It is both a wonder and shame how racial or tribal prejudice can make one lose out on the different facets of enjoyment–such as enjoying a random, harmless movie.
With the Wonder Woman movie set to hit the silver screens around the world this weekend, everyone will be expected to hit the cinemas to watch our favorite DC heroine, or so we thought.
CNN reports that while everyone will be gearing up to go watch the movie, the movie had already been banned in Lebanon ahead of its release, because the lead actress is of Isreali ancestry.
The film will not be shown in the country following a decision by the Ministry of Economy and Trade, which said in a statement that it has “taken all necessary action” to ban the film starring “the Israeli actress Gal Gadot.”
The theater chain Grand Cinemas confirmed the news to customers: “#WonderWoman has been banned in #Lebanon,” it tweeted.
The reason? Wonder Woman is played by Gadot, an Israeli who served in the country’s defense forces.
This simply takes the feud between the countries to a whole new level.
Based on their history, both countries have been at war for decades with the last major confrontation occuring in 2006, when Israel sent ground troops across the border and launched air strikes after two Israeli soldiers were killed and three were kidnapped. Around 1,000 Lebanese were killed in the violence.
Lebanon also bans purchase of Israeli products and the travel of its citizens into Israel.
In response, a petition titled “Release Wonder Woman in Lebanon” was also circulating on Thursday.
“Gal Gadot may be an Israeli, but we want to watch a movie about the amazing character of Wonder Woman,” it said.
“Wonder Woman” was produced by Warner Bros., which is owned by CNN parent company Time Warner. Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.