Following an assessment by the Philippines' film censors, Greta Gerwig's Barbie has been approved for wide commercial distribution in this country. However, it is possible that the film has to obscure the scene in which a controversial map is shown, according to Variety.
The Disputed Map Scene
After a sequence in which a map purportedly showing China's nine-dash line was included in the film, it was banned in Vietnam last week. Nine-dash line is used by Beijing, which practically claims the whole South China Sea as its own territory.
In 2016, a tribunal established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) issued a unanimous ruling invalidating the nine-dash line. China has publicly stated its rejection of the tribunal's ruling.
Vietnam argues China's claims are an infringement on its sovereignty and demands that the map not be shown in public.
The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) of the Philippines said last week that it would investigate Barbie due to similar concerns.
Warner Bros., the film's distributor, said the map in question did not have the contentious nine-dash line. "The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing. The doodles depict Barbie's make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the 'real world.' It was not intended to make any type of statement," a representative told Variety last week.
The MTRCB statement is in agreement with Warner Bros.'s position.
Opinions From the Film Review Board
"Considering the context by which the cartoonish map of the character 'Weird Barbie' was portrayed in the film, the Review Committee is convinced that the contentious scene does not depict the 'nine-dash line.' Instead, the map portrayed the route of the make-believe journey of Barbie from Barbie Land to the 'real world,' as an integral part of the story," MTRCB said in a letter sent to Philippine Senator Francis Tolentino, obtained by local media.
The statement added, "The Board believes that all things considered, it has no basis to ban the film 'Barbie' as there is no clear nor outright depiction of the nine-dash line in the subject film."
Since launching the review on July 4, the MTRCB's own website has not been updated with a new statement. The "PG" rating for Barbie in a list of recent classifications indicates that children under the age of 13 should only watch the film with an adult present.
According to the MTRCB, the film was subjected to two thorough reviews. One of them involves the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Solicitor General.
Although it is not explicitly stated in the MTRCB statement, local media in the Philippines says that censors have requested Warner Bros. blur the questionable lines on the map.
