Paul W.S. Anderson’s latest film to hit theaters is yet another Capcom video game adaptation. Monster Hunter is based on the series of the same name, starring Mila Jovovich as a soldier who enters a wormhole and ends up in a world filled with huge monsters. While the film has yet to release in the United States, it has already opened in China, with the hopes that it would be a big hit overseas. Unfortunately for the film, one particular joke didn’t go over quite as had hoped.
In English, the joke is innocent enough, if a little dumb: one character played by Jin Au-Yeung asks his buddy “What kind of knees are these?” and when his friend doesn’t know, he reveals the answer: “Chi-knees.” All it is in English is a play on words based on how “Chinese” and “knees” end with the same syllable sound. The problem, however, comes when the film was translated for a Chinese audience. During the joke, the Chinese subtitles read “膝下有黄金” which isn’t a word for word translation and reminded Chinese audiences of a racist idiom.
While the English version is pretty much just a play on words, the Chinese translation seems to be referencing a racist joke. The phrase goes “Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, look at these,” and the speaker typically makes hand signs to imitate slanted eyes, breasts, and other vulgar references. The phrase is most commonly remembered as a racist joke used against Chinese immigrants to western countries, and didn’t go over well in China, sparking a huge backlash across social media against the film and the franchise in general. Eventually, the film was pulled across China in response to the outcry.
The production company, Constantin Film, released a statement regarding the incident: “There was absolutely no intent to discriminate, insult or otherwise offend anyone of Chinese heritage. Constantin Film has listened to the concerns expressed by Chinese audiences and removed the line that has led to this inadvertent misunderstanding.” As the companies involved look to tweak the film, it is unclear when, if ever, the film will return to the Chinese market.
Monster Hunter will release in the U.S. on Christmas Day.
Source: Deadline
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