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.
Despite the country green-lighting the release, one scene showing a controversial map may have to be blurred.
“Barbie”‘s review by the Philippines’ film censors comes after the Greta Gerwig picture was banned in Vietnam last week due to its inclusion of a scene showcasing the ‘nine dash line’ on a map, which “China lays claim to nearly all of the South China Sea as its own territory,” as per Variety. Vietnam argues that China’s claims disrupts its sovereignty, demanding films and TV shows to not display the illegal map.
READ MORE: ‘Barbie’: Ranking The Cast Members By Their Influence On Instagram
Last week, the Philippines’ MTRCB announced that it will be examining “Barbie” regarding concerns alike.
Meanwhile, in a statement made to Variety last week, Warner Bros. denied that the map featured in the movie demonstrated the controversial ‘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 spokesperson for the Warner Bros. Film Group shared with the outlet.
The MTRCB statement, revealing its approval of “Barbie”‘s release, coincides with Warner Bros.’ standpoint.
READ MORE: Michael Cera On Which ‘Barbie’ Star Is More Canadian: Simu Liu Or Ryan Gosling?
“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,'” the MTRCB said in a statement. “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.”
According to local media reports, the MTRCB also sent a letter to Philippines Senator Francis Tolentino, adding: “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.”
Elsewhere in the government agency’s statement to Variety, the MTRCB noted that “Barbie” “underwent two meticulous screenings,” one of which involved the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Solicitor General.
Though the MTRCB statement did not mention that the censors asked Warner Bros. to blur the map’s controversial lines, Philippines media outlets report otherwise.
