The United Arab Emirates announced on Monday the ban on the animated film “Lightyear”, from Pixar Studios, the first from the great American production company that contains a kiss scene between two people of the same sex.
The Gulf State, which notably includes the emirate of Dubai and has a Ministry of Tolerance, is relatively liberal compared to its neighbors, but remains bound by many political and social restrictions.
The animated film ‘Lightyear’, which is scheduled to be released on June 16, is not allowed to be shown in any cinema in the United Arab Emirates, due to the violation of the regulations related to multimedia content in force in the United Arab Emirates” announced the Office of Media Regulation on Twitter.
According to this body dependent on the Ministry of Culture and Youth, all films “are subject to monitoring and evaluation before the date of exhibition to the public in order to ensure that the content broadcast is appropriate to the age classification.”
Questioned by the French news agency AFP, the ministry did not respond to requests for clarification about the “rules” violated by “Lightyear”, with posters of the film already placed on the streets of Dubai.
This ban comes six months after the country announced that films shown in its theaters would no longer be censored, but rather classified according to the age of the viewers, with a new category of works prohibited for those under 21 years of age.
Censorship is a widespread practice in the Arab world, especially in the very conservative Gulf region. Movies containing scenes deemed harmful to morals are often cut or even banned altogether.
In April, Saudi Arabia asked Disney to remove “LGBTQ references” to the Marvel film “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” so that it could not be shown in cinemas in the ultra-conservative kingdom, which neighbors the Emirates.
In recent years, the Emirates have adopted social reforms presented as liberal to attract more expatriates, and the country comprises around 90% of foreigners worldwide.
Despite these reforms, Human Rights Watch last week accused authorities of criminalizing “vague acts” as any behavior that “offends public modesty and morals” or “incites a life of sin.”
Source: Observadora
