‘Barbie’ map controversy slapped down by Warner Bros.: ‘Child-like crayon drawing’

nypost.com:

Vietnam’s decision to ban the movie has been making headlinesNow Warner Bros. is attempting to clarify its intention.The film, directed by Greta Gerwig, was set to hit theaters in the country on July 21, aligning with its big-screen release in most countries around the world.However, Vietnam announced the movie will not be released due to a scene that includes a map using the “nine-dash line” — a set of line segments that represents China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea — which Vietnam claims violates its sovereignty.But the studio rejects the need for controversy.“The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing,” a spokesperson for the Warner Bros.

Film Group told Variety. “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.”The map depicted in the film is seemingly done by a child — complete with scribbled dolphins and hashtags floating around in the water — and is seen during a moment when Barbie is in an existential crisis and considering going on a journey to the “real world.”While many have viewed it as the “nine-dash line,” one source said the lines represented “journey lines” — dashes often used to represent where a character has traveled to or from on a map.The U-shaped line, which was first seen on maps in 1947, includes parts that Vietnam sees as its continental shelf, where it has awarded oil concessions.The line is highly controversial as many of China’s neighbors — including Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam — have competing and overlapping territorial claims, and the Chinese territory is contested.“We do not grant license for the American movie ‘Barbie’ to release in Vietnam because.