Usually, they only censor the explicit content. But this is the first time that AI tools were used to directly alter the content of the original film.
By the way, the film has been withdrawn from a wide release in China after receiving too many complaints.
I’ve heard it described before (maybe it was by you actually, if so then just ignore me) that there’s this general sort of dynamic where the companies learn to pre-emptively censor the media before the censors even get to it, because they’ve learned that it’s best to do this to avoid the hassle. The problem is that they tend to be overly conservative and censor more than necessary. Do you think that’s accurate?
Correct - it depends on how much time you want to spend wasting going back and forth with the censors.
From what’s written on the social media, the fact is that nobody even expected the film to have a release in China anyway, because of the explicit gay couple content as well as the body horror contents. So it was in fact a surprise that it got a wide release in the first place. Then people found out that certain parts of the film were completely altered lol.
Here’s hoping for a course correction and a gay Chinese century. I know I would love to see Chinese films that explore those topics.
Maybe back in the 2010s… a lot have changed since Covid to be honest with you.
There are plenty of LGBT web indie films though. As I mentioned to another user here, I really like 去年烟火 from last year, it’s a short film about a lesbian couple in a small provincial town.