The release of Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated film, Barbie, in Southeast Asia has hit a roadblock. Vietnam has banned the movie due to a controversial map shown in one scene. The map depicts China’s claims on territory in the South China Sea, including areas that Vietnam disputes as its own. Margot Robbie stars as Barbie, with Ryan Gosling as her sidekick Ken. Residents of Vietnam who were excited to see the movie will now have to travel across the border to watch it.
Reuters reports on this development, highlighting the tension surrounding the map and its depiction of China’s territorial claims.
According to Bloomberg, China argues that it owns more than 80% of the South China Sea, citing a map from 1947. However, Vietnam refuses to accept this and has banned the release of the movie within its borders. Vi Kien Thanh, an official with Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, stated that the offending image of the nine-dash line in Barbie led to the ban. The National Film Evaluation Council approved the ban, as reported by Variety.
This ban is not the first of its kind in Vietnam. In the past, movies such as DreamWorks’ Abominable, Sony’s Uncharted, and Netflix’s Pine Gap have also faced bans due to similar controversies surrounding the disputed territory map. Barbie was originally scheduled to premiere in Vietnam on July 21, the same day as its release in the United States. (Read more Barbie movie stories.)
It is worth noting that the U-shaped line depiction on the map was rejected by a court during an international arbitration at The Hague in 2016. However, China does not acknowledge this decision. Aside from Vietnam, other countries such as Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines also claim territories in the South China Sea that are disputed by China. The ban on Barbie in Vietnam highlights the ongoing tensions and conflicting claims in the region.
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