Barbie movie dilemma: A systemic crisis beyond censorship

Although the Barbie movie has not yet been screened in Lebanon, LBCI reporter Raneem Bou Khzam was able to watch it and found no reason to ban it. This conclusion aligns with that of the Lebanese committee responsible for film oversight, which also found no grounds for banning the film.

 

Despite this, we have been waiting two weeks to ask the officials: What will happen with the film? Will it be shown or not?

Until today, we are without an answer, which makes the problem more significant than a censorship crisis; it's a systemic issue! Why?

The problem with the system starts with the fact that the law addressing censorship dates back to 1947, signed by Former President Bechara El-Khoury and Former Prime Minister Riad Al Solh.

This law, which time has forgotten, states that if there is a reason to ban the entire film or some parts of it, its censorship falls under a special committee. This committee then convenes when the General Security has doubts about any movie.

This committee met two weeks ago, and its decision was that the film should be screened and classified for ages 13 and up. This means anyone under 13 cannot attend the film without their guardian.

Since the committee made its decision, until today, we haven't been able to know if its decision reached the General Security, although a committee member represents this agency.

It was also mentioned that the committee's decision will be sent to the Minister of Interior to make the final decision. 

Over two weeks, we asked if any communication had been received by the Ministry of Interior, and the answers ranged from no response to outright denial. 

Then, on Tuesday, there was an uncertain response saying that such a letter is sent only to the Minister of Interior if the committee's decision is to ban the film.

In short, no one knows anything... Why? Because the system isn't functioning! And even now, the company that applied for the film's screening hasn't received any response, and "all of this is happening in the Switzerland of the East."