Pulled From Gulf Countries, Is 'Eternals' a Movie or an Ideological Trend
In a move toward dismantling the beliefs of the Muslim societies, again, Westerners are pushing Muslim countries to accept homosexuality and guarantee LGBTQ+ propaganda, and this time was by producing Eternals, a movie which contains sexual scenes between two lovers of the same gender.
Eternals clearly encourage sexual reorientation, making it belong to human nature.
Because of its gay scenes that the studio refused to remove, Marvel’s Eternals will not hit cinema screens in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or Qatar as reported by the Hollywood Reporter website.
The $200m movie will not be on screens in the Gulf region countries after being removed from local sites, according to the same source.
Apparent Ban
Marvel’s latest adventure Eternals has been banned in several Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait. The decision was taken after Disney reportedly refused to cut a same-sex kiss and a gay scene in this big-budget movie.
The inclusion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first same-gender couple led to big controversy in the Gulf, to end up with the banning of the $200m movie in some countries of the Gulf region after being removed from local sites. The first gay kiss in the Marvel Cinematic Universe between Brian Tyree Henry’s character and his on-screen husband played by Haaz Sleiman and the sex scene between two heterosexual characters might have been a strong reason for banning the movie.
The Lebanese actor Haaz Sleiman came close to tears when he found out that the film has been banned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar over its LGBTQ+ content and he said that he has no respect for these governments.
The director of Eternals movie, Chloe Zhao, who won the Oscar for best director earlier this year for Nomadland, said recently that she will not tweak any scenes to appease censors.
“I don’t know all the details, but I do believe discussions were had and there’s a big desire from Marvel and myself, as we talked about this, to not change the cut of the movie,” she said to Indiewire.
The Story
The Eternals movie presents the story of a group of superheroes who have lived on Earth for thousands of years, during which they secretly helped humans, without being discovered by anyone.
The film is directed by Chloe Chow, and stars Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Camille Nanjiani, Ma Dong Suk, Barry Keegan, and Kit Harington.
The events of the film begin millions of years ago, when the Celestials came to Earth to conduct tests on human ancestors, from which they were able to “create” ordinary humans, and other “supernatural” beings, who are the “Eternals” with exceptional capabilities.
This experience resulted in another group of beings, the “Deviants,” because of a mutated genome that unintentionally led to distortions and mutations in their shapes, structure, and personality. This caused enmity between the Deviants and the Eternals who are trying to help and save humanity secretly.
Based on the trailer, a group of people are staring up at the sky at a spaceship carrying the Eternals, which has been interpreted by some as seemingly compelled to show themselves to the people they are defending.
Critics say the film is inspired by its legends and heroes by incorporating the gods of the Greeks and Romans, which is typical of the author of the original story, Jack Kirby.
Rejected by Disney
Homosexuality is still illegal across much of the Gulf region, and it is even punishable by death in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Because of same-sex relationships, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait demanded a series of amendments and revisions of scenes from Eternals the movie, to accept it in their countries.
Their request was denied by Walt Disney Entertainment, the main distributor for the $200-million film, as it refused to make any modifications. This ultimately led to the banning of the film by these countries that strongly refused homosexual orientations.
The Hollywood Reporter stated that cinemas in those countries have removed the dates and promotional ads concerning the film, while screens in the Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon are still confirming that the film will be shown on time, after removing various sexual scenes.
According to the Deadline website, which specializes in art and cinema, movie theaters in those countries, as well as Disney studios, did not talk about the reason for banning the film.
Steps Policy
The Hollywood Reporter's sources indicate that the ban was taken because of scenes related to gay heroes who exchanged kisses, in addition to the events of the film that were interspersed with intimate scenes between them.
Banning Eternals in the Gulf region, also reflects the intellectual conflict between these conservative societies and Western Hollywood cinema, which does not have a ceiling and limits for the ideas and characters of its films. In an interview with Al-Estiklal, University Professor of Arab Civilization Ghada Tlili Brahmi said that “the West seeks to pass on homosexual culture to conservative societies that are not open to such ideas.” Brahmi added that “the best way to do so was by an all-star film like Eternals, which could attract millions of young boys and girls around the world, in order to attack and weaken Islam step by step, Western countries always focus on the Muslim youth and the future generations as they seek to destroy our values and beliefs and most importantly, they intend to devastate the Muslim family.”
The University Professor also said that “it is really weird how European countries reject homosexuality in their countries while calling for respecting it in our societies.” Brahmi concluded to say that “the film spreads not only homosexuality in conservative countries, but also did not respect God and prophets as it embodies ‘super gods,’ which runs against our religious beliefs.”
