The opening scene explores the troubling dilemma of the trio and a meditation on history and censorship.
In a world where science fiction is a mirror of political and social realities, the Netflix series Three-Party Problem has opened up perspectives and controversies. In the year The 2008 Hugo-awarded adaptation of Liu Cixi’s novel of the same name has achieved more than just entertainment. It provoked reflection and debate, especially among Chinese audiences.
In the year In 1966, he created a representation of the Chinese Cultural Revolution in a spectacular scene at a university in Beijing. In it, a physics teacher is brutally attacked by Communist Red Guards at the sight of people mocking him for opposing government ideologies.
This representation has fueled Chinese social media, with accusations against Hollywood for portraying China in a negative light with the image of the Red Guards. The situation is so important that CNN reported about the “national outrage” that it caused in the Asian country. Despite the criticism, the series managed to attract international attention, which provoked a wide response and analysis.
Absence in Chinese adaptation
Notably, the aforementioned sequence will not appear in the 30-episode Chinese adaptation released by Tencent in 2023. Similarly, “politically correct” changes to the story, such as a large diversity in international actors and relocating the narrative to London, separate from the original Chinese context, have been the subject of criticism. Despite this, the hashtag “China version wins” has become popular, referring to Tencent’s adaptation and highlighting the complexities of historical and cultural representation.
Global vision and the importance of history
Rosalind Chao, who plays the adult Ye Wenji in the series, shared her thoughts on the Cultural Revolution scenes and their settings, highlighting the importance of an international version of the story. His perspective shows the globalization of history and the tension between censorship and the official narrative in China. Expressing his frustration at the narrowness, Chao relishes the opportunity to tell this part of world history in a way that embraces the science fiction genre, noting how crucial an understanding of world history is to understanding human motivations.
Netflix’s Three-Part Problem not only invites us to immerse ourselves in a compelling science fiction narrative, but also pushes us to ponder history, memory, and censorship. The series will be a rallying point to discuss how communities remember their past and the impact of these memories on the collective present and future. In an interconnected world, the history of one part of the world repeats itself everywhere, reminding us of the importance of speech, understanding and above all, remembering.
Other projects have been censored in China.
Censorship in China is not a phenomenon limited to the three physical disorders. The audiovisual industry has seen a number of projects being modified or banned altogether due to the country’s strict regulations. For example, the popular series Game of Thrones has faced many cuts in its broadcast in China, which avoids scenes that are too violent or sexually explicit.
Similarly, films such as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides have been edited to remove references to death or the supernatural, following a policy of not depicting “ghost culture” in the media. These cases show a pattern of state intervention in audiovisual content, seeking to align it with government values and policies, affecting both local reception and perceptions of censorship and freedom of expression in the country.