this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
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Lebanon, once thought of as among the most liberal parts of the Middle East, is poised to ban global hit movie “Barbie.” More conservative Kuwait said Wednesday that it had gone ahead with a ban due to its promotion of homosexuality.

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[–] JadenSmith@sh.itjust.works 101 points 1 year ago (11 children)

It's disgusting that homosexuality is seen as such an abhorrent thing in this day and age. Are all humans not capable of love? If the answer is a resounding yes, then why are we stopping consenting adults from expressing this? Because of some archaic scripture from thousands of years ago? Excuse my French here, Lebanon, but kindly get to fuck.

[–] carbonprop@lemmy.ca 62 points 1 year ago (22 children)

This is exactly why the separation of church and state is supposed to exist in democracies. The zealots will continue to take away your rights until morale improves.

[–] NoneOfUrBusiness@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'll just mention that in the middle east the vast majority of people don't support LGBT rights. Bringing up the separation of church and state makes no sense in this context.

[–] ickplant@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

They don’t support those rights cause they have been brainwashed by their religion. Maybe if religion was removed from government, that wouldn’t be the case, at least not to this extent.

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[–] electrogamerman@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

As a gay man, these are my thoughts every single day. Do I not deserve love? Is some old book really more important than what's happening now? I just don't get it.

[–] Noughmad@programming.dev 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's not about the book, it's not even about sexuality. Yes these are the justifications they use, but at the core it's all about finding someone they can hurt, and they found you. The cruelty is the point.

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[–] stu@lemmy.pit.ninja 44 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Maybe I'm desensitized, but I honestly don't remember any gay moments in this movie. There are obviously plenty of guys wearing really "flamboyant" outfits, but it was contrasted with their toxic masculinity (i.e. behavior mostly associated with the types of people who actually tend to be homophobic), which is what made it so goddamn funny.

And I also have no idea what they're talking about with promoting body transformation. Unless you know going in that the one actress is trans, you might not even guess she is. The main joke that even references genitalia is making fun of the fact that the Barbie and Ken dolls have nothing there...

And all this is beside the point anyway. Modern societies shouldn't be catering to the precious feefees of religious/conservative snowflakes. They can just choose not to see this movie instead of ruining it for everyone.

[–] Veraticus@lib.lgbt 22 points 1 year ago

I think the argument is that allowing women agency and asking men to define themselves through something other than their relationship with women is gay. So basically, violating patriarchy is gay.

It’s a pretty stupid definition.

[–] kn0wmad1c@programming.dev 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I also have no idea what they’re talking about with promoting body transformation

Well, there is the

spoilerlast line in the movie

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[–] ellaella_ayayay@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I saw it in the trailer too but just in case, upcoming spoiler: maybe the whole beaching each other off scene? I can't think of any others besides that, which if it is the one, then that's kind of funny in a ridiculous way.

[–] stu@lemmy.pit.ninja 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Good point, but I feel like they could probably just translate that scene without having the innuendo (like the direct translation for "beach off" probably doesn't sound anything like the translation of "beat off", so it would become more of a whimsical non sequitur directly translated).

I think there's a fair amount in this movie that doesn't really translate well outside American/Western culture anyway. For me, that scene was funny because it's repeating a pun that points to the Ken characters' innocence when in the real world, they'd be mocked mercilessly by some people. And it forces the audience to think about their own reactions when insecure straight men sometimes follow sentences like that jokingly with, "no homo," to point out that, despite unintentionally saying something that sounded kind of gay, they are not in fact gay. At any rate, I don't see this scene as an endorsement of homosexuality, but rather a commentary on society's fixation on hypermasculine language.

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[–] Puppy@kbin.social 41 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Even if it was the case, what's wrong about homosexuality? Who the fuck cares who fuck who? We have one life. Let people live like they fucking want. End of the story, end of the argument. If there's a god, let that god be the judge of it. The rest is none of your god damn business

[–] Coreidan@lemmy.world 28 points 1 year ago

These people are happy when they make other people miserable. That’s all it ever was.

[–] BruceTwarzen@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago (13 children)

This is actually a good argument for these cultists. Are you playing god now? Let him punish these evil people minding their own business

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[–] charliespider@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 year ago

Religion was, and still is, about power and control over others. Observant people in the past noticed that homosexuals didn't produce as many (if any) children compared to others. Less children means less bodies for your army. A smaller army means less power. Less power means less control. Therefore religions focused on power and control hate homosexuals.

