‘Barbie’ Banned In Vietnam Due To Controversial Scene Depicting ‘Nine-Dash Line’: Report

It was a major win for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team as they made their debut at the 2023 Women’s World Cup and a record-breaking win for U.S. networks airing the championship.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor A dominant 3-0 win by the U.S. Women’s National Team helped the Women’s World Cup get off to a strong start for Fox Sports and Telemundo on Friday night. Viewership of the USA-Vietnam match, which aired at 9 p.m. ET, came in just shy of the record set in 2019 by a comparable Group Stage match. The Fox broadcast network brought in 5.26 million viewers for its live 9 p.m.-11 p.m. ET coverage of the game, held at Eden Park stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Telemundo, which has Spanish-language rights in the U.S., averaged 1 million viewers for the game across linear and digital platforms, including Peacock. The 2023 Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, is drawing heightened attention in the U.S. as Team USA pursues a historic third consecutive victory. The tournament runs through Aug. 20.

The highly anticipated "Barbie" movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is in theaters now, but there have been multiple controversies leading up to the film’s release. After years in development, with different writers and stars attached, including comedian Amy Schumer and Oscar-winner Diablo Cody, the film went into production with Robbie starring as the iconic doll. But as soon as the first full trailer for the movie arrived, controversies began to stir.

An anti-Ted Cruz political action committee has released an ad trolling the Texas Republican senator for obsessing over what he claims are hidden messages in the Barbie movie rather than more pressing political issues.The “Lose Cruz” PAC’s ad mocks the senator’s obsession with culture-war issues — both real and imagined — by unveiling a collection of “Cruz-inspired Barbie dolls” mocking Cruz’s past actions, statements, or political positions.The three Cruz-inspired dolls featured in the video show an “Insurrection Barbie”, with included a “Stop the Steal” button and podium to speak from as you attempt to “destroy democracy,” a “MAGA Podcaster Barbie” to help “promote the MAGA agenda” — a nod to Cruz’s own political podcast — and a “Cancun Barbie,” referring to the time when Cruz left Texas to vacation in Cancun while millions of Texans were left without power and water following a historic winter storm.Cruz recently branded the Barbie movie as Chinese propaganda for a scene in the movie depicting a cartoonish map of the world, displaying a dashed line through the water surrounding the map’s crudely-drawn Asian continent. Some have argued that the line is meant to represent the so-called “nine-dash line,” which Chinese propagandists have drawn on maps in order to lay claim to disputed territory in the South China Sea that other nations say does not belong to China. The controversy over the imaginary map led Vietnam, which has an ongoing conflict with China over where their maritime borders begin and end, to ban the film.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean TV series and films are increasing still further their hold on streaming audiences across East Asia. They accounted for half of viewing time in the first half of the year, according to new third-party research. Korean-made premium VOD content captured 50% of SVOD viewership and 42% of freemium viewership between January and June 2023, with a record 58 million VOD users tuning in nine East Asian territories (Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam), according to Singapore-based research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia. The analysis is based on the measured media consumption activity of 40,000 Asia Pacific consumers, conducted by AMPD, the analysis firm’s sister company.

Khloé Kardashian is not having it. On last night’s episode of The Kardashians, her relationship with Dream Kardashian, the daughter of Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna, was a topic of discussion, with Scott Disick saying she become a “co-parent.” Koko seemingly agreed, calling herself a “third parent.” Some saw the conversation as shade towards Dream’s mom, so Khloé took to social media to clear the air.On Thursday, Khloé shared two screenshots on Instagram with her 310 million followers.

Barbie film to be shown in the country’s cinemas, but have asked Hollywood distributors to blur the lines on a child-like drawing of a world map, which allegedly shows China’s disputed maritime claims.The film about the Mattel doll – directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling – is set to open in the south-east Asian nation on July 19.The censors began examining Barbie last week after Vietnam reportedly banned the film over scenes featuring a map showing the so-called nine-dash line, which China uses to justify its claim to the South China Sea.Beijing claims territorial ownership over almost the entire South China Sea, despite rival claims from other south-east Asian countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.However, after “meticulous” scrutiny of the film, Philippine censors were satisfied that the “cartoonish map” did 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,” the censorship board said (via The Guardian).“Rest assured that the board has exhausted all possible resources in arriving at this decision as we have not hesitated in the past to sanction filmmakers/ producers/distributors for exhibiting the fictitious ’nine-dash line’ in their materials.”Despite being satisfied, the censors have still asked Hollywood studio Warner Bros. to “blur” the controversial lines on the map.

Barbie won’t be banned in the Philippines after all, following a week-long review by local censors and government officials, although a scene with a controversial map of the South China Sea might be blurred for release.

