UAE bans the new Spider-Man movies – level 2
21-06-2023 07:00
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) decided not to screen Sony’s movie ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ in its cinemas.
The UAE cinema chain, Vox Cinemas, announced the news without explaining why it would happen. The decision comes after discussions regarding the film’s portrayal of transgender themes. Other big cinema chains in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain also don’t have the movie listed in their upcoming releases.
The film started discussions because some people thought that one of the characters, Gwen Stacy, was transgender. In the Middle East, other than traditional sexual norms are taboo.
Difficult words: portrayal (representation), release (when a film is available for people to watch), taboo (a thing which people don’t want to talk about).
You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.
What impact does the absence of ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ from the Middle East cinemas have on the public discourse around transgender topics in this part of the world?
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