Controversy Surrounds Screening of “Barbie” Movie in Lebanon

Whoever watched the movie directed by American Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling knows that “Barbie” You dream of a world where love and peace reign. But this American comedy fuels the tensions, especially in Lebanon Where there is controversy and fears that it will not be shown in cinemas.

Adding to these fears, the Lebanese Minister of Culture, Muhammad al-Murtada, requested on August 9 that the film be banned on the grounds that it “violates the values” of the country.

For its part, the commission, which is in charge of imposing censorship, did not find any controversial scene or justify not showing it in cinema halls, according to what was stated by the Lebanese “MTV” television. But despite this, the future of the movie “Barbie”, which earned more than a billion dollars in profits, appears vague in the country of rice.

He may not have seen the movie.

The movie “Barbie” makes fun of masculinity. Actress Greta Groening dreams of a world ruled by women in which both sexes enjoy equality. There is no scene in the film that explicitly hints at homosexuality, knowing that the Lebanese Minister of Culture wants to ban it for this very reason.

Read alsoLebanon: Censorship bans the movie “The Nun” because it “harms” the Christian religion

Commenting on the minister’s decision, Ayman Mahana, executive director of the Samir Kassir Media Foundation, said: “Maybe he hasn’t seen the movie. (He means the Lebanese Minister of Culture).” He continued, “These statements are part of an anti-gay media campaign launched by Hassan Nasrallah, the Shiite leader of Hezbollah.” a few weeks ago. Before that, extremist Christian religious groups had previously done the same thing.

Since last June and the celebrations organized by gays in Lebanon, the issue of homosexuality has turned into a debate in political and intellectual circles.

Last July, Hassan Nasrallah asserted that, according to Islamic law, “every homosexual person” must be killed, calling not to buy any material bearing violet colors that symbolize homosexuality. Under pressure from the Lebanese clergy, Lebanon canceled many events that were supposed to be organized by homosexuals. For example, last year the movie “Buzz for Claire” was banned due to the participation of gay actors.

“Spiritual reasons and political manipulations”

This, and the Lebanese Minister of Culture decided to prevent the screening of the movie “Barbie” after a ministerial meeting organized last week in the summer house of the Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rai. The latter stated after the end of the meeting that “all ideas that oppose the divine order and the values ​​shared by the Lebanese must be fought.”

However, according to Ayman Mahana, “the Lebanese authorities find consensus easily when it comes to fighting homosexuals or opposing a civil law related to marriage, inheritance, divorce, or even raising children.”

“Religious institutions play the role of a link to political parties in the Lebanese society,” he added. They are often employed by the parties in power and invoke spiritual arguments in order to hide political manipulations.

A society more open than its rulers?

And if we compare it with many countries in the region, the Lebanese society is characterized by its ideology and its openness to customs. Evidence for this is that in 2022 many Arab countries banned the broadcast of the movie “Doctor Marvel”, which tells the story of a gay husband, but Lebanon gave permission to show it in cinemas.

According to Ayman Mahana, “The political parties represented in Parliament reflect the existence of a kind of religious conservatism in society. However, “I don’t think that the Lebanese, including the religiously conservative class, have problems with the movie Barbie.” On the contrary, today they do not care about moral issues, but are more concerned about the collapse of the economy, justice and the Lebanese state.”

This film was banned in Kuwait under the pretext that it “offends public morals.” On the other hand, the same film was shown a few days ago in other countries in the region, especially Saudi Arabia And the Emirates, where it is witnessing a great demand.

The famous doll stole the spotlight again from “Oppenheimer”, as the film, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Cillian Murphy, earned revenues of nearly $ 19 million.

Lebanon is facing a suffocating economic crisis due to high prices and the deterioration of the value of the lira, in addition to banking problems, water shortages and the absence of electricity. What made matters worse was the Beirut port explosion in 2020 and the inability of those charged with the investigation to bring those involved to justice. Ayman Mahana concluded, “In light of this crisis, ethical issues allow the authorities to “distract attention”. Yesterday, we were accusing refugees, but today we are accusing homosexuals.”

Sufyan Oban