‘Barbie’ movie banned in Vietnam over South China Sea map
July 3, 2023
Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated film “Barbie” will not be premiering in Vietnam, according to state media.
What happened: Local reports noted that the Southeast Asian nation has banned “Barbie” from playing in cinemas due to a scene with a map that includes China’s “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea.
“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,” Vi Kien Thanh, the director of Vietnam’s cinema department, stated on Monday, state-run newspaper Tuoi Tre reported, as per Reuters.
What is the “nine-dash line”?: The nine-dash line is used in Chinese maps to show the parts of the South China Sea that China has claimed ownership of. Vietnam considers some of these areas as being part of its own continental shelf.
In 2016, The Hague repudiated the nine-dash line through international arbitration. However, China continues to disregard the ruling.
Not just “Barbie”: Throughout the years, Vietnam has banned several films for including scenes with maps that feature the “nine-dash line,” such as DreamWorks’ 2019 animated film “Abominable” and Sony’s 2022 action-adventure film “Uncharted.”
About the upcoming film: “Barbie” follows a doll named Barbie who, after being declared less than perfect in Barbieland, decides to journey to the human world to look for true happiness.
The film boasts a superstar cast that includes Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Emma Mackey, Ritu Arya, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Will Ferrell and Michael Cera, among many others.
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