Vietnam bans ‘Barbie’ on card with disputed Chinese claim
Hanoi, Viet Nam –
Vietnamese state media has reported that the government has banned the distribution of the popular ‘Barbie’ movie because it features a map showing China’s disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea.
The Vietnam Express newspaper and other media outlets said posters advertising “Barbie” had been removed from film distributors’ websites following Monday’s decision. With Margot Robbie playing Barbie opposite Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Greta Gerwig’s comedic take on their “perfect” world, “Barbie” was set to premiere in Vietnamese theaters on July 21.
The reports quoted Vietnam Cinema Department director general Vi Kien Thanh as saying the National Film Evaluation Council made the decision. It said a map in the film shows China’s “nine-dash line,” which extends Beijing’s territorial claims far into waters that fall within areas claimed by Vietnam and other countries.
The “nine-dash line” is a mysterious but sensitive issue for China and its neighbors, showing that Beijing’s maritime border extends into areas claimed by other governments and includes most of the South China Sea. That has led to tense clashes with the ASEAN nations of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines, with Chinese fishing boats and military vessels becoming more aggressive in the disputed waters.
Asked about the issue at a daily briefing on Tuesday, Mao Ning, spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said, “China’s position on the South China Sea issue is clear and consistent.”
“We believe that the countries concerned should not associate the South China Sea issue with normal cultural and interpersonal exchanges,” Mao said.
However, China is extremely sensitive when it comes to how its national image and border claims are portrayed in entertainment and by businesses. For example, it has routinely retaliated against companies, from hotels to airlines, that it says have suggested that self-governing Taiwan — with its own political system, country code and currency — is anything but part of China.
Companies almost always acquiesce to Chinese complaints, fearing they risk being shut out of the huge, lucrative Chinese market. That includes Hollywood movies that remove or add scenes based on the expected reaction of the ruling Communist Party and the highly nationalistic public.
When an international court ruled in 2016 that the “nine dash line” has no legal basis and the Philippines was entitled to an exclusive economic zone in part of the territory claimed by Beijing, China rejected the ruling.
The offices of Warner Bros. were closed Tuesday for the 4th of July holiday.
In 2019, Vietnam ordered screenings of “Abominable” canceled after moviegoers complained about a “nine dash line” scene. Politicians in the Philippines called for a boycott of all DreamWorks releases to protest the scene, and Malaysia ordered the scene removed from the film.
