Chinese editorial on "Shanghai attack" in Transformers: ROTF
Thursday, June 25th, 2009 3:11PM CDT
Category: Movie Related NewsPosted by: Delicon Views: 9,457
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As most of you know by now, the first long scene in the film shows a battle in the Chinese city of Shanghai. In fact, this scene was not shot in China at all, but instead in Bethlehem, PA at the former Bethlehem Steel Plant. Originally, this scene had been billed as taking place in a "fictional Chinese city" but was changed later on.
Here is an excerpt from the article. Please note that this is only an opinion column and far from an "official" statmenet from the people of China.
Some Chinese netizens are not happy about this movie because Shanghai appears to be very shabby in the movie which they think is not a real representation of the city.
Moreover, they think bombing Shanghai is an insult to China. They think the movie intentionally tries to uglify China. It is understood that publisher may cut these scenes from the Chinese edition out of consideration for box office receipts.
Some people comment that it is still unbearable for the publisher to only promise to cut these scenes in China. If the "shabby Shanghai" in "Transformers 2" is widely seen by people all over the world, this will mean an even bigger insult to us. Therefore, those people are requiring that those scenes are not shown anywhere in the world.
You may read the entire column here
Stay tuned to Seibertron.com for all the latest news on ROTF and more!
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Posted by neliz on June 25th, 2009 @ 3:21pm CDT
till then? I'm staying Taiwanese!
Posted by Prime Evil on June 25th, 2009 @ 3:25pm CDT
Posted by DCybertron on June 25th, 2009 @ 3:26pm CDT
Posted by Kiracon on June 25th, 2009 @ 3:28pm CDT
Posted by Jetstorm92210 on June 25th, 2009 @ 3:29pm CDT
Posted by dabattousai on June 25th, 2009 @ 3:29pm CDT
China just needs to grow a pair of Devestator-sized balls and just grin and bear it.
Posted by kirbenvost on June 25th, 2009 @ 3:30pm CDT
Posted by Counterpunch on June 25th, 2009 @ 3:34pm CDT
kirbenvost wrote:Totally ridiculous that they're getting worked up over this. So obsessed with reputation/saving face. Seriously, some asian countries need to chill out. Whatever. Yeah, they'll get over it.
Should be noted that it's not 'The Chinese People' makng the complaint, just some idiot editorial piece.
Posted by Ronynus Prime on June 25th, 2009 @ 3:37pm CDT

Posted by kirbenvost on June 25th, 2009 @ 3:45pm CDT
Counterpunch wrote:kirbenvost wrote:Totally ridiculous that they're getting worked up over this. So obsessed with reputation/saving face. Seriously, some asian countries need to chill out. Whatever. Yeah, they'll get over it.
Should be noted that it's not 'The Chinese People' makng the complaint, just some idiot editorial piece.
True, my mistake.
It just bugs me a lot because I know the whole 'saving face' thing is a huge thing in Chinese culture. I know because my girlfriend is Chinese-Canadian. XD If people are really outraged about it, that's just so damn uptight, and that really annoys me. It's just a movie, get over it, etc etc. But if it is indeed just a stupid editorial (no doubt biased towards the government), then yeah, *shrug* I guess. /rant

Posted by Evolution Prime on June 25th, 2009 @ 4:01pm CDT
Kiracon wrote:They wanna complain about that? Do you see anyone in the navy, or even the united states alone complaining they took out an entire Carrier? It took transformers to destroy a US Aircraft Carrier LOL! I'm in the navy and I think that's awesome! Cause I know its fictitious.
You're saying a carrier that has been ripped in half will still stay afloat even at dog zebra? I kinda doubt that. I was in the navy, too. As a submairiner, I got to see my end of the service in action too. Megatron taking the sail of that sub would have doom the sub for sure.
Posted by Shockerwave333 on June 25th, 2009 @ 4:07pm CDT
Posted by T-Macksimus on June 25th, 2009 @ 4:50pm CDT
Shockerwave333 wrote:So wait if "they" are upset about Shanghai looking shabby, and it was filmed in Bethlehm PA, are they trying to say Western PA is Shabby?
LOL, I wouldn't put it past them. I think what really got them PO'd was the depiction of the grotto adjacent to the industrial area. After all, they have an "image" to uphold.


