The traditional, male-dominated culture in Saudi Arabia appears to be changing, at least in some ways. Women now have the right to drive cars, and next year they’ll be welcome at the country’s largest sporting venues. The latest reform announced by 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman focuses on lifting the country’s long-standing ban on movie theaters. Cinemas have been barred in Saudi Arabia since the early 1980s, when the kingdom began to enforce an ultraconservative version of Islam that discouraged public entertainment and segregated men and women.
Censorship and the cinema:
- The prince’s Vision 2030 program is designed to stimulate the desert kingdom’s economy, reduce its dependence on oil, and ease social restrictions, felt mostly by its young population.
- The Saudi government said that films shown at its cinemas would be censored to ensure that they comply with the kingdom’s moral values and Islamic laws.
- Politics is sure to play a role in what’s seen. For example, Lebanon banned Wonder Woman because actress Gal Gadot is from Israel. The movie was also banned in Qatar and Tunisia.