What made "Barbie" so barbaric in the Eastern hemisphere? Why did China take issue with "Doctor Strange?" These movies were popular in the United States, but got hit by bans in multiple countries.
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00:00What made Barbie so barbaric in the Eastern Hemisphere?
00:03Why did China take issue with Doctor Strange?
00:06These movies were popular in the United States, but got hit by bans in multiple countries.
00:11Patty Jenkins' 2017 film Wonder Woman was a runaway hit for DC Films, grossing more
00:16than $800 million in worldwide ticket sales, despite a handful of Middle Eastern countries
00:21banning it from release.
00:23Lebanon was the first to bar Wonder Woman from screening.
00:26It was soon followed by Algiers, which removed it from its Noidu Cinema Festival lineup.
00:31Tunisia and Kuwait pulled the film as well.
00:33Jordan also briefly banned the film, but later recanted.
00:36Though some believed that the reason for the ban was actor Gal Gadot's Israeli heritage,
00:41others were quick to point out that the same thing didn't happen with Batman v Superman,
00:45or her Fast and Furious entries, or for other films featuring Jewish actors, for that matter.
00:50The source of contention, instead, appeared to be Gadot's two-year stint with the Israeli
00:54Defense Forces, which is mandatory for all Israeli citizens, as well as an ongoing backlash
00:59over her support for Israeli military action in Palestine.
01:02Governments of nations at conflict with Israel likely didn't want her displayed in ads throughout
01:06the cities.
01:08The DC Extended Universe wasn't the only screen superhero franchise to land in hot water with
01:12international censors.
01:14The Marvel Cinematic Universe's 2022 release, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness,
01:19was also banned in several Persian Gulf countries.
01:22The source of friction appeared to be the presence of newly introduced character America
01:26Chavez.
01:27Played by Xochitl Gomez, the universe-hopping Chavez proved to be a point of contention
01:31for several Middle Eastern countries.
01:32Saudi Arabia took issue with one scene in which she talks about her two mothers, with
01:36the country's government asking Disney to trim 12 seconds of footage.
01:40The studio balked at the edit, which resulted in the film being pulled from theaters in
01:44not just Saudi Arabia, but also Kuwait and Qatar.
01:47If your moms are anything like their daughter, if they survived, I'm sure you'll meet them
01:53again someday.
01:55China also banned Multiverse of Madness, although for a very different reason.
01:59Outcry from supporters of China's Communist Party took issue with a brief moment in which
02:03a newspaper boxed for The Epoch Times his glimpse during Doctor Strange's street battle
02:07with the monster Gargantos.
02:09The Epoch Times is a far-right publication associated with the Falun Gong religious movement,
02:14which opposes the CCP.
02:16Their newsboxes are a common sight for those who reside in New York City, but this attempt
02:20at realism proved to be unfortunate for the film's international gross.
02:24It wasn't the Thunder that earned four Love & Thunder bans in several Persian Gulf countries,
02:29but rather, the love.
02:30The 2022 film's inclusion of a romance between members of the all-male Kronen race Korg and
02:35Dwayne, along with allusions to Valkyrie's bisexuality, are believed to be the primary
02:39reasons for why the film was banned in a number of countries.
02:42China wasn't having it, and neither were Persian Gulf countries like the United Arab
02:46Emirates, Egypt, Oman, Qatar, and Jordan.
02:49Malaysia also banned Love & Thunder after the country's film censorship board asked
02:53Disney to cut scenes it considered offensive, and Multimedia Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin
02:58confirmed that the film did not get past the board, but added that international streaming
03:03services like Disney+, or Netflix, would be able to air the film as they see fit.
03:07As he put it,
03:08We cannot control overseas platforms that are easily reached online, but activities
03:12in the country, we have no issues.
03:14We have always been stern and committed.
03:16"'I'm gonna make some babies.'
03:21That is the song that my dad sang to my other dad when they were courting."
03:25For a horror title that centers around the slaughter and cannibalization of humans, Tobe
03:29Hooper's harrowing classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre doesn't have as much blood and gore
03:34as you might expect.
