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A few days back, it was revealed that Greta Gerwig’s much anticipated 2023 film Barbie had been banned in Vietnam due to geopolitical reasons. The film was supposed to be released in the country on July 21, 2023. Now a new problem has arisen because even the Philippines is threatening to ban it in their country. This is mainly due to the major maritime border disputes between the aforementioned countries and China.
The film stars Margot Robbie as Barbie, Ryan Gosling as Ken, America Ferrera as Gloria, Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie, Issa Rae as President Barbie, Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel, Michael Cera as Allan, Jamie Demetriou as a Mattel employee, Connor Swindells as a Mattel intern, Emerald Fennell as Midge and several others.
After Vietnam, why is the Philippines threatening to ban Barbie?
To understand Vietnam and the Philippines' conflict with Barbie, it's important to understand what the Nine-dash line is. The Nine-dash line, referred to as the eleven-dash line by China, is a set of imaginary lines in maps that denotes the territorial claims of the People's Republic of China.
However, China has conflicts with these claims with Vietnam and the Philippines. This area is located in the South China Sea and has abundant natural resources.
China has been accused several times of violating south-east Asian countries' sovereignty and harnessing resources from this area. In Barbie, a short scene shows this area, and the Vietnamese didn't take it well. They thought that the representation was incorrect and offensive.
A Vietnamese state-run newspaper called Tuoi Tre released a statement by Vi Kien Thanh, the head of the Department of Cinema.
"We do not grant license for the American movie Barbie to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line," the statement read.
The Philipines also threatened to ban the film for the same reason. Local Senator Francis Tolentino spoke to CNN Philippines, demanding the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board of the Philippines ban the film because that particular scene was offensive to the country.
"If the invalidated nine-dash line was indeed depicted in the movie Barbie, then it is incumbent upon the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board of the Philippines to ban the same as it denigrates Philippine sovereignty," he said.
However, he added that a middle ground was to edit out the offending scene. The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board of the Philippines revealed on their website that they were discussing whether the film would be released.
"We confirm that the Board has reviewed the film Barbie today, 04 July 2023. At this time, the assigned Committee on First Review is deliberating on the request of Warner Brothers F.E. Inc. for a Permit to Exhibit," the statement read.
This is not the first time a situation like this has arisen, as films like Abominable and Uncharted were banned in both countries.
Barbie's synopsis
The official synopsis of the film reads:
To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken."
The film is produced by David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner and will release in the USA on July 21, 2023.
