This Is Why Vietnam Is Banning The Barbie Movie

Vietnam has banned the upcoming Barbie movie.

According to Variety, the reason why Vietnam is banning the Barbie movie is because it features a scene that has a the nine-dash line map, which is a representation of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Why is that offensive? It’s because several countries, including Vietnam, say that the nine-dash line map violates their sovereignty.

Vi Kien Thanh, director general of the Vietnam Cinema Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said on Monday that the ban was decided by the National Film Evaluation Council.

He said:

“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.”

Previously, DreamWorks’ animated movie Abominable (2019) and Sony Pictures’ Uncharted (2022) were banned for the same reason. That’s not just the case in Vietnam alone.

For instance, Abominable was banned in multiple countries, including Malaysia and the Philippines. Will Barbie follow suit? We’ll have to wait and see.

From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, starring Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell.

The film also stars Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren.

Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, based on Barbie by Mattel. The film’s producers are Oscar nominee David Heyman, Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, with Gerwig, Baumbach, Ynon Kreiz, Richard Dickson, Michael Sharp, Josey McNamara, Courtenay Valenti, Toby Emmerich and Cate Adams serving as executive producers.

Barbie will premiere in Malaysian cinemas on 20 July 2023.