The Censorship of LGBTQ+ Content in Lebanese Cinemas: The Case of ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’

2023-06-21 15:41:25

One second of appearance of transgender pride in a film, for Lebanon, is already too much. Released on June 2 in the United States, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, will not be shown in Lebanese theaters, said the companies VOX and Grand Cinemas, main broadcasters in the land of Cedar. The cause ? Five stripes of pink, blue and white, the transgender pride flag, appearing in the background for a short time.

The information was confirmed on Wednesday to L’Orient-Le Jour by the broadcaster Grand Cinemas, which however indicates “not to be sure” of the exact reason for the censorship. This has already aroused the indignation of some Internet users, and the film joins a long list of Western feature films censored by the Lebanese authorities, in this case the General Security (SG) and its censorship committee attached to the Ministry of Security. ‘Interior.

“It’s really pathetic”

A user released a screenshot on Tuesday showing a quick exchange with VOX Cinemas on Instagram: “Hello, when will Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse be released in Lebanon? – Hello, thank you for your message. The film has been banned and will not be shown in the Middle East. Good day. ” Move along, nothing to see. At least not in the cinema.

The Internet user comments on this exchange as follows: “Lebanon censoring a film because a trans flag appears in the background, it’s really pathetic. “Another quips: “The next Barbie film is badly crossed, if it is prohibited”, in reference to an upcoming American film with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, whose release across the Atlantic is scheduled for July 21, 2023.

Negative impact for broadcasters

Contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, a spokesperson for the SG was not able to validate the information immediately. VOX and Empire Cinemas, the film’s distribution company, did not respond to our requests.

On the side of Grand Cinemas, broadcaster in the ABC shopping centers in Beirut and at the Spot Cinema in Saïda, the news goes badly. “It has a negative impact for us. We want all films to be released in all cinemas, ”regrets Carly Ramia Habis, marketing manager. “We got a very sketchy email from the distributors that just said the movie won’t be released. For no reason, she adds. No country in the Middle East will broadcast it, not even the Gulf. »

Illustration by Guilhem Dorandeu

As this infographic shows, censorship of films advocating the cause of the LGBTQ+ community, or containing only a brief reference to it, is not new in Lebanon. As early as 2013, the French thriller L”inconnu du lac, in which the subject of homosexuality is central, was banned. The SG then indicated that the film “did not correspond to (its) criteria” of the time.

Ten years later, these criteria do not seem to have changed. The year 2022 had already seen a good dose of censorship: in Thor: Love and Thunder, released in July in the United States, a character explains that he has two fathers. Result: censored in Lebanon and in some countries in the region such as Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt. In June, in the Disney film Lightyear, two women have the misfortune to kiss each other for a second, at the bend of a hallway. The film goes by the wayside in Lebanon and in at least 14 countries in the Middle East and Asia.

Less than a month later, the film The Minions: The Rise of Gru committed double sacrilege. Not only are two Minions kissing, but a scene shows a nun trying her hand at nunchaku (a Japanese weapon, editor’s note).

“For each banned film, we were not given a valid reason for the cancellation”, remembers Carly Ramia Habis… Censorship has a bright future ahead of it, unlike tolerance and cinematographic diversity.

One second of appearance of transgender pride in a film, for Lebanon, is already too much. Released on June 2 in the United States, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, will not be shown in Lebanese theaters, said the companies VOX and Grand Cinemas, main broadcasters in the land of Cedar. The cause ? Five stripes of pink, blue and white, the flag of…

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