2023-07-12 13:02:14
The Philippine censorship authorities announced Wednesday that they have authorized the release of the American movie “Barbie” in cinemas, provided that the distributor company shade a map showing areas over which China asserts its sovereignty in the South China Sea.
The film, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is scheduled to open in the Philippines on July 19.
After reviewing the film twice and consulting with State Department officials and legal experts, the government’s Film and Television Review Committee announced that it would allow the film to be shown in cinemas.
And the Philippine authorities began reviewing the movie “Barbie” last week following Vietnam banned this work because of scenes that include a map showing areas over which China asserts its sovereignty in the South China Sea.
Dotted lines drawn in the style of “closer to a child’s line”
In a letter addressed to a Philippine senator who criticized the film for “violating the rights of Filipino fishermen,” the commission confirmed that it had asked Warner Bros. studios to “shade” the controversial dotted lines on the map.
The commission explained that the dotted lines drawn in a style “closer to the line of a child” appear in several places on the map of regions that are supposed to represent Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Asia.
On the map, the commission found only eight dotted lines, which were supposed to constitute “Asia”.
In the same letter, she indicated that “the Filipinos, Malaysia and Indonesia are not on the map.”
Warner Bros. did not respond following Agence France-Presse tried to contact it, but a spokesperson for the company confirmed that the map was “a drawing with a crayon similar to a drawing made by a child” and was not intended to express any position, according to Variety magazine.
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