The upcoming “Barbie” movie has been approved a commercial release in the Philippines after the country conducted “two review sessions and consultations with relevant government agencies,” as per a statement from the country’s Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) via Variety. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” has been allowed a commercial release in the Philippines, following a review by the country’s film censors. However, the scene that shows a controversial map may have to be blurred. The film was last week banned in Vietnam over its inclusion of a scene with a map alleged to show the ‘nine dash line’ by which China lays claim to nearly all of the South China Sea as its own territory. Vietnam says that China’s claims violate its sovereignty and that films and TV shows must not show the illegal map. On Monday, Vietnam banned Chinese series “Flight to You” for showing the map in multiple episodes.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Global streaming platform Netflix has removed the Chinese-produced drama series “Flight to You” from its service in Vietnam. The Vietnamese government banned the series on similar grounds to its objection to the upcoming Warner Bros. film “Barbie.” “As a result of the Vietnamese regulator banning elements of the series, we have removed ‘Flight to You’ from Netflix in Vietnam. It remains available on our service in other markets,” a Netflix spokesperson told Variety in an emailed statement. Both “Barbie” and “Flight to You” are understood to have included scenes that show a map of the South China Sea that depicts the “nine dash line” that represents China’s territorial claim to almost all of the area. Vietnam says that use of the map violates its sovereignty and that it will not tolerate the “nine dash line” in film and TV.

Far-right conservative preacher Kent Christmas asked God to “loose a Holy judgment” on the upcoming Barbie movie because it is “full of transsexual and transgender and homosexuality.”Posted on June 25, a now-viral video shows the Tennessee-based Christmas saying, “I curse in the name of the Lord this new Barbie movie that has been released full of transsexual and transgender and homosexuality in the name of the Lord. May God loose a judge, may God loose a Holy judgment.

Warner Bros. is speaking out and defending their upcoming movie, Barbie, following it getting banned in Vietnam.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Kino Lorber has picked up North American rights to Pham Thien An’s debut feature “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell.” The Vietnamese drama appeared in Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight section and was winner of the Camera d’Or. The company plans a theatrical release as well as a digital and home video releases on all major platforms after the film makes multiple stops on the international film festival circuit. “The sudden death of his sister-in-law brings unexpected responsibilities to Thien (Le Phong Vu), who is reluctantly tasked with bringing his five-year-old nephew Dao to their countryside hometown. On the road, Thien is drawn into a search for his long missing older brother, haunted and spurred forward by a series of sublime dreams that reignite suppressed memories, forbidden desires, and specters of his own youth. What began as a journey home becomes a pilgrimage marked by visual splendor and mystical overtones, a quest for understanding and certainty in a Vietnam that seems unable to provide any clear answers. As Thien battles with his own existential question of what is worth living for, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell interrogates the persistence and complexity of faith, not only in the spiritual but in the delicate beauty of earthly existence,” said Kino Lorber by way of a long synopsis.

Billie Eilish has announced the release date and title of her new song for the forthcoming Barbie soundtrack.The ‘Happier Than Ever’ singer took to social media to reveal that she is one of the featured artists contributing to the highly anticipated film’s soundtrack. Eilish shared that the upcoming song ‘What Was I Made For?’ will make listeners “sob”.To announce the song, the 21-year-old singer shared a photo on Instagram of the Barbie logo with the track’s title written above it.

Vietnam’s decision to ban the movie has been making headlinesNow Warner Bros. is attempting to clarify its intention.The film, directed by Greta Gerwig, was set to hit theaters in the country on July 21, aligning with its big-screen release in most countries around the world.However, Vietnam announced the movie will not be released due to a scene that includes a map using the “nine-dash line” — a set of line segments that represents China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea — which Vietnam claims violates its sovereignty.But the studio rejects the need for controversy.“The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing,” a spokesperson for the Warner Bros.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Of all the impressive skills Barbie has amassed in her 64 years as a working doll, who knew that cartography would be a focal point of her highly anticipated summer movie debut? But here we are. Trailers for the upcoming “Barbie,” from director Greta Gerwig and Warner Bros. Pictures, have led to the dissemination of a controversial map used in the film – one depicted in a scene with stars Margot Robbie and Kate McKinnon (known in the film as “Weird Barbie”) — and the studio is speaking up after days of international headlines. “The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing,” a spokesperson for the Warner Bros. Film Group told Variety. “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.”

Naman Ramachandran After a seven-year hiatus, Fremantle, Cat Tien Sa Media Group and VTV3 have partnered to revive Vietnam’s star-maker competition series “Vietnam Idol.” This revival will have a focus on youth audiences and aspirants, as the show builds up its presence on all major social platforms and local university campuses for casting. Music industry judges include producer Huy Tuan, singer-songwriters Son Tung MTP and My Tam and director Nguyen Quang Dung, who have all previously served in the capacity in previous seasons. Duc Bao will host. The road to stardom on the show involves three months of competition – starting from the in-person open casting calls and a highlight music festival in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City – where 100 contenders will sing their way through the selection rounds for a shot at the theater rounds, live rounds and the finals gala.

banned in Vietnam for apparently featuring a map showing China’s claims to the South China Sea that many say includes the territory of other nations.When asked about the controversy during a press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning was dismissive of Hanoi’s outrage.“China’s position on the South China Sea issue is clear and consistent,” the official said, adding that Vietnam “should not link the South China Sea issue with normal cultural exchange.”The nine-dash line shown on the map represents China’s claim to a vast section of the disputed waters, which are also being fought over by Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan.An international tribunal at The Hague found the Chinese Communist Party’s map illegal. Beijing dismissed the ruling at the time.The map’s inclusion in “Barbie” underscores the growing controversy over Hollywood’s reliance on China, which has rivaled the US for its biggest market in recent years.

Days after Vietnam banned Warner Bros’ upcoming Barbie due to a scene depicting a map of the South China Sea with the “nine-dash line” that is contested by its government, the Philippines is now weighing whether it will follow suit.