Vietnam Bans 'Barbie' Movie Over South China Sea Map
Henrietta Jackson
The new "Barbie" film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is set for imminent release in most countries across the world. But according to Vietnam's state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper, the film's release has been barred in Vietnam.
The head of the Department of Cinema, a government body in charge of licensing and censoring foreign films, said:
We do not grant a license for the American movie 'Barbie' to be released in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line
The nine-dash line is a controversial marking in a map of the South China Sea, which shows China's unilaterally claimed territory in the region. The map appears in a scene from the film's trailer, where Robbie's character draws a crayon map of the world on a wall.
The South China Sea is a strategically important body of water that is hotly contested by China and several of its neighbors, including Vietnam. China says it has historical rights over most of the sea, but its claim has been rejected by an international tribunal and most Western experts.
Vietnam's response to the "Barbie" movie's depiction of the South China Sea shows how sensitive these matters are in South East Asia, and especially in Vietnam. The country has engaged in military clashes with China over the disputed islands in the past, and has recently protested against China's activities in the area.
Warner Bros., the studio behind the film, defended its picture on Friday, saying the map is nothing more than a "child-like crayon drawing" and not intended as a statement.
The map in Barbie Land is a childlike crayon drawing. The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the ‘real world.’ It was not intended to make any type of statement.
However, this explanation did not satisfy Vietnam, which has banned other movies and products that feature the nine-dash line before. In 2019, Vietnam pulled the animated film "Abominable" from theaters for showing a similar map. It also fined Volkswagen and removed several video games for displaying the line.
The "Barbie" movie is not the only Western cultural export to irritate China and its neighbors over the South China Sea issue. In 2018, American clothing brand Gap apologized for selling T-shirts that omitted Taiwan and other territories claimed by China from a map. In 2016, Philippine singer Charice Pempengco changed her name to Jake Zyrus after receiving backlash from Chinese fans for supporting her country's claim over the sea.
The "Barbie" movie is scheduled to be released on July 21, 2022, in theaters and on HBO Max. It is directed by Greta Gerwig and written by Noah Baumbach, and is based on the popular doll franchise created by Mattel. The film follows Barbie as she travels from her perfect world to the real world, where she learns to embrace her flaws and find her true self.
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