Images from “Red Carpet: Hollywood, China and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy” — ERICH SCHWARTZEL

Images from Red Carpet

From trade to technology to military might, competition between the United States and China dominates the foreign policy landscape. But this battle for global influence is also playing out in a strange and unexpected arena: the movies.

Nelly Naimutie, a resident of Suswa, Kenya, and the wife of the town’s chief, in front of her home, which in late 2018 was outfitted with a
satellite dish that carries Chinese movies and TV shows. — Nelly Naimutie, a resident of Suswa, Kenya, and the wife of the town’s chief, in front of her home, which in late 2018 was outfitted with a satellite dish that carries Chinese movies and TV shows.

Concessions-stand employees wear Stormtrooper masks before the first public
screening of Disney’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens at a theater in Shanghai, China.
The movie would eventually fail at the Chinese box office, sending Disney executives int — Concessions-stand employees wear Stormtrooper masks before the first public screening of Disney’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens at a theater in Shanghai, China. The movie would eventually fail at the Chinese box office, sending Disney executives into a yearslong frenzy to win over the market.

In the 1990s, Richard Gere's public friendship with the Dalai Lama inspired him to issue statements in support of Tibet -- a political stance that would cost him roles in major studio releases years later.

In 2016, a Chinese real estate mogul named Wang Jianlin erected his own
version of the Hollywood sign above a massive complex of sound stages built in
the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao. It translates to “Movie Metropolis of the
East”—and its letter — In 2016, a Chinese real estate mogul named Wang Jianlin erected his own version of the Hollywood sign above a massive complex of sound stages built in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao. It translates to “Movie Metropolis of the East”—and its letters stand taller than those of its Los Angeles counterpart.

The original “Hollywood” sign, erected in 1923 to advertise a housing development being built in the hills below, came to signify the glitz and pull of America’s most famous industry.

America’s leading man John Wayne starred as Mongol empire leader Genghis Khan in
the 1956 film The Conqueror . Its stereotypically Orientalist portrayal characterized much of Hollywood’s treatment of Asians in the midtwentieth century. — America’s leading man John Wayne starred as Mongol empire leader Genghis Khan in the 1956 film The Conqueror. Its stereotypically Orientalist portrayal characterized much of Hollywood’s treatment of Asians in the midtwentieth century.

Chen Kaige’s 1993 film Farewell My Concubine , was one of several Chinese movies of the 1980s and 1990s that heralded a breakthrough in the country’s cinema. 'Concubine was celebrated in the West, winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, — Chen Kaige’s 1993 film Farewell My Concubine, was one of several Chinese movies of the 1980s and 1990s that heralded a breakthrough in the country’s cinema. 'Concubine was celebrated in the West, winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, but was banned in China until political pressure prompted officials to allow it to screen.

The author, Erich Schwartzel, returns to Kenya to show a copy of his book Red Carpet to some of the people featured in the reporting. — The author, Erich Schwartzel, returns to Kenya to show a copy of his book Red Carpet to some of the people featured in the reporting.