Rep. Mike Gallagher criticizes 'Barbie' movie for its cartoon map of China and the South China Sea
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher took aim at the highly publicized Warner Bros. film "Barbie" this week over a scene in the movie that purportedly includes a cartoon map depicting China claiming disputed territory in the South China Sea.
"While it may just be a Barbie map in a Barbie world, the fact that a cartoonish, crayon-scribbled map seems to go out of its way to depict the PRC's unlawful territorial claims illustrates the pressure that Hollywood is under to please CCP censors," said Gallagher, chairman of the select committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
At issue is a multi-colored, cartoon map from the film that shows a dashed line near where China would be found. Such a line, critics have said, resembles the "nine-dash line" used on some Chinese maps to suggest they control territory in the South China Sea, pieces of which have also been claimed by countries like the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Earlier this week, Vietnam banned domestic distribution of the film, which is set to be released in the U.S. on July 21, because of the map and nine-dash line.
The backlash over the scene marks the latest instance of lawmakers like Gallagher accusing Hollywood of bending to the whims of China in an effort to ensure the success of their products and films. Organizations like the National Basketball Association have also drawn criticism from those who say they are soft on China to protect their own interests.
Last week, for example, Gallagher wore a T-shirt depicting former professional wrestler John Cena as Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong to poke fun at the actor for apologizing to his Chinese audience in 2021 for calling Taiwan its own country.
On Thursday, other Republicans on Capitol Hill also weighed in on the Barbie film.
"Hollywood & the Left are more concerned with selling films in Communist China than standing up to the regime’s human rights abuses," U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote on Twitter. "The 'Barbie' movie’s depiction of a map endorsing Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea is legally & morally wrong and must be taken seriously."
More: Barbie's Dreamhouse might be in Malibu, but she has Wisconsin roots
China has long claimed territory in the South China Sea — the nine-dash line dates back to the 1940s — and has continued to do so despite a 2016 ruling from the international court that found there was "no legal basis" for the nine-dash line boundaries.
A still photo of the cartoon map from movie appears to show a blue, yellow, purple and green "World Map" with a blue figure labeled "Asia" on the right side of the map. An aide to Gallagher pointed to an eight-dot line protruding from Asia as evidence of the nine-dash line, though it is not clear if China is labeled on the map.
Still, Gallagher in a statement suggested Warner Bros., the studio overseeing "Barbie," should clarify "that the map was not intended to endorse any territorial claims and was in fact the work of a formerly plastic anthropomorphic doll."
A spokesperson for Warner Bros. did not respond to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel request for comment. But the studio in a statement to CBS News said the map was not meant to make a geopolitical statement.
"The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing," the studio said. "The doodles depict Barbie's make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the 'real world.' It was not intended to make any type of statement."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mike Gallagher criticizes 'Barbie' movie for its cartoon map of China
