Hollywood is one of America’s most powerful industries. Its success over the last century led many to believe that it could form the spearhead of democracy in countries like China as they open up their societies.
On the latest episode of the Drill Down podcast, Peter Schweizer and Eric Eggers are joined by Erich Schwartzel, reporter for the Wall Street Journal and author of the new book Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy, to discuss the increasingly troubling relationship between Hollywood and the Chinese government.
China’s actions call to mind the infamous McCarthy Era and the Hollywood Blacklist during the height of the Cold War, stifling actors, directors and even entire studios in order to fit Communist China’s carefully curated media ecosystem.
Beloved actor Richard Gere is one such victim of Chinese government’s soft black list. Gere has drawn the ire of communist censors for his support for the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence. The size of China’s movie audience has compelled many studios in Hollywood to turn a blind eye to many policies and practices by the Chinese Communist Party, casting doubt on American soft power’s ability to liberalize Chinese society.
But with the works of Peter Schweizer and Erich Schwartzel bringing these developments to the public, there’s hope Hollywood’s cultural potency can be restored.
