Poe backs MTRCB decision not to ban ‘Barbie’

Senator Grace Poe on Wednesday said she supports the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board's (MTRCB) decision not to ban the film “Barbie.”

Vietnam last week banned the movie from domestic distribution, saying there was a scene that depicted China's nine-dash line.

The MTRCB, however, declined to follow suit, 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, said she sees no violation nor insult to the Philippines in the film.

“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 said.

“Ang mga dash lines d’yan, pag binilang mo hindi nine, 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 consultation 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 said.

Poe said blurring the image would be nonsensical.

“Kalokohan ‘yun, bakit mo ibu-blur e wala namang mali…For me, that’s censorship and that’s wrong,” she said.

The lawmaker then appealed to film producers to be “very mindful” of the nine-dash line—a line on maps that encompasses nearly the entire South China Sea, and is meant to depict territory that China claims as its own, including territories in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. Today, July 12, is the seventh anniversary of an international tribunal's ruling invalidating the nine-dash line and China's claims over the sea, 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 said.

The MTRCB said that the controversial scene in the movie showed that the dash lines attached to a landmass labeled “Asia” were not U-shaped and had eight dots or dashes instead of nine.

The board added that the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia were not visible on the map.

The MTRCB said this was in stark contrast to the maps found in the films “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