NAfter irritations about territorial claims, cinemas in the Philippines are now allowed to show the new “Barbie” film. The condition is that a nautical chart that is briefly visible in the US strip with the controversial “Nine Dash line” is hidden, as the Philippine news portal PhilStar reported on Wednesday.
With this line, China marks its claim to much of the South China Sea – including some sea areas and islands considered their territory by the Philippines or by Vietnam. Unlike in the Philippines, the Barbie film is therefore not allowed to be shown in Vietnam.
The Philippines’ Office for Approval and Classification of Cinema and Television Films has approved the “Barbie” film with the condition that the “nine-dash line” be erased after consultations with legal experts from the State Department and the Attorney General’s Office, it said. Senators and civil rights activists had called for the film to be banned. The world map in the film shows a childish representation of the continents, but with the “nine dash line”.
“Barbie” is based on the toy series of the same name and is the first feature film in a series of animation films and television series based on the famous Barbie doll. Australian actress Margot Robbie portrays the titular heroine, with Hollywood star Ryan Gosling playing “Ken” alongside her. The romantic comedy by Greta Gerwig is scheduled to start in German cinemas on July 20th.
In 2016, the international “Permanent Court of Arbitration” in The Hague, seized by the Philippines, ruled that China’s claims under international law are invalid. In addition to the Philippines, the other riparian states of Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei are also affected by China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.
In the 1970s and 1980s, there were two military conflicts between Vietnam and China in the South China Sea. In Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, films have frequently been banned in recent years for showing the “nine-dash line”, including the computer-generated animated film “Everest – A Yeti Wants High”.
#Barbie #film #coming #cinemas #Philippines