The Associated Press has reported that Lebanon seeks to ban Wonder Woman, because its star, Gal Gadot, is an Israeli. The history between the two countries is a complicated one but rarely does it infringe upon the shores of La La Land.
Despite the order to have the film banned from theaters, promotional posters and digital billboards appear throughout Beirut. The AP also notes that the film is scheduled to premiere in at least one theater in the Lebanon’s largest city.
Since Israel’s Independence in 1948, the relationship between the countries has been a strained one. For decades Lebanon has prohibited Lebanese citizens from having contact with Israelis and traveling to Israel. Lebanon also bars Israeli products from crossing into its borders. Wonder Woman and its leading lady falls under that law of the land.
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In Hollywood, politics and pop culture typically collide only when gender, race, and personal politics are brought to the table. A number of American movies have been banned for a variety of reasons around the world, many of those reasons are related to obscenity laws and political leaders being against plotlines that show them in a negative light (see: Zoolander ban in Malaysia).
A Lebanese security official informed the AP that a formal request has not yet been received. The ban would require a recommendation from the six-member committee from the Ministry of Economy. As of Tuesday, this process was not yet underway.
Actress Gal Gadot has not come forward with comments about the ban, however, in the past she’s been vocal about her own personal politics. In 2014, Gadot praised the Israeli military during the Gaza-Israel war. In a message posted on her Facebook page she said: “I am sending my love and prayers to my fellow Israeli citizens,” she wrote. “Especially to all the boys and girls who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas, who are hiding like cowards behind women and children...We shall overcome!!! Shabbat Shalom! #weareright #freegazafromhamas #stopterror #coexistance #loveidf”