03:35Hooper thought that the lack of gore might help him secure a PG rating, but the blood
03:39wasn't the issue.
03:40Instead, it was the unrelenting tone of fear that disturbed audiences and censor boards
03:44alike, which resulted in bans across the globe.
03:47The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was banned for nearly a decade in Great Britain, where the
03:51British Board of Film Censors declined to approve it for release on the basis of what
03:55they described as the pornography of terror.
03:57The film, originally released in 1974, wouldn't secure a countrywide A-teen rating for theaters
04:03and home video until 1999.
04:05The film was also banned for extended periods in other countries during this time period,
04:09including Australia, Brazil, France, Sweden, Norway, and Singapore.
04:14It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who's seen The Wolf of Wall Street that some governments
04:18weren't happy with Martin Scorsese's raunchy tale of excess.
04:21Quote,
04:22"...extreme scenes of nudity, sex, debauchery, hedonism, and cursing, including 569 iterations
04:28of the F-word, were enough to land the film on the banned movie list in several Asian
04:32and African countries."
04:34The Oscar-nominated 2013 drama chronicling the life and crimes of stockbroker Jordan
04:38Belfort was banned in Nepal, Malaysia, and Kenya, with the latter country punishing black
04:43market sellers peddling bootleg DVDs of the film with fines and jail time.
04:53Other markets imposed draconian edits, or restrictions, on The Wolf of Wall Street.
04:57Filmmakers in the United Arab Emirates trimmed 45 minutes from the film, leaving the remaining
05:02footage incomprehensible to many moviegoers.
05:05India's edits were less excessive, but still removed six minutes of footage, while the
05:08version seen by ticket buyers in Lebanon was uncut, save for a single scene.
05:13Singapore also reportedly cut scenes and labeled the film with an R21 rating, which restricted
05:18viewers to those over 21 and screenings to just a handful of theaters in the city's downtown
05:22area.
05:23It should come as no surprise that a number of conservative-minded countries around the
05:27world levied bans against Fifty Shades of Grey.
05:30The overwrought erotic drama about the sexual relationship between billionaire Christian
05:34Grey and English student Anastasia Steele drew the ire of censorship boards of many
05:39territories that tend to ban such content, including Kenya, Malaysia, the United Arab
05:43Emirates, and Papua New Guinea.
05:45Kenya in particular issued a stern warning to theater owners that might consider defying
05:49their ban in an attempt to generate some box office grosses.
05:53Singapore's film's censorship board canceled the February 2015 release of Fifty Shades
05:57with a terse statement that called the film, quote, "...more pornography than a movie."
06:01One year later, the film continued to rankle government media watchdogs.
06:05Singapore's Media Development Authority also slapped the picture with an R21 rating.
06:10The worldwide billion-dollar success of Barbie is detailed in its box office receipts and
06:14list of awards and nominations, but Barbie faced opposition in several international
06:18territories over its inclusive content and, in one case, a political controversy.
06:23Greta Gerwig's acclaimed comedy was banned in Lebanon for allegedly promoting LGBTQ themes
06:28and, quote, "...sexual transformation."
06:30Alegria and Kuwait also banned the film, but steadfastly refused to give concrete reasons.
06:35A statement from Kuwait's Ministry for Press and Publication explained,
06:38"...the film promulgates ideas and beliefs that are alien to the Kuwaiti society and
06:43public order."
06:44Vietnam also banned Barbie, but over geopolitical concerns.
06:47The film briefly showed a map of the world which appears to reproduce the Nine-Dash Line,
06:51a maritime boundary featured on certain maps that underscores China's ownership claims
06:55over 90 percent of the South China Sea.
06:58Much of the sea is also claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, and other countries.
07:02Warner Bros. attempted to defuse the situation via a press release, which noted,
07:06"...the map in Barbie Land is a childlike, crayon drawing.
07:09It was not intended to make any type of statement."
07:11"...she thinks I'm a fascist?
07:13I don't control the railways or the flow of commerce?"
07:18The controversy was enough to make the Philippines consider a Barbie ban as well, over the alleged
07:23demarcation, but the country's government recanted after lengthy deliberation.
