Warner Bros. Says Barbie Movie Map Not Related to Chinese Territorial Claims
thewrap.comWarner Bros. Film Group said in the statement. “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.”I spent part of the morning reply guying policy peoples questions about Vietnam banning the Barbie movie with the nine dash line map with this image of the map pic.twitter.com/oqJ91HJVUhThe Barbie map allegations would have sounded ridiculous 20 years ago.
But placement of material favorable to China in Hollywood productions has been on the rise for 20 years, and is getting more blatant and aggressive.
In a statement to Politico, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who chairs the select House panel aimed at countering the influence of China, said the map “illustrates the pressure that Hollywood is under to please CCP censors.”“While it may just be a Barbie map in a Barbie world, the fact that a cartoonish, crayon-scribbled map seems to go out of its way to depict the PRC’s unlawful territorial claims illustrates the pressure that Hollywood is under to please CCP censors.” Hollywood producer Chris Fenton, who serves an advisor to the House panel alongside Gallagher, noted that anticipating Chinese criticism has become the “new normal.” He also said it is “hard to believe” that the pro-China map was inadvertent, considering how much scrutiny studios give to anything involving China. “There are no easy solutions for continuing market access (in China) while placing American priorities first,” said Fenton, a trustee of the U.S.-Asia Institute, adding that freedom of expression is the ultimate priority.“I believe strongly that the U.S.
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