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The United Arab Emirates on Monday announced a ban on Pixar's animated film "
Lightyear
," the first film from these major US studios to contain a
same-sex kiss scene.
Specifically, it is a kiss between the Space Ranger Alisha, head of the character who became famous in the '
Toy Story' saga,
and her partner.
According to ' Variety
' magazine
,
the scene was originally cut from the final footage by Disney.
But it was put back in place after the protest of Pixar animators and after the outrage caused by the mouse company's support of those behind the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill,
The decision of the United Arab Emirates thus joins the one already adopted by
Saudi Arabia and Malaysia
.
To some extent, this ban has come as a surprise.
The Gulf State, which includes the emirate of Dubai, and which has a Ministry of Tolerance, is relatively liberal compared to its neighbors.
But they stand firm on numerous restrictions in the political and social sphere.
"The animated film '
Lightyear
', scheduled for release on June 16, is not authorized to be screened in any cinema in the United Arab Emirates, due
to non-compliance with the regulations related to media content in force in the country"
, the Office of Media Regulation announced on Twitter.
According to this organization, which depends on the Ministry of Culture and Youth, all films "are subject to monitoring and evaluation before the date of projection to the public, in order to guarantee that the content broadcast is appropriate with
the classification by ages".
This ban comes six months after the country announced that films shown in theaters would not be censored, only rated by age,
with a new category for under 21s.
Censorship is a common measure in the Arab world, especially in the conservative Gulf region.
Movies that include scenes considered contrary to the country's traditions are often cut or even banned.
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