>In it, one of the moral cruxes of the main story was that the crew needed 'Unity'. I saw this as a subtle shift from american 'Freedom'.
Teamwork is a huge theme in countless Hollywood movies. A rag tag group of misfits who has to overcome their differences and learn to work together is a classic movie trope.
I don't think this has anything do with trying to appeal to Chinese audiences.
Less complex (and less overall) dialogue designed to make it easier to translate is an actual example of trying to succeed in China.
Certainly there is teamwork in many films, but I feel in traditional films that teamwork is to work towards the common goal of 'freedom' (abstractly). In this Star Trek movie, it came down to a struggle of power vs (explicitly) "unity". I.e., bad guy was against the idea of Unity. So in American films, unity is used as a tool to the end goal of freedom, whereas in this film the struggle was towards the ultimate goal of unity.
But that's one of the central themes of Star Trek. The Federation is explicitly about unity, not necessarily freedom. The Federation has been accessed of being an essentially communist government over the years.
The film was written by long time fan of the series, so one of the central themes of the series being highlighted in the film is unsurprising.
I sincerely doubt it has anything to do with China.
Unity vs. Chaos, with a preference for the former, is a common and recurring them in American film and television which has not infrequently featured in the Star Trek franchise. Freedom vs. authority/conformity, with the preference for the former, is also a common and recurring theme in American film and TV which has not infrequently featured in the Star Trek franchise, and, yes, the two themes do have tension with each other (a tension which is, itself, another common and recurring theme in American film and television which has not infrequently featured in the Star Trek franchise.)
Teamwork is a huge theme in countless Hollywood movies. A rag tag group of misfits who has to overcome their differences and learn to work together is a classic movie trope.
I don't think this has anything do with trying to appeal to Chinese audiences.
Less complex (and less overall) dialogue designed to make it easier to translate is an actual example of trying to succeed in China.