The Kuwaiti Ministry of Information’s committee on cinematic censorship decided on Wednesday to ban the screening in Kuwait of “Barbie” and “Talk to Me” films. The decision stemmed from keenness on protection of public ethics and social traditions, Undersecretary of the Ministry for Press and Publication Lafy Al-Subei’e said. “The Committee noted that both movies promulgate ideas and beliefs that are alien to the Kuwaiti society and public order,” Al-Subei’e, also head of the Committee, disclosed.
“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 bar the stuff in question as a whole,” he explained, adding that this rule applies to all foreign cinema production.
In Lebanon, Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada announced on Wednesday that he has asked the Lebanese interior ministry to “take all necessary measures to ban showing” Barbie in the country.
The film “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”, he said.
Following Mortada’s request, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi asked the country’s censorship committee, which falls under his ministry and is traditionally responsible for censorship decisions, to review the film and give its recommendation.
The film was due to be screened in Lebanon’s cinemas from August 31.
The film has already been banned in Vietnam over a scene with a fictitious world map criticised for allegedly showing China’s claims in the disputed South China Sea.
The Philippines allowed the film to be shown – but asked that the map of the disputed sea be blurred.
The film’s release was delayed in Pakistan’s Punjab province over “objectionable content”, officials said last month, though they did not clarify which content was “objectionable”, nor why.