Deadpool banned in China for nudity, violence, pwnage
In a move that is being hailed as “kickass” and “major pwnage” by marketers and 13-year-olds on message boards alike, The Hollywood Reporter confirms multiple Chinese-language reports saying that Deadpool has been banned in the Peoples’ Republic of China due to its violence, nudity, and creative application of swear words.
Because China has no official movie ratings system (and because sweeping autocratic pronouncements are kind of its thing), before a film can open in China, an official censorship board watches it and decides whether or not it is acceptable to screen in the country. Usually, THR reports, studios cooperate with the censors and produce special, sanitized versions of R-rated movies for the Chinese market—which, it must be noted, will surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest film market by 2017. But in this case, removing all the offending words, actions, and body parts would apparently have rendered the plot of the movie incomprehensible (and, if early boasts from star Ryan Reynolds are to be believed, about 15 minutes long).
So, adolescents of America, when you’re begging your mom to let you go see Deadpool, don’t just point out that the other kids’ moms let them watch R-rated movies. Appeal to her sense of patriotism and let her know that, by allowing you to gaze upon the forbidden fruit of a superhero who uses the F-word a lot, she’s also taking a stand for freedom.