Barbie Banned in Some Mideast Countries

JustDave

JustDave

Senior Member
Barbie?? The unofficial icon of the perfect woman for so many years?

New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/14/world/middleeast/barbie-movie-saudi-arabia.html

scenes played out across the conservative Islamic kingdom last weekend, as women painted their nails pink, tied pink bows in their hair and draped pink floor-length abayas over their shoulders for the regional debut of the movie, “Barbie.” While critics across the Middle East have called for the film to be banned for undermining traditional gender norms, many Saudis ignored them.
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So as word spread through the kingdom that “Barbie” would debut on a delayed schedule — a sign that government censors were most likely deliberating over it — many Saudis thought the movie would be banned, or at least heavily censored. Bolstering their expectations was the fact that neighboring Kuwait banned the film last week.

Lebanon’s culture minister, Muhammad Al-Murtada, also called for the film to be banned, saying that it violated local values by “promoting homosexuality” and “raising doubts about the necessity of marriage and building a family.” It is unclear if the government will follow his recommendation.
Even in Arab nations that have allowed the film to be shown, it has faced intense criticism. The Bahraini preacher Hassan al-Husseini shared a video with one million Instagram followers calling the movie a Trojan horse for “corrupt agendas.”
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Barbie was silly, but fun. Yes there was a message in the film, but mostly it was about Barbie living in pink Barbieville and venturing into the real world because <horror of horrors> her tip toe feet started to get rigid flat, and she couldn't wear high heels. I didn't really get that caught up in the message. The message was just a vehicle to give the writers something to write about. I was more interested in watching Ken and Barbie having their first case of the hiccups in the perfect world of Barbie Land.
 

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JustDave said:
Barbie?? The unofficial icon of the perfect woman for so many years?

New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/14/world/middleeast/barbie-movie-saudi-arabia.html




Barbie was silly, but fun. Yes there was a message in the film, but mostly it was about Barbie living in pink Barbieville and venturing into the real world because <horror of horros> her tip toe feet started to get rigid flat, and she couldn't wear high heels. I didn't really get that caught up in the message. The message was just a vehicle to give the writers something to write about. I was more interested in watching Ken and Barbie having their first case of the hiccups in Barbie Land.
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You mean you went to see it :D:D:D
 
Years ago, I put my khaki work pants in the wash with a red sweat shirt. They came out pink, but I wore them to work anyway, pulling lumber off the green chain at the mill. I caught Hell from the crew. So I tried to bleach them with lots and lots of bleach, and they got less pink, but became thread bare by the next time I wore them. So much for a fairly new pair of pants.
 
I understand there are complaints of it being woke in parts. But I want to see it. I'll probably wait until I can rent it on demand with cable. I haven't liked going to the movies in years. Well before covid. Too many trailers, I'm short. Always someone tall in front of me.

I've watched the Ken song video at least 10 times. Love it. I can't believe Ryan Gosling is 42. I'd guess him 10 years younger.

 
well at one point the Mods wanted to make a statement about clearly not being Rockers - pink did it and other light pastels and we drove minis and road lambrettas!!
 
Remy said:
I understand there are complaints of it being woke in parts. But I want to see it. I'll probably wait until I can rent it on demand with cable. I haven't liked going to the movies in years. Well before covid. Too many trailers, I'm short. Always someone tall in front of me.

I've watched the Ken song video at least 10 times. Love it. I can't believe Ryan Gosling is 42. I'd guess him 10 years younger.

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The movie is just plain silly, and successfully designed to be that way. It makes fun of everything, both the the positive and negative sides of Barbie, both the things that might offend the woke and the asleep. It's not some Hollywood conspiracy. It's too ridiculous to glorify or villify any particular agenda. Anyone, who's going to get their nose knocked out of joint by the film needs to get help. The movie is too absurd to be turned into some horrifying political agenda. Just enjoy. You're not going to go home any smarter or dumber.
 
Having now seen the Barbie movie I can say that while it is definetly tilted towards female empowerment, it is overall fair. Both Barbie and Ken make mistakes and Barbie obviously is taking Ken for granted along with the other perquisites of being the Queen Barbie of Barbieland. It’s fun, with lots of humor and a silly but somewhat complicated plot. Mattel seemed to offer up itself and its execs as a sacrificial goat which I found interesting. It’s also probably very wise. I bet Barbie sales have a nice tilt upwards for a year or two at least.
 
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JustDave said:
The movie is just plain silly, and successfully designed to be that way. It makes fun of everything, both the the positive and negative sides of Barbie, both the things that might offend the woke and the asleep. It's not some Hollywood conspiracy. It's too ridiculous to glorify or villify any particular agenda. Anyone, who's going to get their nose knocked out of joint by the film needs to get help. The movie is too absurd to be turned into some horrifying political agenda. Just enjoy. You're not going to go home any smarter or dumber.
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Sounds like an objective view. I think you are right, people will look into things way too much instead of just being entertained.
 

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