Russian villains have dominated the Hollywood landscape for more than 50 years, but Russian citizens don't appreciate the negative portrayals playing in their movie theaters.
"In some films, anti-social and sometimes anti-Russian rhetoric is present, confusing the younger generation," Vladislav Grib, Russia public chamber's first deputy secretary, said on Sept. 24.
Hollywood movies causing problems for some Russian leaders in government, media and the entertainment industries include "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit," "The Avengers," "A Good Day to Die Hard," and 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" for its poor depiction of the Soviet Union during the 1950s, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Russian politicians and others in the country's entertainment and media sectors want to limit the distribution of Hollywood films in an attempt to put pressure on the United States to lift its sanctions on the country, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The U.S. and much of Europe imposed sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea from the Ukraine, and has kept them in place because of Russia's continued involvement in the independent country.
"As long as the sanctions against Russia are in place, we should ban all American movies from Russian movie theaters," Russian director Yuri Kara told a meeting of the All-Russia People's Front on Sept. 17. "Hollywood would then apply pressure on Obama and push him to repeal the sanctions."
Russia represents the world's sixth largest movie market and its total box office reached $1.3 billion last year. U.S. films made up 75 percent of that total gross, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"We understand that there is no way for Hollywood to stop portraying us as the bad guys," Grib said. "We just advise that Hollywood add some balance and introduce some good Russian characters into their stories too. Apart from being fair and politically correct, this approach will also help keep screens open for Hollywood in the world's sixth largest theatrical market."
