Kuwait bans Barbie film over ‘public ethics’ concerns

KUWAIT CITY – Kuwait has barred the hit film Barbie from cinemas over concerns about “public ethics”, officials have said, also confirming a separate ban on a horror movie featuring a transgender actor.

Barbie and Talk To Me both “promulgate ideas and beliefs that are alien to the Kuwaiti society and public order”, Mr Lafy Al-Subei’e, head of Kuwait’s cinema censorship committee, told the official Kuna news agency.

While deciding on any foreign movie, the committee usually orders “censoring of the scenes that run counter to public ethics”, Mr Subei’e was quoted as saying late on Wednesday.

“But (if) a film carries alien concepts, message or unacceptable behaviour, the committee decides to bar the stuff in question as a whole,” he said.

Gulf Arab states, including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – all of which outlaw homosexuality – routinely censor films that contain lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) references.

Most recently, they banned the latest Spider-Man animation in June, reportedly over a scene that includes a transgender pride flag.

However, Barbie, which has taken more than US$1 billion (S$1.35 billion) worldwide, is being shown in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.

In Lebanon, Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada said on Wednesday he asked the authorities to ban Barbie for purportedly “promoting homosexuality”, though the film does not contain any overt references to same-sex relationships or queer themes.

Talk To Me, which is shown in Emirati and Saudi theatres, features Australian transgender actor Zoe Terakes but no explicit LGBTQ references.

“Our film doesn’t have queer themes,” Terakes said in a statement posted on social media on Sunday, after the ban was first reported.

“I am a trans actor who happened to get the role. I’m not a theme. I’m a person,” added Terakes, who identifies as non-binary. - AFP