Warner Bros. has issued a statement on the Barbie map controversy that caused the movie to be banned in Vietnam, asserting the "child-like" doodle was "not intended to make any type of statement".
Greta Gerwig's upcoming Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, reportedly features a scene depicting a map showing what some had taken to represent the "nine-dash line", a disputed territorial marking Vietnam officials say violates Vietnamese sovereignty, prompting the national ban of the film.
Warner Bros. has shared a statement with Variety to reveal the intentions behind the map and the reasons for its inclusion. The studio explained the dashed line resembles a journey line often used on fictional maps to show a character's trip from one destination to the other. In this case, Barbie's ride to the real world.
"The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing," a spokesperson for the Warner Bros. Film Group told the outlet. "The doodles depict Barbie's make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the 'real world.' It was not intended to make any type of statement."
As shown in the image above, the colorful map features various arrows and dashes as Barbie prepares for her journey to the real world, where she'll discover the joys and perils of living among humans, including the likes of America Ferrera, Ariana Greenblatt, Connor Swindells, Jamie Demetriou, and Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel.
On their road to enlightenment, Barbie and Ken will find out that life is not all about blowout parties, beach hangouts, and rollerblading dates. And it seems like they might find out the hard way, as the UK's 12A age rating for the movie warns viewers of strong language, moderate innuendo, and dangerous behavior.
The Barbie movie has a runtime of 113 minutes and 54 seconds, so those planning Barbenheimer viewings at the theater in other countries will need to spare plenty of time for it as Christopher Nolan's R-Rated Oppenheimer clocks in just shy of three hours on its own.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
source https://www.ign.com/articles/warner-bros-comment-child-like-barbie-map-movie-banned-vietnam