Barbie movie banned in Vietnam; Philippines considers same

Vietnam has banned the upcoming Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken — not because it has raunchy scenes, but because in one scene, a cartoon map is seen behind Barbie that depicts the “nine-dash line,” an area that China claims to own.

Twitter user Lmao gan ma (@rzhongnotes) posted the photo of Margot in front of the map, writing, “I spent part of the morning reply guying (sic) policy peoples questions about Vietnam banning the Barbie movie with the nine dash line map with this image of the map.”

The map shows territorial claims China has made in the South China Sea, despite being rejected during an international arbitration ruling in 2016 by a court in The Hague, which determined Beijing’s “nine-dash line” claim had no legal basis. China refuses to accept the ruling.

Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims on the territory. The Philippines banned the 2022 movie Uncharted because of a two-second shot showing Tom Holland looking at a map that contained the nine-dash line.

The Philippines is currently deliberating on whether or not to also institute a ban on the Barbie movie. “If the invalidated nine-dash line was indeed depicted in the movie Barbie, then it is incumbent upon the MTRCB (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board) to ban the same as it denigrates Philippine sovereignty,” Senator Francis Tolentino told CNN Philippines on Tuesday.

Barbie opens across the country on July 21, 2023 and is predicted to be a big hit at the North American box office. ~Alexandra Heilbron