Barbie was banned in Cameroon a month after its theatrical release

A contrasting novelty for Barbie. On the one hand, Greta Gerwig’s film continues to panic counters and is set to become the 2023 box office leader ahead of Super Mario Bros., which just surpassed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 to claim the title of Warner’s biggest hit ever.

But on the other hand, the feature film has been hit with a new ban. After Lebanon, Kuwait and Algeria, it was Cameroon that banned it from its cinemas… where it ran for a good month. As in the countries mentioned above, Barbie has been accused of promoting homosexuality, which is punishable by local law, which has brought her new censorship.

“We will ban any film that is not in line with our values. We will censor any film whose content is not in line with our youth.”– says Professor Fai Donatius Tangem, Director of Cinematography and Audiovisual Production at the Ministry of Arts and Culture with Le Monde Afrique.

Not once is there a scene that talks about homosexuality, neither in dialogue nor in action.

“Barbie’s movie has unacceptable content for them”He continues, adding that the ban was announced by the Ministry’s National Commission for the Control of Cinematographic Films and Sound Recordings on July 21. “According to the law, the commission has sixty days to see, analyze and express its opinion (…) ensuring the result depends on the exhibition. They didn’t do that.”

“Barbie was released in our theaters on July 21 after passing the censor board, which did not notify us of its ban”Meanwhile, Pierre Junior Ebolo, director of the Eden Cinema in Douala, the country’s economic capital, will respond.

“This movie does not promote homosexuality. Not once is there a scene that talks about it, not in the dialogue or in the action. This movie was shown several times in front of parents and their children. Not one parent left the room. Complaint.”

According to the worldThese withdrawals can be accompanied by heavy penalties for certain operators: “The ban that was finally imposed is contraindicated”– says Pierre Junior Ebola. “They want us to take the blame and I don’t accept that. In no way did the people who came to see the movie say that this movie shouldn’t be played.”