Kuwait bans “Barbie” to protect its society from foreign influence
Cairo, Aug 10 (EFE).- Kuwait has banned the Hollywood film “Barbie” to protect its “public ethics and social traditions” from foreign influence, the state news agency said Thursday.
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Information’s cinema censorship committee took the decision on Wednesday to prohibit the screening of “Barbie” in local cinemas, according to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
Lafy al-Subeie, the head of censorship committee, said that the movie “promulgates ideas and beliefs that are alien to the Kuwaiti society and public order.”
Al-Subeie underlined that films carrying “alien concepts, message or unacceptable behavior” are categorically banned from being screened in the country.
Kuwait has also decided to ban the screening of the horror film “Talk to me” for the same reasons, following its release in cinemas in the Middle East last month.
Besides Kuwait, Lebanon also opted to bar “Barbie” from its cinemas on Wednesday.
Its culture minister Mohamed Murtada said that the movie was promoting “homosexuality,” rejecting “father’s guardianship, undermines and ridicules the role of mother and questioning the necessity of marriage and forming a family.”
The film by Warner Brothers, which has topped $1bn at the global box office, is expected to release in cinemas in traditionally conservative Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
Meanwhile, in other regional countries, such as Egypt, the premiere of the film, featuring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has been postponed until late August.
Kuwait’s Penal Code criminalizes same-sex relationships among men and carries a maximum prison sentence of up to seven years for offenders. EFE
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