i want you to sign this unequal treaty, Mr Bond

In fact, references to the Middle Kingdom are popping up with remarkable frequency in movies these days. Some are conspicuously flattering or gratuitous additions designed to satisfy Chinese business partners and court audiences in the largest moviegoing market outside the U.S. Others, filmmakers say, are simply organic reflections of the fact that China is a rising political, economic and cultural power.

Meanwhile, Chinese bad guys are vanishing — literally. Western studios are increasingly inclined to excise potentially negative references to China in the hope that the films can pass muster with Chinese censors and land one of several dozen coveted annual revenue-sharing import quota slots in Chinese cinemas.

I wouldn't count the disappearance of Sinister Mr Slitty Eyes as a problem with Chinese influence over Hollywood: I'd count it as a compensation.

But given the history of Britain's involvement with China, and what China's education system makes of that history, what a terrific opportunity for the revival of that old standby, the Great British Hollywood Villain. They seemed to be everywhere about fifteen years ago, but then seemed to go into a decline, depriving many cultured thesps of the chance for a major payday enunciating plans for world domination in a rich, fruity baritone. Now the game's back on. They'll be breaking out the opium at RADA, I tell you.

Comments

[Gareth Rees]

The Great British Hollywood Villain is alive and hamming it up—in the last decade or so we've had the Star Wars series (Ian McDiarmid), the Spider-Man series (Willem Dafoe), the Pirates of the Caribbean series (Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy, and Tom Hollander), the Harry Potter series (Ralph Fiennes and many others), the Lord of the Rings series (Christopher Lee), the X-Men series (Ian McKellen), the Avengers movies (Tom Hiddleston) and plenty of others.

[Strategist]

Willem Dafoe, British? Wisconsin, says Wikipedia.

[Leinad]

Also, would be a bit weird for thoroughly British HP to feature Texan Voldemort.