Kuwait Bans ‘Barbie’ Out Of Concern For Local “Public Ethics And Social Traditions”, Lebanon Working To Follow Suit
Spencer Baculi
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As the summer’s most divisive film finally makes its way into the Middle East, two local governments have taken steps to restrict Barbie from screening within their borders: those of Kuwait, which has outright banned the film, and Lebanon, which is currently working to do the same.
Ken (Ryan Gosling) tries to make sense of his place in Barbieland in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
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Kuwait’s decision to completely ban the film – as well as the A24 horror film Talk to Me – was first announced by the government’s Ministry of Information’s committee on cinematic censorship on August 9th.
Speaking via a press release issued through the state-run Kuwait News Agency, Undersecretary of the Ministry for Press and Publication Lafy Al-Subei’e explained that “the decision stemmed from keenness on protection of public ethics and social traditions.”
Barbie (Margot Robbie) reveals her feet have gone flat in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
“The Committee noted that both movies promulgate ideas and beliefs that are alien to the Kuwaiti society and public order,” said Al-Subei’e. “While deciding on any foreign movie, the committee usually orders censoring of the scenes that run counter to public ethics. But a film carries alien concepts, message or unacceptable behavior, the committee decides to bars the stuff in question as a whole.”
Barbie (Margot Robbie) departs for the real world in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
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Earlier that same day, as reported by the BBC, Lebanon’s Minister of Culture Mohammad Mortada likewise accused the film of featuring content that “promotes homosexuality and transsexuality… supports rejecting a father’s guardianship, undermines and ridicules the role of the mother, and questions the necessity of marriage and having a family”.
Following Mortada’s appraisal of the film, the Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi formally submitted Barbie to the government’s censorship committee for review, where it currently awaits a final judgement.
Ken (Ryan Gosling) and Ken 2 (Simu Liu) lead an an all-Ken dance number in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
It should be noted that, neither the Kuwaiti nor Lebanese government – the former having been far more vague than the latter – have specifically identified which elements of Barbie have drawn their ire.
Given both that the film contains no discussions of LGBT topics and that Kuwait’s aforementioned decision to ban Talk to Me was based exclusively on the film’s featuring of transgender actor Zoe Terakes, it is likely that the transgender identity of Doctor Barbie actor Hari Neff may be the culprit behind this latest debacle.
Hari Nef as Doctor Barbie in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
Meanwhile, Barbie’s Middle East premiere was recently pushed back from its original August 10th date – though it seems United Arab Emirates-based movie chain VOX Cinemas began stuck to this original schedule – in order to allow regional censors time to review the film.
As such, the film’s current release date for the region is now scheduled for August 31st.
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