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Gulf states threaten legal action about gay characters in Netflix shows
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 | 11th September
2022
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| See article from
theguardian.com |
Six Gulf states have warned Netflix over content violating Islamic values. The states have threatened Netflix with legal action if it continues broadcasting content that contradicts Islam, while Saudi state media indicated that the offending material
centred on shows depicting sexual minorities. A statement issued jointly by the Saudi media regulator and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), headquartered in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, did not specifically identify material, referring only
to content that contradicts Islamic and societal values. The statement said. Regional authorities will follow up on the platform's compliance with the directives, and in the event that the infringing content continues
to be broadcast, the necessary legal measures will be taken.
The Gulf Cooperation Council includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia , and the United Arab Emirates. |
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The cinema release has been banned in Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi
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 | 24th April 2022
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| See article from movieweb.com |
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a 2022 USA action Sci-Fi horror by Sam Raimi Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Rachel McAdams and Benedict Cumberbatch
 Banned in Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in April 2022
Middle East film censors have banned the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness over the inclusion of an openly gay character. Although the censors have not provided any reasons for banning the film's
release, it's the latest Marvel movie to fall victim to state-sponsored censorship to constrain certain civil liberties and human rights norms, including the expression of a LGBTQIA+ lifestyle. By including an openly LGBTQ+ character in its film ,
America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), the Marvel film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been banned in Saudi Arabia, as well as Qatar and Kuwait . Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange 2 introduce's a gay character, America Chavez. America was the first
lesbian Latina in Marvel Comics, debuting in 2011's Vengeance #1. It is reported that the America Chavez character plays a major role in the film and it seems unlikely that the Middle East release can be aved via cuts,
Summary Notes After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Dr. Stephen Strange continues his research on the Time Stone. But an old friend turned enemy seeks to destroy every sorcerer on
Earth, messing with Strange's plan and also causing him to unleash an unspeakable evil.
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Middle East censors gang up against Spielberg's latest movie
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 | 9th December 2021
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| See article from guardian.ng |
West Side Story is a 2021 US crime romance by Steven Spielberg Starring Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose
 An adaptation of the 1957 musical, West Side Story
explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. Steven Spielberg's latest movie West Side Story to be released later in the month has been banned in
several Middle Eastern countries. The musical has been banned in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait. The film was banned because of Disney's refusal to comply with cuts requested by censors. The film is
rumoured to contain same-sex scenes. Also Disney the portrayal of a transgender character played by a non-binary actor Iris Menas seem to have offended the censors. Perhaps the most likely scenes for cuts is described by the BBFC:
There are scenes of racist behaviour, including use of the terms spic and coloured. In another scene teenagers mock and misgender a person who is implied to be a trans man, and one of the bullies brags about pantsing him and seeing
his genitals. Further discriminatory language includes polack and pansy. |
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Egypt bill introduced to increase penalties for strong language in art works
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 | 22nd March 2020
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| See article from al-monitor.com
See video from YouTube |
Earlier in March, the Egyptian parliament started discussing a draft amendment to the Penal Code that aims to provide harsher penalties including imprisonment for using lewd or offensive words, especially in artworks. The suggested amendment may send
the offender to prison for three years for offending public sensibilities through lewd language, instead of a fine of 500 Egyptian pounds ($32) currently determined by law. The draft law needs to go through parliamentary subcommittees, but no date has
yet been set. The bill comes in the wake of a major controversy over mahraganat , a hybrid music genre that combines folk with electronic music and uses colloquialism in its lyrics. This genre of music, whose name literally means festivals
in Arabic, originated in the Cairo slums in the early 2000s. Its beat resembles that of American rap and, like rap, its lyrics contain sexual innuendos, racy words and obscenities. These songs have entered every household in Egypt through the
internet and smartphones, Amer told Al-Monitor. A mother, a sister, a wife or daughter should never be exposed to such words because they are offensive and often sexist. The lyrics of one of these songs -- Bent el-Geran (The Neighbor's Daughter)
by Hassan Shakosh and Omar Kamal -- ignited on Feb. 14 the debate on mahraganat. The song's lyrics suggest alcohol and hashish -- both of which are forbidden in Islam -- to get over a heartbreak. The suggestion of alcohol and hashish angered many
critics, the powerful Egyptian Musicians Syndicate and parliamentarians, including Amer. They argued that the song was an attack on the public taste and encouragement of immorality. |
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