China stepped up its censorship game earlier this month but this time it changed the ending of a movie loved by many across the globe. The cult film Fight Club, directed by David Fincher based a novel of the same name written by Chuck Palahniuk, had a different ending than the original much to the surprise as well as amusement of many.
The reason – establish that authority is supreme. The original Fight Club movie ends with lead actors Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter staring at bombs destroying buildings as a series of explosions set off as part of the movie’s plot where Carter’s character called simply ‘the Narrator’ wants to reorder society.
The censored version in China, however, changed it completely. In the Chinese version, the movie ends with a note where it is said that police foiled the plan and defused the bombs.
“Through the clue provided by Tyler, 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,’ the new finale said. In the movie, the protagonist kills his alter-ego Tyler Durden.
Censoring movies in China is not new but changing the ending of a cinema is something rare. Republican lawmaker Ted Cruz took to Twitter to share his response. “The second rule of Fight Club is ‘we will do and say whatever the Chinese communist censors tell us to do and say,” Cruz tweeted. Chuck Palahniuk, the novelist himself, said that in China everyone gets a happy ending.
“This is SUPER wonderful! Everyone gets a happy ending in China. How amazing. I’d no idea! Justice always wins. Nothing ever exploded. Fini,” Palahniuk wrote on Substack. Ali Weiwei also quipped on social media saying “What Would Tyler Durden Say?”
The Human Rights Watch also put out a tweet expressing concern saying that the ending was ‘dystopian’. “The first rule of Fight Club in China? Don’t mention the original ending. The second rule of Fight Club in China? Change it so the police win,” the Human Rights Watch said in a tweet.
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