I think the whole situation is laughable at best. I saw nothing disparaging at all about how Shanghai was depicted. In fact, the majority of the shots outside of the construction site were of a sprawling metropolis so I don't understand the issue here.
We were all watching the troops and the robots anyway, who cares about the backdrop?!
Posted by Kiracon on June 25th, 2009 @ 4:51pm CDT
Evolution Prime wrote:Kiracon wrote:They wanna complain about that? Do you see anyone in the navy, or even the united states alone complaining they took out an entire Carrier? It took transformers to destroy a US Aircraft Carrier LOL! I'm in the navy and I think that's awesome! Cause I know its fictitious.
You're saying a carrier that has been ripped in half will still stay afloat even at dog zebra? I kinda doubt that. I was in the navy, too. As a submairiner, I got to see my end of the service in action too. Megatron taking the sail of that sub would have doom the sub for sure.
When I say fictitious I mean the carrier is still floating irl, and this aren't real events. You don't see robots raining down and taking out ships, buildings and such. lol
Posted by Silverbolt on June 25th, 2009 @ 5:32pm CDT
Pros:
Aren't some Chinese overreacting to this science fiction movie? They cannot even stand an old house! Aren't they being too sensitive?
Shanghai is the top city in China. But as with many other cities, there must be some shabby places somewhere in the city. Just like there are small rugged alleys under grand viaducts.
Is it only by shooting prosperous areas and ignoring shabby places, that we can not call it an insult to China?
The rational reaction should be to face the unsatisfactory reality and try our best to reform and construct out cities. Forbidding others to talk about our deficiencies and pretending to be perfect while we are not is only fooling ourselves.
www.ifeng.com contributes to this story
Posted by Delta Supreme on June 25th, 2009 @ 5:36pm CDT
Instead, Paramount should cut out the scene where the Carrier gets hit. Obviously, America cannot have their military show weakness to anybody who may want to sink a carrier someday, before we know it, all the Chinese knockoff factories will be knocking off a full-sized, fusion cannon bearing, ROTF Megatron...

