstein, but when filming is done in Los Angeles or New York, or just about anywhere, those places are shown as clean upscale cities (minus of course movies like 8 Mile or any other film actually about poverty and strife). TV shows and movies all depict Los Angeles as a glamorous place, but rarely ever the smog filled, crime-ridden, average suburban, working class city. What this blogger highlights is the typical view Westerners have of China, which is a very one-sided dark and dismal one. Yes, China has its fair share of protesters/dissidents, minorities, pollution and poverty--so does every country in the world to include the US. It's almost a default perspective in Western media to portray China as this horrible country and that is as inaccurate as saying Beverly Hills is the epitome of Los Angeles. What Westerners don't realize is that China has come very far in developing its economy and other sectors. However, everyone is stuck on the images of Mao and the Cultural Revolution. It's not like that at all anymore. In fact, you'd hardly notice the difference between it and other so-called democratic capitalist Asian countries. So please, Mr. Goldstein, go educate yourself before you misinform your children and the public.

[JC]

I don't know I was in Beijing in March and everyone did seem pretty happy, content, and mostly well fed. Last I checked the Chinese population approval rating of their government was higher than ours, by a good margin. I'm not saying it's all rainbows and happiness, but it certainly was no worse than any major US city and frankly probably better than most (been to Detroit lately?).

[A Fong]

So they show China's good side, for once. Happy people, well-fed people, and parks full of exercising seniors are also "the real China", just one side of it.

Maybe it will balance out the prevalent negative images that prompt comments like "China knows how to do three things better than anyone else. Pollute the earth, overpopulate the earth, and cheat at the Olympic Games" and "This is what we can come to expect from China. They send us poison in childrens toys and food products, pirate our music and DVD products, books etc. They lie to the entire world!" (These comments represent the majority view of the first 25 comments on a Yahoo! news article about the Olympics.) The thing is, except for the blatant censorship, most of that crap happens here too. But you don't see it in the average kid's movie.

It takes real talent to make a light, fun kid's movie dive into complex issues without being jarring or contrived. Many have done it, and good for them, but sometimes it's just not the point. Sometimes you just want entertainment and a good story. I wouldn't knock Smith, Weintraub & co. for putting China in a positive light this one time.

[me.yahoo.com/a/XKIlK_8Kyvl3JoWUBaKuZPOL9UE3xB3lbg--]

A movie called "Karate Kid" (Japanese) who learns Kung-Fu (Chinese) and enters a Tae-Kwon Do competition (Korean) made by Cha-Ching (American).