Chinese streaming giant Tencent Video have made a surprising u-turn, and reinstated the original ending of Fight Club after censoring it last month.
We’re breaking the number one rule, but we’re doing so with good reason.
Late last month came the news that Tencent Video – the Chinese video site with over 900 million monthly active users – had added a surprising twist at the end of the iconic 1999 film, Fight Club. Instead of Tyler Durden and his merry band of anarchists bombing the city, the police supposedly discovered the plot and arrested them all; instead of, ‘You met me at a very strange time in my life’ and the Pixies, Durden ended up in a lunatic asylum.
I agree, it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, but that was the Chinese Communit Party’s version of events, and their wish is Tencent’s command.
With some of the strictest censorship laws in the world, I doubt Chinese audiences were overly surprised when the new ending appeared. Still, imagine sitting through the entire film, readily awaiting the dramatic ending to tie it all together, only for a black screen to show up, reading: “The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding. After the trial Tyler was sent to a lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012.”
If it weren’t part of a broader despotic picture, it would be funny. Okay, even then, it’s a little bit funny. At least it was refreshing to see the CCP implement some judicial reform and eventually release Durden. We all know Xi Jingping loves a “re-education” centre.
Internationally, the censorship drew widespread backlash, with Human Rights Watch describing the edit as “dystopian.” Chuck Palahniuk, the author of the 1996 novel that the Fight Club movie was adapted from, also condemned the move, sarcastically tweeting: “This is SUPER wonderful! Everyone gets a happy ending in China!” On Substack, he added, “How amazing. I’d no idea! Justice always wins. Nothing ever exploded. Fini.”
It all seemed like your standard anti-totalitarian backlash. The kind which the CCP is well versed in weathering and then breezing merrily from, their severe policy intact. And yet, surprisingly, the Fight Club alternative lasted only a matter of weeks, with the original reimplemented over the weekend.
Tencent has not yet commented on the reversal. Whatever caused it, let’s celebrate a rare victory for freedom in China.
