Published on : 14/06/2022 – 10:49
United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt or Malaysia… Fourteen countries have banned the theatrical screening of Walt Disney-Pixar’s “Buzz Lightyear” animated feature film, because it features a couple of two female characters of the same sex.
The brand new animated film “Buzz Lightyear” directed by Walt Disney-Pixar will not be released in theaters in a dozen countries in the Middle East and Asia.
While the official screening was scheduled for June 16 at the United Arab Emiratesit was banned Monday, June 13, from all cinemas in the country because it contains a kissing scene between two women, the UAE announced.
In “Buzz Lightyear”, Pixar, the subsidiary of Disney, imagines the life of the astronaut who inspired the toy of “Toy Story”. It features a female character, Alicia Hawthorne, who is in a relationship with another woman, whom she kisses in the cartoon.
“The animated film, is not authorized to be screened in any cinema in the United Arab Emirates, due to a violation of the standards related to media content in force in the country”, justified on Twitter the regulatory office. medias. This organization dependent on the Ministry of Culture and Youth has the role of supervising the diffusion of the contents so that they are adapted to the ages of the spectators.
Media Regulatory Office Executive Director Rashid Khalfan Al Nuaimi later told Archyde.com the film was banned due to the inclusion of “gay” characters in several scenes, as homosexuality is a crime punishable under the Code. federal penal system in the United Arab Emirates.
Representatives of other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia and Lebanon, did not explain why they would not allow the film to be screened.
A ban despite promises of censorship
This ban, however, comes in the United Arab Emirates six months after the country announced that films shown in its cinemas would no longer be censored but only classified according to the age of the spectators, with a new category of works prohibited for those under 21. .
The Emirates have in recent years adopted social reforms presented as liberal to attract more expatriates, the country being made up of around 90% of foreigners from all over the world.
Yet despite these measures, the NGO Human Rights Watch last week accused the authorities of criminalizing “vague acts”, such as any behavior that “offends modesty and public morals” or that “incites a life of Fishing”.
Disney refuses to cut scenes from the film for China
Separately, a ‘Buzz Lightyear’ producer told Archyde.com that Chinese authorities had requested cuts to the film, which Disney refused to do.
The production company fears that the film will not be released in this country either – which represents the largest cinema market in the world. In the past, China has already banned other depictions of homosexuality on the big screen.
With Archyde.com