The recent decision by the Chinese government to ban Memoirs of a Geisha from domestic screens isn't going to stop anyone from seeing Rob Marshall's film. In fact, Chinese citizens have been watching the movie for months: thanks to the country's thriving piracy industry, DVDs of Geisha are widely available for prices much lower than those paid for movie tickets. Though the Chinese government is restrictive enough that it routinely "protects" its citizens from the harmful influence of foreign cultural elements, the fact that roughly 95% of the DVDs available in the country are thought to be pirated (the numbers, obviously, are even higher for banned films and TV shows) sort of removes the teeth from the government's actions. I wonder what the reaction to the ban has been among Chinese citizens - it sounds as if, under current circumstances, it's little more than political window dressing.