this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
426 points (96.9% liked)

News

22612 readers
4271 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

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.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] JadenSmith 105 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.

[–] [email protected] 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.

[–] [email protected] 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.

[–] [email protected] 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.

load more comments (21 replies)
[–] [email protected] 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.

[–] [email protected] 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.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (9 replies)
[–] [email protected] 46 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.

[–] [email protected] 23 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.

[–] [email protected] 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

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 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.

[–] [email protected] 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.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 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

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago

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

[–] [email protected] 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

load more comments (13 replies)
[–] [email protected] 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.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago

Religion is a cancer on this world.

[–] [email protected] 37 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...

[–] [email protected] 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).

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

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

[–] atzanteol 23 points 1 year ago

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

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 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

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 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...

[–] [email protected] 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.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 18 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.

[–] [email protected] 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.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

abrahamic faiths fucking suck

[–] [email protected] 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.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 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.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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

[–] pastermil 6 points 1 year ago

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

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 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 :-(

[–] [email protected] 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

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Religion ruins everything.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Funny, I was just listening to the album this morning and was chuckling at the lyrics to one of the songs, which explicitly state no homo bro.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Being more liberal than the other parts doesn't mean liberal in general.

load more comments
view more: next ›