Why Marvel's 'Eternals' is reportedly being pulled from release in multiple Gulf nations

[Carlitos Brigante]

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/marvels-eternals-pulled-from-gulf-nations-175317920.html

One the eve of its release in American theaters, Marvel Studios's latest blockbuster, Eternals, has reportedly been banned from a number of Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the star-studded film — which features Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie making their Marvel Cinematic Universe debuts — no longer appears on websites in those countries, where it was set to start playing on Nov. 11. (Yahoo Entertainment has reached out to the Walt Disney Company for comment, but it was not received at press time.)

Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao, Eternals is a millennia-spanning tale that follows a group of immortal aliens living amongst humankind and tasked with secretly fighting demons known as Deviants. The film also boasts Marvel's most diverse cast of superheroes yet, including its first deaf character (played by Lauren Ridloff), its first South Asian character (Kumail Nanjiani) and its first openly gay character (Bryan Tyree Henry).

Henry tech-savvy Eternal, Phastos, marks another first for the studio: He and his onscreen husband Ben (played by Dubai-born actor, Haaz Sleiman) share Marvel's first same-sex kiss midway through the film. Sleiman described Ben and Phatos's relationship as "life-saving" in a recent interview with Variety. "Can you imagine how many lives this is going to be saving — kids, young queer folk, who are being bullied, committing suicide, and not seeing themselves being represented?" the actor continued. "And now they get to see this — it’s above and beyond."

The Hollywood Reporter's sources suggest that the film's inclusion of a same-sex couple is one of the elements that led to it being blocked from movie theaters in at least three Gulf countries, where homosexual conduct is still illegal. THR also reports that local censors had a list of edit requests that Disney declined to make. Meanwhile, Deadline reports that Kuwait and Qatar censors additionally objected to a cinematic depiction of gods, which is considered blasphemous.

[msongs]

1. alcohol is forbidden yet they get drunk. illicit sex is prohibited yet they practice it behind the

scene. totally predictable response in that crowd.

[Backseat Driver]

2. Awww...that probably surely have an impact on box office receipts...

I suppose. OK, here and in the media - it's controversial. Are folks crying yet...you bet!

While I don't generally approve of censorship, I've been told a small number of times, "Hey, our house; our rules." I'd even advise parents these days to use parental control about what the kids view and not depend on others' ratings systems though practically kids can and do sometimes view what parents think inappropriate for their age, faith, or sensitivities. Parents: Perhaps you'll choose it as a teaching lesson; if so, be ready with good and healthy answers. Have kids above 18? A good question is if parental love/attachment is legal and given freely, with good boundaries, or truly conditional upon only what is true for you!

Hey, their country; their rules...I'm not even convinced such depictions in movies will save lives but its sad lives are lost when kids lose their innocence or lose their sense of self, value, respect and personal safety and have it replaced by shame and what they then think looks like life-long pain. The new character's Saudi-born actor hopes for that, as surely as anyone might who has empathy for the all-too common hate and persecutions of those in this reality but rejoices in relationships lifted into love stories because there's obviously not enough of it in this world, but whether that hope is well-founded will remain to be seen. As will yet another Marvel "superhero" motion picture.