A crew member carries away a piece of “Barbie” set design after the premiere of the film, Sunday, July 9, 2023, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Grace Poe, who was a former chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), has urged the public to scrutinize the Barbie film first before making any statements against the movie.
Poe during the Kapihan sa Senado on Wednesday explained that the film does not step on the Philippines’ claims over the West Philippine Sea because in the first place, the map being referenced by the movie is fictional. The controversial scene includes the reference to China’s nine-dash line territorial claim.
The Senator explained that while it is good to talk about the Philippines’ territorial claims, the movie in question does not even show where the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries are, noting that the lines on the map merely indicate where the protagonist — Barbie — has travelled to.
“May isang banda ng freedom of expression at ang isang banda naman dito national sovereignty, so naiintindihan ko bakit natin pinag-uusapan ito. Pero no’ng ni-review ko ‘yong litrato, parang drawing ng bata, ni hindi nga nakalagay ‘yong pangalan ng Pilipinas d’yan eh, Indonesia, Malaysia, or Vietnam, wala naman dito. Ni China wala — ‘di ba fiction nga?” Poe said.
(Part of this discussion is about freedom of expression, and another about national sovereignty, so I understand why this is being talked about. But when I reviewed the photo, it seemed like a child’s drawing, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, or Vietnam were not even mentioned. China too — because again it’s fiction)
“So ang mga dash-lines d’yan ‘pag binilang mo hindi nine, nasa 20, dahil ‘yan ay lakbay ni Barbie, ‘yong mga dash na ‘yon. So siguro bago tayo magbigay ng statements, kailangan muna natin, kaya nga ‘di ba you have to review the material in its entirety,” she added.
(So the dash-lines there, if you count it, it’s around 20 because it represents the travels made by Barbie. So maybe before we issue statements, we need to review the material in its entirety.)
Poe explained that it is the reason why she has refused to give any statement about the issue without hearing the side of the MTRCB since she has not yet watched the movie entirely.
MTRCB Chairperson Lala Sotto apparently told Poe that China’s nine-dash line claim — which encompasses part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone — was not mentioned in the movie.
“Kaya hindi rin ako nag-(statement), marami sa inyo nagtanong sa akin n’yan noon pa eh, sabi ko hayaan muna natin ang MTRCB ang magdesisyon kasi hindi ko napanood, dahil hindi naman natin mapapanood unless pirated copy ‘di ba? So ngayon na napanood na ng MTRCB sabi ko kay Chairman Lala, since picture lang ang pinadala mo sa akin, did they utter anything mentioning the nine-dash line? Wala naman silang na-mention,” she said.
(That’s why I didn’t immediately give out a statement, even if many reporters were asking for a reaction, I said let’s just wait for the MTRCB to decide because I haven’t watched it — because you cannot watch it unless it’s a pirated copy, right? So now that the MTRCB has watched it, I asked Chairman Lala since she only sent a picture, did they utter anything mentioning the nine-dash line? There’s none.)
READ: MTRCB gives ‘Barbie’ ‘PG’ rating, says ‘contentious scene’ does not depict China’s nine-dash line
The Senator also relayed that Sotto also consulted the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) regarding the possible ban on the film, and DFA responded by saying that it is not violative of any laws and does not contradict any of the Philippines’ claims. However, DFA suggested that the map be blurred — to which Poe said that such act borders censorship already.
“However they said, based on the sentiments of others and sensitivities, baka pwedeng i-blur na lang daw ‘yon. Kalokohan ‘yon, bakit mo i-blur eh wala namang mali, ‘di ba? So para bang sinasabi natin sa Warner Brothers i-blur niyo ‘yan kahit wala namang violation, for me that’s censorship,” she said.
(However they said, based on the sentiments of others and sensitivities, maybe we can blur the map. But that’s absurd, why blur it when there’s nothing wrong about it? So it seems we are asking Warner Brothers to blur that even if there’s no violation, for me that’s censorship.)
“Again, it is my appeal that before we release any statement banning any material, we watch it in its entirety or if not in its entirety, we get the actual portion to see if there’s any violation. Hindi ‘yon pang-iinsulto do’n, if ever, it sparked a discussion and that’s good that we’re interested in discussions like this, but again guys, tignan niyo naman, wala naman talagang violation d’yan,” she added.
(That’s not an insult, if ever, it sparked a discussion and that’s good that we’re interested in discussions like this, but again guys, look at the map. There was no violation made in doing that.)
Poe did not mention anyone in particular, but a lot of people have voiced their anger against the possible showing of Barbie in the Philippines especially after Vietnam banned the film.
READ: Vietnam bans ‘Barbie’ movie over South China Sea map
At least two of Poe’s colleagues in the Senate — Senators Francis Tolentino and Jinggoy Estrada — called for the ban of the film as it depicted the nine-dash line which denigrates the Philippines’ sovereignty.
Senator Robinhood Padilla on the other hand said that the film’s showing is still possible but it should not show the controversial map.