Starring famous Chinese stars and high-quality action, Disney had anticipated China’s immense support for ‘Shang-chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.’ But immediately following the movie’s release, China’s uneasy stance on the film looks as if the film is not going to be cleared for release anytime soon. The reasons for its ban consist of racist stereotypes in the comics (which have since been removed in the movie.

‘Shang-Chi’ is not the only piece of media under censorship. Since President Xi Jinping’s rise to office in 2013, his administration has started to heavily censor everything from social media, movies, tv shows, and music. “All the work by the party’s media must reflect the party’s will, safeguard the party’s authority, and safeguard the party’s unity,” said President Xi Jinping.

Among banned or heavily edited movies in China include ‘Titanic,’ ‘Back to the Future,’ ‘Alice in Wonderland, ‘Iron Man’ 2 and 3, and ‘Mission: Impossible III.’ Citing many reasons, these movies were not left untouched by the government’s strict censorship laws. ‘Titanic’ in particular was edited to exclude a nude scene, and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ was banned altogether for fantasy aspects. The censors believed that animals acting like humans were “insulting.”

All Chinese internet companies had to sign a “Public Pledge of Self-Regulation and Professional Ethics for China Internet Industry,” which featured 31 articles to guide the information allowed on the internet. Article 18, in particular, says that “We pledge to l accept supervision and criticism over the Internet Industry from the public and to resist and correct unethical practices in the Internet Industry jointly.”