“Barbie” Film Banned in Vietnam

While many “Barbie” fans around the world are excited about the film’s upcoming release on Friday, 21 July, it appears that the Vietnam government doesn’t share the same sentiment.

Vi Kien Thanh, director general of the Vietnam Cinema Department, informed the local media about the ban on Monday, 3 July, adding that it was due to the appearance of a map covering disputed territory in certain scenes of the movie.

The film – which features Australian actress Margot Robbie as the titular character and Canadian actor Ryan Gosling as her co-star, Ken – is said to include a map with China’s “nine-dash line” over the South China Sea, a marking that Vietnam says violates its sovereignty.

At the moment, China and Vietnam are not the only countries who disagree, as the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all have clashing claims in the South China Sea.

“Barbie” is also not the first film to encounter problems with Vietnam for depicting the controversial territory, as DreamWorks’ animated film “Abominable” and Sony’s live-action Tom Holland film, “Uncharted,” were also banned in 2019 and 2022, respectively.

Warner Bros – the studio behind the iconic doll movie directed by Greta Gerwig – have not yet made an official comment as they are closed for a public holiday today, 4 July.

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