And I'm lol-ing at the Chinese. One of the central tenents of Communism is that everyone is treated equally. Therefore, all Chinese citizens in Shanghai live in opulent penthouses, because there is no poor in China that has to live in a slum... At least that's what they want us to believe...
Posted by Megatron Wolf on June 25th, 2009 @ 5:41pm CDT
Posted by Prime Riblet on June 25th, 2009 @ 6:22pm CDT
Counterpunch wrote:Oh well.
They'll get over it.
or they won't.
Either way, I don't care.
exactly.
Posted by Delicon on June 25th, 2009 @ 8:30pm CDT
In truth the writer did present both sides but I think the negative weighed more heavily in the piece.
Posted by Badass Grimlock on June 25th, 2009 @ 9:34pm CDT
Posted by OmegaConvoy117 on June 25th, 2009 @ 9:50pm CDT
Posted by Renne on June 25th, 2009 @ 9:55pm CDT
Posted by Mach on June 25th, 2009 @ 10:06pm CDT
Press people write something with motives.
I am frequent visitors of Chinese TF fan sites, they are the same as us, complaining issues like Devastator balls, sick jokes, weak decepticons etc. I dont see a single thread that saying Michael Bay gave an bad impression about Shanghai.
So please dont get excited about a bloody press article. Chinese TF Fans are the same as us here, love TF and complaining the same things. No need to bring Politics into it.
Posted by Delicon on June 25th, 2009 @ 10:28pm CDT
Real Devastator wrote:Sometimes we don't mix up press article with general chinese Transformers fans.
Press people write something with motives.
I am frequent visitors of Chinese TF fan sites, they are the same as us, complaining issues like Devastator balls, sick jokes, weak decepticons etc. I dont see a single thread that saying Michael Bay gave an bad impression about Shanghai.
So please dont get excited about a bloody press article. Chinese TF Fans are the same as us here, love TF and complaining the same things. No need to bring Politics into it.
Yes, this was definitely an "opinion" piece.
OmegaConvoy117 wrote:once again the Chinese are pissed for what? all because they have Bethelem,PA which i happen to live in, turned the Steel plant into a chinese city and bombed the hell out of it and like one member said, they had to destory a aircraft carrier for one scene. China needs to chill and they should complain when they make cheal KOs and cheap ass toys
Haha, we're practically neighbors as I too live in Eastern PA. For the record, someone said Western, but it is Eastern, north of Philadelphia a bit. An hour and a half apart, maybe?
Posted by Stormrider on June 26th, 2009 @ 6:58am CDT
Posted by Counterpunch on June 26th, 2009 @ 8:02am CDT
Stormrider wrote:The thing that I have a hard time rationalizing is why iconic cities must always be included in movies like these. It's stereotypical and cliched. With a $200 million budget they could have researched and matched an industrial city very easily in China to make the movie more authentic.
Isn't that what they did?
I'm really confused by your post. They matched a steel city in the US with one in China.
The Chinese writers who put up that article are going to claim that there aren't parts of China where industry makes the city or parts of the city dirty?
They could have said those events took place in Bethlem, like they actually did, and I would be like, 'Yup, that's what steel and coke does to a place. That's industry. No shame.'
If you're saying that it should have been shot in China, I disagree for cost reasons and that it was a boost to the local US economy.
Posted by neliz on June 26th, 2009 @ 12:33pm CDT
If you stand behind this article, remember that these "kids" grew up having no concept of the tianmen riots. They grew up with propaganda and preach propaganda.
These "bloggers" are on equal footing with Scientology, they will flat out deny historical events like the Holocaust or the massacres in Tibet and get other *TOOLS* to spout their foul message into the world.
When the state controls the media, it's message simply can't be believe. This happens in Iran, Cuba and we're now seeing neo-dictatorships like Italy control all media outlets where even "simple bloggers" are just payed shills that sit in cubicles doing web-control (client relationships.)
China likes to use the Nanking massacre as a base to justify it's behaviour, But it's making damn sure they rake in the highest death tolls themselves
Let's go and do some more political bashing! Seibertron.com needs it.
P.S. .. sorry guys, I just needed to get that out of me before anyone thought that China really was the victim here
Posted by Stormrider on June 26th, 2009 @ 1:21pm CDT
Counterpunch wrote:Stormrider wrote:The thing that I have a hard time rationalizing is why iconic cities must always be included in movies like these. It's stereotypical and cliched. With a $200 million budget they could have researched and matched an industrial city very easily in China to make the movie more authentic.
Isn't that what they did?
I'm really confused by your post. They matched a steel city in the US with one in China.
The Chinese writers who put up that article are going to claim that there aren't parts of China where industry makes the city or parts of the city dirty?
They could have said those events took place in Bethlem, like they actually did, and I would be like, 'Yup, that's what steel and coke does to a place. That's industry. No shame.'
If you're saying that it should have been shot in China, I disagree for cost reasons and that it was a boost to the local US economy.
I agree that Shanghai is a dirty place, and I also have no problem with the shot being done in Bethlem, PA and then matched with a city else where. The problem that I have is writers and directors using stereotypical cities for their scenes, simply because the name is recognizable. It's like making a movie where meteorites fall on downtown Manhattan, Bangkok, and Paris. Why use Shanghai when there are so many other Chinese cities that are dirtier with steel mills? Shanghai is known as a metropolitan center.
The connection that I am trying to make here is that some directors and writers shouldn't think that it's a risk to match their settings to lesser known cities that meet their needs. By doing so, they make the movie more authentic instead of choosing a city or location because its name is recognizable.
Here are a couple steel mill cities in China that I googled. I am sure that I could find more interesting ones if I spent more time.
Shanxi

Shougang

Posted by Prime Riblet on June 26th, 2009 @ 10:58pm CDT
Posted by GetterDragun on June 26th, 2009 @ 11:31pm CDT
You can feel better now China knowing that is what America actually looks like.