Algeria bans ‘Barbie’ almost a month after movie’s local release

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — The film “Barbie” has been pulled from theaters in Algeria almost a month after it opened in the North African country. Online news outlet 24H Algerie said Algeria’s Ministry of Culture and Arts notified cinemas in Algiers, Oran and Constantine to “immediately” pull the movie. Neither the ministry nor the Algerian Audiovisual Regulatory Authority commented on the reported directive or provided a rationale for it. The move comes after authorities in Kuwait and Lebanon banned the live action movie based on the American fashion dolls for allegedly threatening conservative values. Some people in Algeria protested the cancellation on social media, posting their complaints along with the hashtag  “#IAmBarbie.” Others denounced it as “censorship” and “bigotry.”