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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 39 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I have seen the movie, and I am still wondering where it is supposed to promote homosexuality. Neither Barbie nor Ken give any such vibes. Only thing Ken seems to suffer is a permanent case of blue balls, even if he lacks the equipment...

[–] wearling0600@lemmy.world 42 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You're assuming that they're honest about their reasons, which is not the case.

The main message of the film (besides being a 2h ad for Mattel) is gender equality and female empowerment.

This threatens these people more than homosexuality, but I imagine even for them saying "we don't want our women to even imagine a world where they're not subservient to men" would be a tough sell.

Far fewer people are willing to stand up to defend the LGBT community so they're a convenient scapegoat ('conservatives' will always find a group small enough to target in order to push their unpopular policies, it just works).

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[–] Tetra@kbin.social 37 points 1 year ago

Religion is a cancer on this world.

[–] HurlingDurling@lemm.ee 32 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The planet is on fucking fire and we are all heading towards the next planetary extinction event, but alah forgive we have a single homosexual reference in a fucking movie.

[–] tenitchyfingers@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

There isn’t even any explicit reference to homosexuality in the movie, anyway.

[–] Bodongs@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'm confused. Who in Barbie is gay? Kens whole thing is he's utterly obsessed with her...

[–] CluckN@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago

I’m guessing that it’s due to general flamboyance? Ken saying he’s going to “beach off” the other Ken and wearing pink may have triggered their 4th grade cooties sensor.

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[–] tenitchyfingers@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Whatever. I’m sure Mattel is crying on the 1billion dollars the movie made.

[–] fidodo@lemm.ee 21 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I don't think the news story is that Mattel is losing a little money from a small market. I think the news story is the oppression

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[–] CoolSouthpaw@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Lmao. Just goes to show that even the most "liberal" part of the Middle East is still a shithole country.

[–] utopianfiat@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Lebanon is not liberal, their homosexuality law is still on the books and 80% of the country is opposed to normalizing homosexuality.

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 year ago

Translation: Ken makes me feel funny "down there" and I don't like it.

[–] BlackNo1@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

abrahamic faiths fucking suck

[–] outrageousmatter@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

I mean lebanon is slowly becoming more progressive if it wasn't for it's government that is corrupt as hell. Though many smart lebanese just leave for western nations because the standard of living is higher even if your broke.

[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I mean Florida probably isn't far behind....

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[–] MargotRobbie@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Imagine getting this worked up about a movie for little girls.

You should still go watch it, it's a good movie, or so I've heard.

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (3 children)

It is good, but it is not really for little girls.

[–] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago

It's a movie about toys for little girls, but the movie itself is not for little girls.

[–] potopato@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

Is one of those films that little children and adults will both enjoy, for different reasons. Like The Simpsons.

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[–] Magister@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

A lot of country looks beautiful to visit, especially in middle-east, but governed by fascists or homophobes or whatever, it's sad :-(

[–] Jaysyn@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago

Religion ruins everything.

[–] Echo71Niner@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

Lebanon is a corrupt nation, $70 billion in funds robbed from citizens' accounts, just toady, U.S. Treasury sanctions imposed on the bank governor, Riad Corrupt Salameh, and a privileged corrupt class that appears more inclined to witness the nation's devastation than to accept responsibility. A significant portion of the population grapples with poverty, struggling to afford even basic sustenance, let alone the luxury of viewing films prohibited by a corrupt Lebanese government. Conversely, Kuwait possesses the world's most valuable currency and boasts a substantial sovereign wealth fund approaching the trillion-dollar mark. With unparalleled purchasing prowess, they could outmatch Warner Bros. effortlessly should they choose to do so.

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1687

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (9 children)
[–] PopularUsername@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

I've never actually heard anyone use that line except people in alt-right circles, and I am around a lot of Muslims. It is not a term Muslims use to describe their religion, not that they would describe it differently, just that it is a strange description. It would be like calling Canada "the country of peace", which I guess is technically true because most countries want to avoid war and promote peace? But does not mean their military is non-violent.

The line is clearly used for the intent of creating a false contrast to make some made up point about hypocrisy.

Also as the other commenter pointed out, you are making a critique about the middle East, everyone agrees the middle East is dysfunctional.

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