When the Top Gun: Maverick trailer first went on air – after years of pandemic waiting – watchful viewers noticed that a detail of the original 1986 film had changed. No, it’s not a matter of appreciation about the actor’s smile. Let’s make a local mind about the pilot-style jacket worn by Tom Cruise in Top Gun as Maverick. A mythical jacket , or stylistic dèjà-vu, which could not be missing in the sequel of the film. Can a fashion detail trigger a fight in international geopolitics? It Sounds shocking , but actually it is. And to think that, ironically, is Top Gun: Maverick is the movie that Tom Cruise had absolutely no intention of doing it but you know, these are unpredictable times for everyone with all respects anything is possible.
Find the differences. Because with a superficial glance the detail escapes. But on closer inspection the two jackets worn by Tom Cruise in the two editions of Top Gun the question is obvious. As several international newspapers report including The Guardian, the iconic aviator jacket worn by Pete Maverick in 1986 had a patch on its back that included the flags of Japan and Taiwan. In the first trailer for the new movie it looked like the jacket design had been changed. And that the two flags had been replaced with random symbols. Geometric figures without of any meaning. Impossible not to think about it.
In times of crisis, even international blockbusters are forced to make films meant to go beyond rigid Chinese censorship. Because entering the lucrative market by millions of Chinese viewers is not so obvious. And there is a price to pay. But in a fairly unexpected move, the direction of the film went around and kept the Taiwanese flag on Tom Cruise’s jacket. A news that has caused a lot of discussion in Taiwan. So much so that almost all the major news channels have reported the whole story.It is obvious, style has nothing to do with it here. As Vice reports – taking up what a Taiwanese screenwriter wrote on Facebook – “To be honest, Tom didn’t necessarily have to wear the same jacket. It is not possible that film producers did not know that the flag of the Republic of China would cross the red line of the Communist Party of China.” (Republic of China is the official name of Taiwan, ed.). “But they did it anyway.” The film thus opened a deep wound that it tests the precarious balance between the two world powers of America and China.
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