07:28Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code was a global bestseller, selling over 80 million
07:33copies worldwide.
07:34At the same time, it also attracted negative attention for what scholars and religious
07:39groups considered inaccurate and contradictory ideas about Christianity, Islam, and other
07:44faiths.
07:45The 2006 film adaptation by Ron Howard followed suit, earning more than $760 million in worldwide
07:51ticket sales as well as bans from numerous countries.
07:55Still, Tom Hanks' biggest live-action movie to date, The Da Vinci Code, was banned in
07:59multiple countries, including China, Iran, Pakistan, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Syria, Lebanon,
08:05Jordan, and Belarus.
08:07Several Indian states banned the film, though it remained in theaters nationwide with an
08:11adults-only rating.
08:12Meanwhile, bans in Thailand, the Philippines, and the Faroe Islands were lifted or prevented
08:17after censor boards reviewed the film.
08:19A single theater in the entrance, an Australian coastal town, also refused to screen The Da
08:24Vinci Code at the behest of its conservative religious owners.
08:28Sacha Baron Cohen and 20th Century Fox pissed off plenty of people with the 2006 comedy
08:34Borat, but the outrage also spread to a number of governments, resulting in nearly all the
08:39Arab nations and the Persian Gulf, with the exception of Lebanon, banning the mockumentary
08:43from their theaters.
08:44The United Arab Emirates also held back from banning Borat, but released the film with
08:49extensive edits.
08:50The country of Kazakhstan, which was depicted in a less-than-flattering light by Borat,
08:55also banned the film, which remains a hot-button topic for many Kazakhs.
08:59As recently as 2020, the Kazakhstan American Association has voiced opposition to the film
09:04and its sequel on streaming services like Prime Video.
09:07However, it appears that another faction has embraced the notoriety brought by Borat.
09:12The country's then-Foreign Minister, Yezhankar Tikhanov, praised the picture in 2012 and
09:17credited it for a boom in tourism.
09:19Kazakhstan's tourism board even quoted Borat in a promotional ad that hinged on one of
09:23his catchphrases.
09:24"...very nice."
09:26Monty Python's Life of Brian, the third feature film from the groundbreaking British comedy
09:30troupe, is a withering satire of religious tropes and extremism.
09:34The story of a young man being mistaken for the Messiah applied the signature Python brand
09:39of irreverent humor, biting wit, and broad physical comedy to the New Testament.
09:43The troupe, having already run into trouble when the film's backers withdrew, found themselves
09:47targeted by angry critics and religious groups.
09:50A number of local town councils in the United Kingdom placed bans on the film, even though
09:54some of the restrictive locations had no movie theaters and many of their members hadn't
09:59even seen the movie.
10:00The film was also banned for eight years in Ireland and for a year in Norway.
10:04The latter inspired the Pythons to change up their advertising plans in the neighboring
10:08nation of Sweden.
10:09As director Terry Jones recalled, there were advertisements in Sweden calling it,
10:13"...the film that is so funny that it was banned in Norway."
10:16Doctor Strange and Spider-Man weren't the only Disney IPs to face the wrath of international
10:21censors.
10:22Pixar's Lightyear, which detailed the life of the human who inspired the action figure
10:26featured in the Toy Story film series, contained a brief kiss between two married female characters.
10:30As a result, the film was banned in a number of Middle Eastern and Asian countries, including
10:35China, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Syria, and Iraq.
10:41However, both Morocco and Indonesia, which have banned films with LGBTQ content, declined
10:46to remove Lightyear from theaters even though a petition to ban the film drew nationwide
10:51support.
10:52The scene was initially cut from the theatrical release of Lightyear, but reinstated after
10:55employees and allies at Pixar issued a joint statement opposing the decision.
11:00The statement was prompted in part by what was perceived by Disney staffers as a muted
11:04response by then-CEO Bob Chapek to the passage of Florida's HB 1557, which prohibited discussion
11:11of sexual orientation or gender identity in the state's classrooms.
11:15This scene was reinstated after the Disney employee letter generated national attention.