Senator Grace Poe on Wednesday stated she helps the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board’s (MTRCB) choice to not ban the movie “Barbie.”
Vietnam final week banned the film from home distribution, saying there was a scene that depicted China’s nine-dash line.
The MTRCB, nonetheless, declined to comply with swimsuit, saying “there is no clear nor outright depiction of the ‘nine-dash line’ in the subject film.”
During the Kapihan sa Senado, Poe, a former MTRCB chairperson, stated she sees no violation nor insult to the Philippines within the movie.
“Nakikiisa ako sa desisyon ng MTRCB… Nung ni-review ko ang litrato parang drawing ng bata. Ni hindi nga nakalagay ang pangalan ng Pilipinas dyan e, Indonesia, Malaysia or Vietnam. Wala naman dito, [maski] China wala. ‘Di ba fiction nga?” Poe stated.
“Ang mga sprint strains d’yan, pag binilang mo hindi 9, nasa 20, dahil ‘yan ay lakbay ni Barbie…So bago tayo magbigay statement…kaya nga ‘di ba you have to review the material in its entirety,” she added.
Poe said the MTRCB has sent her a letter explaining its reason for the decision. She also said that incumbent MTRCB chairperson Lala Sotto-Antonio confirmed there is no mention of the “nine-dash line” in the movie.
Poe also noted Sotto-Antonio’s session with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Solicitor General.
“The DFA said wala silang nakikitang violation dito. DFA na ang nagsabi. Nagpadala sila ng sulat sa MTRCB officially stating na they don’t see any violations. However, they said based on the sentiments of others and sensitives, baka pwedeng i-blur na lang yon,” she stated.
Poe stated blurring the picture can be nonsensical.
“Kalokohan ‘yun, bakit mo ibu-blur e wala namang mali…For me, that’s censorship and that’s wrong,” she stated.
The lawmaker then appealed to movie producers to be “very mindful” of the nine-dash line—a line on maps that encompasses almost the whole South China Sea, and is supposed to depict territory that China claims as its personal, together with territories within the Philippines’ unique financial zone. Today, July 12, is the seventh anniversary of a world tribunal’s ruling invalidating the nine-dash line and China’s claims over the ocean, a victory attained by the Philippines.
“This goes beyond the movie. In the future, when there’s a discussion about freedom of expression and the arbitral ruling or geopolitical issues, we really have to be mindful of those things,” Poe stated.
The MTRCB stated that the controversial scene within the film confirmed that the sprint strains connected to a landmass labeled “Asia” weren’t U-shaped and had eight dots or dashes as an alternative of 9.
The board added that the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia weren’t seen on the map.
The MTRCB stated this was in stark distinction to the maps discovered within the movies “Abominable” and “Uncharted,” which the board banned in 2019 and 2022, respectively.
It likewise cited Warner Bros’ statement that the map depicts “Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the real world” and “was not intended to make any type of statement.”
Also on Wednesday, the DFA also said it is “not convinced that the lines shown depict anything more than a fictitious path, in an imaginary world map.” — BM, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
