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.

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[–] 101 points 3 years 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.

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  • [–] 62 points 3 years 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.

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  • [–] 12 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 9 points 3 years 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.

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  • [–] 8 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    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.

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    [–] 46 points 3 years 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.

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  • [–] 23 points 3 years 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.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago* (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 42 points 3 years 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

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years 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.

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    [–] 37 points 3 years 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...

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  • [–] 42 points 3 years 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).

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    [–] 37 points 3 years ago

    Religion is a cancer on this world.

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  • [–] 32 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [+] 22 points 3 years ago (1 child)
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    [–] 20 points 3 years ago (1 child)

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

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  • [–] 20 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    I'm confused. Who in Barbie is gay? Kens whole thing is he's utterly obsessed with her...

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  • [–] 21 points 3 years 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.

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    [–] 18 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Lmao. Just goes to show that even the most "liberal" part of the Middle East is still a shithole country.

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  • [–] 17 points 3 years ago

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

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  • [–] 14 points 3 years 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.

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  • [–] 14 points 3 years ago

    abrahamic faiths fucking suck

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  • [–] 12 points 3 years 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.

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    [–] 12 points 3 years ago (2 children)

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

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    [–] 10 points 3 years ago

    A lot of country looks beautiful to visit, especially in middle-east, but governed by fascists or homophobes or whatever, it's sad :-(

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  • [–] 9 points 3 years ago

    Religion ruins everything.

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  • [+] 8 points 3 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)
    [–] 8 points 3 years 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

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago

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

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