'Barbie' movie banned in Vietnam over scene apparently taking pro-China side in border dispute

The country of Vietnam has banned the "Barbie" movie over a scene apparently depicting a contentious border dispute between Vietnam and China and other related countries.

One scene in the movie depicts a map of the world that appears to include the "nine-dash line" delineating a disputed zone in the South China Sea as a part of China.

The scene involved a childlike drawing of the world map, but it shows dashes spilling out into the sea in approximately where the disputed region lies.

The fleeting scene has led to the movie being pulled from distribution in Vietnam, a country with a population of 97 million people.

"We do not grant license for the American movie 'Barbie' to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line," according to the state-run news outlet Tuoi Tre which cited Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Department of Cinema.

The dispute between Vietnam and China over the energy-rich region was ruled in favor of Vietnam in 2016 by a court in the Hague, but China refuses to acknowledge the ruling.

The "Barbie" movie is not the first film to be banned because of inclusions of the controversial "nine-dash line." Both of the movies "Abominable," a 2019 Dreamworks animated film, and "Uncharted" from 2022 faced similar censorship.

It's unclear whether the country would lift the ban if Warner Bros. edited the scene out and whether the company is even considering editing the scene.

Warner Bros. did not respond immediately to a request from Reuters for a comment.

The "Barbie" movie stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and will be released in theaters on July 21.

Here's a local news report about the ban:

Vietnam bans 'Barbie' movie over South China Sea mapwww.youtube.com

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