Vietnamese authorities have banned commercial screenings of Greta Gerwig's Barbie.
The Warner Bros. film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, one of the most anticipated films of the season, was going to premiere in that country on July 21.
The film contains a scene showing a map with the "nine-dash line," a depiction of China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, which Vietnam says violates its sovereignty.
Australian Margot Robbie poses for a photo on the pink carpet of her new film Barbie in Seoul, July 2, 2023. AFP Photo
Vi Kien Thanh, director general of Vietnam's Film Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said Monday that the ban was decided by the National Film Evaluation Council. It has been reported by Variety, which clarifies that no one from Warner Brothers has yet responded to their questions about what action they will take.
Many of China's neighbors, including Vietnam, have competing and overlapping territorial claims that strongly dispute China's claims. In 2016, a United Nations dispute resolution tribunal in The Hague ruled unanimously against the validity of the "nine-point line."
However, although the South China Sea arbitration was final and binding, there are no clear mechanisms for its implementation and China has said it does not recognize the decision.
Margot Robbie blows out a candle on a cake to celebrate her birthday during the pink carpet of "Barbie." AP Photo
"We do not grant license for the American film Barbie to be released in Vietnam, because it contains the offensive image of the nine-script line," state newspaper Tuoi Tre said, also citing Vi Kien Thanh.
Similar depictions of the "nine-script line" have previously caused problems for multiple films and TV series in Vietnam.
Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, as Nathan Drake and Sully, the heroes of "Uncharted." Photo Clarín File
DreamWorks' animated film An Abominable Friend was banned for the same reason in 2019 and Sony's Uncharted: Off the Map suffered the same fate last year. Exhibitor CGV was fined for showing An Abominable Friend, and staff of the Vietnam Film Department were disciplined for failing to immediately detect the offensive footage. The film was pulled after just over a week in theaters.
In 2020, those responsible for the series Put Your Head On My Shoulder and Madam Secretary were told to remove the scenes that contained the map. Meanwhile, in 2021, Netflix was ordered to pull Australian spy drama Pine Gap from the Vietnamese market.
Photograph of the exterior of the House of Dreams of the Barbie doll, in Los Angeles (United States). Photo EFE
Barbie's house for rent
Among the mountains of Malibu hides the House of Dreams of the doll Barbie and her partner, Ken, a pink paradise in which fashion, glamor and party immerse guests in a universe as fun as illogical.
That first residence of Barbie marketed in 1962, made of cardboard and that suggested being a bachelorette apartment, has been transformed so much to this day that it will now be available on Airbnb for two lucky users of the real estate rental platform to spend a night in its facilities.
The interior of the House of Dreams of the Barbie doll. Photo EFE
The room with round bed mixes elements of jeans, of which a huge plastic horse stands out, with Californian surf and the charm of the catwalks.
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