The film ‘Barbie’ is slated to hit theaters in the Middle East on Thursday, but attempts by Kuwait and Lebanon to ban the film over its gender and sexuality themes have raised questions about how far it will go in theaters.
Kuwait announced its ban late Wednesday, saying the film promotes “ideas and beliefs alien to Kuwaiti society and public policy,” without elaborating, the state news agency KUNA said in a statement.
In Lebanon, Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada said the film “contradicts values of faith and morality” and “promotes homosexuality and sexual transformation.” His request to ban the film was forwarded to Lebanon’s General Security Agency, which reports to the Interior Ministry and is traditionally responsible for censorship decisions, to make the final judgement.
The move has already caused an uproar in Lebanon, which has long been an island of relative tolerance for homosexuality. The LGBTQ+ community there has come under increasing pressure in recent years as powerful Islamist and far-right Christian groups have gained influence amid a severe economic crisis.
Throughout the Middle East, many Muslims, Christians, and Jews consider homosexuality a sin. In some parts of the Arab world, members of the LGBTQ+ community have been arrested and sentenced to prison.
In Iraq, regulators even banned the media from using the word “homosexuality,” instead directing the media to refer to it as “sexual deviance.” A similar order was also issued by the country’s education minister, banning the word in universities.
There is no overt sexuality in Barbie, but the all-star cast includes Kate McKinnon, who is gay, and Hari Nef, who is transgender. Many in the LGBTQ+ community have welcomed the film, although some have criticized it for pioneering a heteronormative narrative.
The Warner Bros. film about the iconic dolls has grossed over $1 billion in other markets in less than a month since its release. The film — directed and produced by Margot Robbie, and directed and co-written by Greta Gerwig — grossed $400 million domestically and $500 million abroad faster than any other film at the studio, including the Harry Potter films .
The opening is scheduled for Thursday evening in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have invested billions of dollars in sports, entertainment and tourism in recent years. But like much of the rest of the Middle East, they criminalize homosexuality and view LGBTQ+ advocacy as a threat to their societies that must be eliminated.
The film’s release in the region was originally slated for August 31, but was recently brought forward, suggesting any censorship issues have been resolved. The release of films in the region is often delayed to give production companies time to censor them or to give committees time to review them.
Another summer blockbuster, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, was abruptly pulled from theaters across the Middle East in June, apparently over a scene in which a transgender poster briefly appears in the background.
This film was not screened in Lebanon, however there was no official comment on a ban and the decision was widely attributed to regional distributors not sourcing it.
Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which hit theaters last year and which stars a lesbian couple, was screened in Lebanon despite being banned in much of the Arab world. The 2021 film Eternals, which was about the first gay kiss in the Marvel cinematic universe, was censored but still screened in Lebanon while outright banned in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait .
Warner Bros. did not respond to requests for comment on whether or not the film was censored for release in the region.
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