Vietnam bans 'Barbie' movie over South China Sea map

China's controversial nine-dash line, which was repudiated in an international arbitration ruling by a court in The Hague in 2016.

The international tribunal already ruled that this imaginary line is nothing but that, a Chinese imagination. But movie producers will ignore this fact just to have a piece of that Chinese money.

They could have been neutral and not include the map at all, but they need to please a bigger market and ignore offending others.

Artistically, Warner Bros. is first rate. Diplomatically, not so much. As the commenter above said, it looks like by including this map, they were trying to appease a larger audience. Will they feel the same way if Barbie has to go to war?

Uh…why would Barbie care about the 9 dash dotted line?

Can't they just produce a version of the film with that part edited out?

Good on Vietnam!

I'm so confused on this. How is this shown in the film?

I'm so confused on this. How is this shown in the film?

I imagine a map is involved. Lol.

Those knees are creeping me out.

Can't they just produce a version of the film with that part edited out?

And automatically get banned in China? not likely to happen. As said before the people in charge could simply not include any map at all, they choose to do it to secure the Chinese market.

Why even go there? If it's not an essential part of the script, cut it out. If it is, rewrite that scene.

IMHO, this is a perfect illustration of why citizens of free nations have to avoid goods from China AND goods from companies that actively support the CCP 8n the west.

Because if you don't, your government will sell you out to impress their elite masters, eg Macron and LVMH, von der Leyen and German Autos, Warner Bros, Disney....Berkshire and Byd...

The international tribunal already ruled that this imaginary line is nothing but that, a Chinese imagination

So it doesn't actually exist over the waters of the South China Sea?

IMHO, this is a perfect illustration of why citizens of free nations have to avoid goods from China AND goods from companies that actively support the CCP 8n the west.

So you avoid all goods from China?

It's really crepy how Hollywood studios just include random Chinese propaganda in their films all the time, in order to "get approved" in China.

The best part is when they do all the effort to include the propaganda and they still don't get approval in China.

Imagine if they included Russian propaganda just to be able to show it in Russian thaters.

I wonder if people would react the same...

Good for them

I wonder if anyone that would want to watch this movie is actually capable of understanding a map...

China is a bigger market for DreamWorks than Vietnam.

Aren't maps of the area usually depicted with the nine dash line?

If they are then using a map without the line would be deliberately offending China.

Movie being banned would just be the start for a company that does it

Waht a shame for Hollywood to prostitute itself before their Chinese client, and offend just about every country else in the region.

So out of curiosity I looked up how the heck the nine-dash line even made it into that movie at all. Barbie, completely in character, must be studying some really detailed and accurate world maps and ...

https://imgur.com/7RFppT6

Xavier

Today 05:16 pm JST

@ian

> Aren't maps of the area usually depicted with the nine dash line?

> No, only by China (and perhaps its vassal states.) And certainly not by the organization that actually matters in this, UNCLOS (treaty ratified by China), which ruled it to be unlawful:

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines_v._China#Award

So the use in the movie was a deliberatel ass kissing to China?

That arbitral ruling you cited is not binding. It's not arbitration if there's only one party

So you do know what an arbitration is

Good luck convincing yourself

Good for Vietnam - a small, freedom-loving nation standing up to bully Communist China.

Shame on Warner Bros! Boycott all the actors and actresses in the movie!

So you avoid all goods from China?

I try my best to avoid the CCP and its reach, if it means goods and services, yes.

If you don't, the CCP will use trade as leverage to get yoyr own government remove you from the picture. Just ask NZ family fishers and fish processing workers. Closing down factories in NZ, cancelling catch quotas from family fishers, only to grant them to conglomerates, sending catches to China, tgen import processed fish back to NZ to sell as frozen oroducts in supermarkets. How is that even possible economically?

If Warner has a made a deal to promote foreign propaganda there is law about that -

*The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) (22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq.) is a United States law that imposes public disclosure obligations on persons representing foreign interests. *

WAH. Vietnam has a Communist regime, maybe it don't like Maoist CCP but totalitarianism is totalitarianism. It's Orwellian Newspeak no matter How U Slice It.

And ALL totalitarian regimes, Communist, fascist, any kind has its censorship and avoidance of the FACTS.

Truth hurts, Vietnam. If you don't like it, tough tudballs. No movie producers anywhere should ever kowtow to people like you. Suck it up.