The live-action Monster Hunter movie has been pulled from theaters in China over a controversial joke in the movie with racist connotations. This has led to a major backlash to the film and calls from Chinese audiences for further boycotts.The controversial quip from the Monster Hunter movie involves a scene where two soldiers are talking to one another. One of the soldiers asks the other, “What are my knees?” and then follows-up by saying, “Chi-knees.”
The line echoes a longtime, racist playground chant “Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, look at these.” The playground rhyme has created a historic association between the phrase “dirty knees” and anti-Asian and anti-Asian American racism.
The backlash on Chinese social media was swift, and local theaters began pulling the movie from screens amidst growing criticism. Oddly enough, the line was even altered for the Chinese subtitles, but the localization changed the reference into an idiom about Chinese people kneeling, which further exacerbated the situation.While the Monster Hunter movie has already been pulled from theaters, any potential re-release in China with the scene edited out is in doubt as the online backlash against the film continues to grow.The criticism of the film has extended to other Monster Hunter properties as well. The Steam version of Capcom’s Monster Hunter: World is getting review-bombed over anger with the movie adaptation.
Capcom, the developer of the video game series on which the film is based, has issued a statement on Chinese social media regarding the backlash. According to analyst Daniel Ahmad, Capcom says it is, “aware of the situation and the controversy” but says it is not a producer on the Monster Hunter movie and will report the situation to the companies directly involved with the making of the movie.
Monster Hunter was produced by Tencent Pictures and Constantin Pictures and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Starring Milla Jovovich, the film follows modern-day soldiers who find themselves facing off against giant monsters from the video game while teaming up with a group of Hunters.The Monster Hunter film is slated for a December 25 release in the US. It is unclear if the controversy will change plans for the film’s North American release; but if anything impacts the release it will likely be a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which is changing the US movie-going landscape in considerable ways.
This story replaces and updates an earlier report on the same topic. IGN's news team felt that the original version didn't fully explain the racist connotations of the line in question, and have rewritten the article and added additional context to make clearer the issue.
Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.This story replaces and updates an earlier report on the same topic. IGN's news team felt that the original version didn't explain the racist connotations of the line in question, and have rewritten the article and added additional context to make clearer the issue.
The Link LonkDecember 07, 2020 at 11:58PM
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Monster Hunter Pulled from Chinese Theaters Over Offensive Joke - IGN
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