US Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) made claims this week that the film "Barbie" was promoting what he called "Chinese propaganda." He noticed a specific scene in the Greta Gerwig film where a cartoonish world map advanced China's controversial and contested claim to the South China Sea called the "Nine Dash Line."
"This is Chinese communist propaganda in which the Chinese are asserting sovereignty over the entirety of the South China Sea," he told The Daily Signal this week. "And they don't have any right to it under international law, but they are trying to take it away from their neighbors there."
Earlier this month, he also shared a tweet from American Foreign Policy Council member Michael Sobolik criticizing the film's distributor Warner Bros. for "bend[ing] the knee to the genocidal CCP regime to make a buck."
"I guess Barbie is made in China..." he quipped.
Ted says the Barbie movie is brainwashing young girls with Chinese propaganda. pic.twitter.com/81kR4CKKV2
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 16, 2023
MSNBC Columnist Not Interested With Ted Cruz's 'Nonsense'
While China's aggression in the Indo-Pacific is a real concern for most of the world, former US attorney and MSNBC columnist Joyce Vance dismissed Cruz's comments on Chinese aggression as "nonsense" and a "distraction" to what she claims as the more pressing issues the US has to face.
Vance detailed some of the topics she thinks politicians should notice instead of China, such as Alabaman Republicans refusing to redraw voting maps to reflect the state having two majority Black electoral districts, Florida's curricular system allegedly distorting the state's history of slavery, and Texan women having to testify about what she called the "physical and emotional costs of medically dangerous pregnancies their doctors were unable to end because of abortion restrictions.
"Senator Cruz would love it if the media fixated on fake controversies instead of on the myriad ways Republicans are pushing to undermine and restrict rights and freedoms in America," she added.
Read Also: Philippines Approves 'Barbie' Film but Controversial Map May Be Blurred
DC Times Columnist Claims Biden is 'Confused' About China
On the other hand, The Washington Times national security and foreign affairs columnist Jed Babbin said the "Barbie" controversy was not the first time Western firms, especially in the media and entertainment industries, made concessions to appease the Chinese and their questionable claims.
Babbin also accused US President Joe Biden of confusing the public about its policies on China, as well as the people of Taiwan for verbally confirming the US's defense commitments while his cabinet members do the exact opposite by backing away from such promises. He specifically criticized Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for "bow[ing] three times" to Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
"No American, let alone a Cabinet member or a president, should ever bow to any foreign official," he said. "Nevertheless, American businesses, sports leagues and the entertainment industry take great pains to cozy up to China."
Babbin also used "Top Gun: Maverick" as an example of film that does not kowtow to Chinese claims, specifically the detail where the Taiwanese flag was shown on the jacket of US Navy fighter pilot Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a character played by Tom Cruise.
"'Top Gun: Maverick' went on to earn more than $1 billion at the box office despite being banned in China because of the Taiwanese flag shot," he added.
Vietnamese, Filipino Response to 'Barbie' and the 'Nine-Dash Line'
Recently, allusions to the "Nine-Dash Line" became a hot topic for countries neighboring China, such as Vietnam and the Philippines.
Vietnam Cinema Department director general Vi Kien Thanh said the National Film Evaluation Council decided to ban the movie from being shown in the country, arguing the world map depicted in the film was misleading and extended Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea far into waters under Vietnam's and other countries' control.
On the other hand, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board of the Philippines (MTRCB) has approved the release of "Barbie" in the country, but offered the compromise of blurring the map in the contested scene. The board added it consulted the country's Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Solicitor General for their "thorough reviews."
In a letter sent to Philippine senator Francis Tolentino, the board was "convinced" the "contentious scene does not depict the 'nine-dash line'" but "portrayed the route of the make-believe journey of Barbie [played by Margot Robbie] from Barbie Land to the 'real world' as an integral part of the story."
The Philippines is a key US ally in the Southeast Asian region, given its history of being associated with American rule for the first half of the 20th century.
Meanwhile, The Daily Wire commentator Ben Shapiro filmed himself burning Barbie dolls in protest of the movie starring Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the lead characters Barbie and Ken. The film is currently shown in cinemas with other films like, "Oppenheimer," the latest "Indiana Jones" movie, and the Jim Caviezel-starred film "Sound of Freedom."
Related Article: Christian Movie Review Criticizes 'Barbie' LGBTQ Casting
