image source,Getty Images
Fight Club director David Fincher poses with actors Brad Pitt and Edward Norton at the 2009 Awards.
The 1999 American black comedy film “Fight Club” (also translated as Fight Club, Fight Club) was censored in China, and the ending was changed to a major victory for the authorities.
In the original ending, the narrator, played by Edward Norton, killed Tyler Durden, an imaginary alter-ego played by Brad Pitt.
The plot then climaxes when the bomb destroys the building, hinting at the execution of a conspiracy plan to subvert the social order.
But Chinese netizens saw a very different outcome on the video site Tencent.
The Chinese version deleted the scene of the building’s explosion and replaced it with white text on a black background: “Through the clues provided by Taylor, the police quickly sorted out the case, caught them in one fell swoop, and prevented the bomb from detonating.”
The caption also added that Taylor was forcibly sent to a mental hospital for treatment and was discharged in 2012.
This subtitle is in both English and Chinese, and uses an English font similar to the original film style.
image source,Tencent Video screenshot
The film, directed by David Fincher, was recently added to Tencent Video. Tencent Video is one of the largest online video sites in China.
Chuck Palahniuk, the author of the novel, wrote sarcastically on Twitter: “This is awesome! In China, everyone has a happy ending!”
Human Rights Watch criticized the adaptation as “dystopian.”
“The second rule of fight club is ‘The Chinese Communist Party censors tell us what to do and say, and we do and say what,'” wrote U.S. Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei asked on social media: “What would Tyler Durton say?”
Previously, some Chinese viewers who had seen the pirated original film complained on social media that the ending had been changed, drawing attention to the incident.
“Power does not allow imagination, nor does power allow ‘art to be higher than life’, it has to penetrate into all corners,” wrote a Weibo netizen.
“Are you afraid that you won’t be able to pass the trial? Then don’t introduce it… Who is in charge of radio and television now, I live in the Qing Dynasty?” another Weibo netizen wrote.
It is not uncommon for Chinese censors to cut Western films, but direct revisions to plots are rare.
It is unclear whether Chinese authorities censors ordered the revised ending, or whether the original filmmakers or video sites made the changes to suit the authorities.
