Barbie Banned In Theaters, Here’s Why
Barbie will not be screening in Vietnam because of a scene that shows a map of the South China Sea.
While it may be a Barbie world for some, audiences in Vietnam won’t have the chance to check out Greta Gerwig’s latest feature as Reuters reports that the Warner Bros. title has been banned from the country’s theaters. The decision comes down to one scene that shows a map displaying China’s claimed territory in the South China Sea. Parts of the country’s marked ownership is considered by Vietnam to be the latter’s territory, causing the drama between the country and Gerwig’s movie.
But, Barbie will be finding itself in good company as Vietnam has previously banned other films including DreamWorks’ animated title Abominable as well as Sony’s Uncharted and Netflix’s Pine Gap for also showing what’s known as the “nine-dash line.” Despite China’s claim to the piece of territory being shut down by a court in The Hague in 2016, the country continues to hold fast to what it sees as its property.
While Barbie won’t be taking Vietnam by storm, the buzz surrounding it promises to make it one of the summer’s biggest blockbusters. The live-action film will tell the story of a group of Barbie and Ken’s living blissful lives in the vibrant Barbie Land. But, when one of the Barbies is kicked out, she’ll discover that there’s much more to life than the material plastic happiness that she’s come to thrive in.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling lead a star-studded cast as the Barbie and Ken at the center of the drama.
Wasting no connection, Greta Gerwig made sure to stack the ensemble with familiar names like Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Alexandra Shipp, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Dua Lipa, Scott Evans, Nicola Coughlan, John Cena, Hari Nef, Ncuti Gatwa, Sharon Rooney, Ana Cruz Kayne, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Helen Mirren, and Rhea Perlman among others.
Barbie marks Greta Gerwig’s return to filmmaking following her Oscar-nominated 2019 feature, Little Women. Having made a reputable name for herself backing titles including the twice Academy Award-nominated Lady Bird, audiences are anticipating Gerwig’s latest film to be entertaining and comedic with a deeper message underneath.
While she’ll next be penning the live-action adaptation of Disney’s Snow White, Gerwig’s next directorial work will be behind Netflix’s The Chronicles of Narnia adaptation, of which she’ll also write.
With the summer blockbuster season in full swing, Barbie is the next film in line that audiences are looking forward to sinking their teeth into. So far, we’ve welcomed the arrival of films like The Flash, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny so it will be interesting to see how a non-action movie will keep up with the others at the box office.
Along with its already-released competition, Barbie will be facing off with Christopher Nolan’s return to the big screen with his historic epic, Oppenheimer.
The competition may be high but with all the genius marketing the team behind Barbie was able to pull off, there’s no doubt that it will be able to hold its own against the other films. Catch the colorful story for yourself when Barbie arrives in theaters on July 21.
