The “Kudan Line” that forced the cancellation of the movie “Barbie”… Why is it still reflected in Hollywood movies?

The Hollywood movie “Barbie” starring Margot Robbie has been banned in Vietnam. The film was scheduled to be released in Vietnam on July 21, but the authorities refused to allow it to be shown because “something” that should not be shown in the film was in the film. What exactly was caught on film?

According to media reports, a map depicting the “Nine-Dash Line” was shown in one scene. The nine-dash line is a line that China has unilaterally drawn in the South China Sea to assert its territorial rights.

There have been American and Chinese films and dramas in the past that have been banned in Vietnam for showing this.’ The 19-year DreamWorks film “Snow Baby” was cancelled after its release when the reflection was discovered, and a government official who missed the offending footage was even disciplined,” (film writer).

Also on the 6th, a company sponsoring the Vietnam tour of the four-member Korean girl group “BLACK PINK” came under fire for posting a map with this nine-dash line on its website, and the company apologized.

The nine-dash line, also known as the U-shaped line or the “ox tongue line,” is a nine-strip line that runs from the south of Hainan Island in China, southward along the coast of Vietnam to the end of the South China Sea, and then northward along Borneo Island and the Philippine coast to the south of Taiwan. It encompasses most of the South China Sea, and the Nansha (Spratly) Islands and the Xisha (Paracel) Islands, which are the subject of territorial disputes with other countries, fall squarely within it.

Originally, the “Eleventh-level line” was determined by the Republic of China in 1947 on its own initiative, and was taken over by the present-day China. The reason why the line was reduced by two steps is that China erased the two lines near the Gulf of Tonkin as a favor to Vietnam, which was a friend of China during the Vietnam War.

The area enclosed by the lines is a rich fishing ground, and resources such as natural gas and oil can be extracted, so naturally, the coastal countries of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei have vehemently opposed the decision. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands, issued a ruling in 2004 that did not recognize China’s claim.

China has no intention of abiding by the ruling and effectively controls the Spratlys and Paracels. Vietnam is probably more nervous about China than other countries, not only because it claims both islands as its own territory, but also because they are contiguous with China.

However, the Chinese government does not think it is a good idea to provoke Vietnam, which is already in effective control of the islands, and thus provoke the U.S.,” said a reporter from a national newspaper.

Then, why do maps with the nine-dash line, which is supposed to be a “local rule” in China, appear so frequently in Hollywood movies?

It is said that Chinese people close to Hollywood are doing it to score points with the central government. In addition, Warner Brothers, which produced “Barbie,” established a joint venture with a Chinese investment fund in 2003 with the aim of entering the Chinese market, and is in a position where it has no choice but to watch out for the authorities.

Even if not, the number of movie theater screens in China is said to exceed 80,000. The number of screens in the United States is 40,000.’ The box-office revenue in 2010 was also about 570 billion yen, the second largest in the world after North America with about 960 billion yen. Moreover, this figure is after a 36% drop from the previous year due to Corona. In ’21, when the U.S. was suffering from Corona, it was No. 1 in the world. Hollywood as a whole has no choice but to be aware of China as an attractive market.

In the case of the Philippines, while understanding that the nine-step line that appears in “Barbie” is “a fictional world story,” it is said that the line is blurred to prevent misunderstanding.

What will happen to “Barbie,” which will be released in Japan on August 11?