Barbie Movie Banned in Vietnam Over Map

Facts

• The government of Vietnam has banned the upcoming Barbie film because of its depiction of a map showing China's disputed territorial claims of much of the resource-rich South China Sea, the so-called "nine-dash line."¹
• The release of Barbie, a live-action story about Mattel's famous Barbie and Ken dolls with an all-star cast including Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, and Will Ferrell, is one of the most anticipated films of the summer.²
• The film about the famous doll was originally scheduled to open in Vietnam on July 21 — the same date as in the US, according to Vietnam's state-run media.³
• "We do not grant license [sic] for the American movie 'Barbie' to release in Vietnam because it contains an image of the nine-dash line," Vi Kien Thanh, head of Vietnam's Department of Cinema, said in a statement.⁴
• In 2016, an international tribunal based in the Hague ruled against the PRC's territorial claims in the region. Beijing did not recognize this ruling.⁵
• All films in Vietnam must be screened by censors before release in the Southeast Asian nation, usually objecting to violent, sexual, or political content. Last year action-adventure movie Uncharted was also banned in Vietnam for depicting the nine-dash line.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Forbes, ³Reuters, ⁴The Hill, ⁵BBC News, and ⁶DW.

Narratives

• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Los Angeles Times. The use of the nine-dash-line in the upcoming Barbie film is outright pandering to the Chinese market and flies in the face of the rightful territorial claims of Pacific countries that have been ignored by the PRC. Vietnam does not have to dignify such affronts to their sovereignty and has rightly banned the film. Maybe Hollywood will think twice next time before distorting reality to sell more tickets in China.
• Pro-China narrative, as provided by The China Project. While it's unclear whether the film's depiction of the controversial nine-dash line is intentional, Warner Bros. should be applauded for picking the right side on an important matter. Vietnam is being hypersensitive on this issue, as it restricts free expression for the sake of advancing its claim in a territorial spat.