Robert Zemeckis might not be at the height of fame today, but back in the ’80s and ’90s, he was celebrated as the next Steven Spielberg, a director who knew how to captivate audiences while crafting heartfelt, personal films driven by his love for cinema. The Back to the Future trilogy is the ultimate example of this cinephile attitude—each film wildly entertaining, though some may consider the Western-themed third movie weaker than the previous two (we’ll forgive them for this lapse in judgment, don’t worry!). However, in the 2010s, China decided to reject this “contamination,” not due to moral concerns or political commentary, but rather because of the central theme: time travel.
This past weekend, Zemeckis’ latest film, Here, premiered in the U.S., reuniting Tom Hanks and Robin Wright 30 years after Forrest Gump. This film also lacks a Chinese release so far, but in light of this, Slashfilm recalled the story of how Back to the Future landed on China’s blacklist in the early 2010s. Around that time, Chinese media authorities began systematically banning sci-fi content depicting time travel in movies, TV productions, and even TV broadcasts. This recalls the opening episode of The Three-Body Problem, in which, under Mao’s “Cultural Revolution,” the communists launched a concentrated attack on science, religion, and the entire intellectual class.
Time travel is considered an unwelcome concept in modern China, not for its scientific underpinnings but rather for its unscientific, superstition-like fantasy elements. The reasoning is that if something isn’t possible in physical reality, it’s merely superstition—and the Party leadership continues to view religion with a wary eye. Interestingly, the censorship only targets movies and series; Chinese literature and theater are not restricted from using time-travel themes. According to journalist Raymond Zhu Liming, the government may also object because Chinese films and shows with time-travel themes—such as the drama The Myth (Sen hua)—often use it as a device to return to the past and comment on current societal issues. Dictatorships tend to disapprove of "ugly realism" in any form.
The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) officially stated that such sci-fi content trivializes the past, which is unacceptable. In other words, these films and series might challenge the Party’s portrayal of history—a key component for any dictatorship, where shaping and broadly representing historical interpretation is fundamental.
The Back to the Future trilogy is rich with satirical remarks and even moments—or entire storylines—that could be seen as taboo-breaking. A prime example of this comes from the first film, where Marty’s young mother from 1955 falls for him, eventually kissing her own son in a dramatic confrontation. She immediately feels strange afterward, and throughout, Marty is focused on avoiding any form of incest, as he knows exactly who she is—even if the young Lorraine doesn’t.
Zemeckis and his writing partner, Bob Gale, didn’t shy away from political commentary either. Doc expresses disbelief when he learns that “that clown” Ronald Reagan is president of 1980s America. In China, a similar line referring to Mao Zedong, the former communist leader, would likely not only get Back to the Future censored, but might also bring severe consequences for its creators. Fortunately for Zemeckis and his team, they created this sci-fi classic in Hollywood, where censorship exists, but (so far) not to this extreme level.
