Who doesn’t love Barbie? Some far right dorks sure don’t. And some who wield power in certain Middle Eastern countries don’t either. Last week Greta Gerwig’s follow-up to her prized adaptation of Little Women was banned in Kuwait, because it allegedly “promotes homosexuality.” It was expected that Lebanon would follow suit. But the film’s still playing in the region’s other nations, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which means that if people in Kuwait or Lebanon really want to see it, they’re going to have to travel.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, Barbie hit Saudi Arabian cities this weekend, which has prompted a Kuwaiti blogger to set up a helpful website entitled “How to Watch Barbie if You Live in Kuwait.” There, residents can learn about how to see the film in the Saudi cities of Al-Jubail, Dammam, and Al Khobar.
“If you’ve never driven to Saudi before, it’s super easy,” the site reads. “You also don’t have to worry about [a] visa since any resident of Kuwait can get one.”
None of the cities are exactly near the Kuwaiti-Saudi border, but it could be worse. The closest cinema is a two hour drive each way, or about the length of the movie itself.
So far, there’s no stats on how many Kuwaitis are making the trek to go see the movie that turned Joe Rogan into the improbable voice of reason (on this issue, at least).
People flocking to Saudi Arabia to see movies is a reversal of how it used to be. Movies were banned in the nation up until 2017, which prompted residents to travel to nearby countries where they weren’t. Some traveled to nearby Bahrain, others to the United Arab Emirates. Indeed, in 2012 it was estimated that some 230,000 Saudi tourists had flocked to the latter just to watch movies. Because movies are (sometimes) pretty great!
(Via THR)