Why was the Monster Hunter film adaptation banned in China and how did it affect the game

The film version of the game Monster Hunter: World was removed from rental in China because of a joke that many citizens of the country found offensive and racist. As a result, Chinese users began massively underestimating the game, and Capcom promised to investigate.What offended the Chinese in the film?

The problem drew the attention of analyst Daniel Ahmad (Daniel Ahmad), who posted on Twitter an excerpt from the movie “Monster Hunter” (Monster Hunter), the film adaptation of the eponymous series of Capcom games.

Now the video has been deleted, but in it you could hear a joke built on a play on words: “What kind of knees are these? Chi-knees».

The problem is that the phrase about knees refers to an old children’s song: “Chinese / Japanese / Dirty knees / Look at them” (Chinese / Japanese / Dirty knees / Look at these). It used to be used in English-speaking countries to make fun of Asians.

Reaction of Chinese viewersThe film instantly provoked a negative reaction in China.

Users discussed the controversial moment on social networks and expressed dissatisfaction with the attitude of the creators of the picture to the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire.

At the same time, all foreign films, TV shows and games in the country must be approved by the relevant authorities. Neither Ahmad nor other analysts understand how such a joke got into the Chinese version of the film at all.

The subtitles that accompanied the scandalous scene also added fuel to the fire. Instead of the correct translation, the phrase was replaced with a Chinese idiom denoting kneeling.

Some felt that this was done intentionally in order to offend Chinese viewers. Ahmad also notes that some government officials have accused Americans of hypocrisy, since Hollywood does not attach importance to racist jokes about Asians.

Withdrawal from the rental and the further fate of the filmAs a result, the Monster Hunter film adaptation was withdrawn from rental in most Chinese cinemas.

According to Variety, the film is unlikely to return to screens even after the joke is removed and may be completely banned in the country.

According to Ahmad, in the event of a ban, the filmmakers could lose up to $30 million in revenue from potential screenings in China. Despite the fact that director Paul W.S. Anderson previously announced his readiness to shoot a sequel, the failure of the picture due to a scandal in China could ruin his plans.

Review-bombing and Capcom’s ResponseAfter the scandal, Monster Hunter: World was subjected to a review-bombing.

In addition to the project pages on Chinese platforms, viewers from China began massively underestimating the game on Steam.

Since December 1, more than 2,000 negative reviews have appeared, mainly from Chinese users who criticized Monster Hunter for hypocrisy and racism in the film. “Capcom is dead to me,” one of the players wrote in Chinese.

Soon, Capcom itself reacted to the scandal and stated that it was aware of the situation and user outrage. The company noted that it is not the producer of the film, and promised to contact the producer of the picture to investigate.

However, many users considered such a statement hypocritical, since Capcom was somehow connected with the film. For example, the character Milla Jovovich (Milla Jovovich) was supposed to appear in the game Monster Hunter: World.

Also on the topic:

• Capcom is very pleased with PC sales of Monster Hunter: World in RussiaAnother 43 Chinese apps have been banned in India.
• 8 of them are gamesStricter rules in Steam China may lead to its unification with the global version
• Is there any news?