Philippines will screen ‘Barbie’ following censorship review
Following the recent controversy, a board of censors have now granted the screening of Barbie in the Philippines’ cinemas following its launch later this month. However, they have requested that Hollywood distributors blur the lines on a sketch of the world map seen in the movie.
While Barbie creators never intended to incite such controversy, the rough drawing of a map seen in the new toy-based movie reportedly displays China’s disputed maritime claims. Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Barbie is set to premiere in the Philippines on July 19th.
Censors began reviewing the movie last week following an all-out ban from Vietnamese officials. The disputed territory border is the so-called “nine-dash line” China uses to stake a claim to the South China Sea. Thus, China claims most of the South China Sea, barring claims from neighbouring nations, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Philippine censors have now determined that the “cartoonish map” did not define the controversial “nine-dash line.”
“Instead, the map portrayed the route of the make-believe journey of Barbie from Barbie Land to the ’real world’ as an integral part of the story,” the censorship board noted in a statement obtained by The Guardian.
“Rest assured that the board has exhausted all possible resources in arriving at this decision as we have not hesitated in the past to sanction filmmakers/producers/distributors for exhibiting the fictitious ’nine-dash line’ in their materials.”
Despite their ruling, censors have requested that Warner Bros “blur” out the lines on the map to err on the side of caution. This request was detailed in a letter addressed to Philippine senator Francis Tolentino, who previously denounced the movie for “violating Filipino fisherfolks’ rights.”
Watch the Barbie trailer below.
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