By: Oliver Chen

When projects like paintings or films are presented to a large audience and a wide variety of people, it’s undoubtedly so that there will be some people that do not like the content of the project. After all, no one is exactly like another. And sometimes, the content of a project will conflict with the views of a large group of people, like a religion or race. That is exactly the case with Disney’s new animated movie, Lightyear, and its ban in much of the Muslim world.

Lightyear’s barring stems from one scene particularly, featuring Alisha Hawthorne, voiced by Uzo Aduba, kissing her female partner. Due to their religious beliefs, much of what is deemed acceptable in the Muslim world is based on the Qur’an, the sacred text of the religion, and the nature of same-sex relationships is not exempt from this judgment. According to the Human Rights Campaign website, “A traditional reading of the Qur’an can lead to the condemnation of same-sex relationships and thus of same-sex marriage.” Because many Muslim-majority countries have laws vilifying and criminalizing same-sex relationships, Lightyear was deemed unsuitable by censors. Among the countries that have barred Lightyear include Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, and UAE, according to Disney.

Chris Evans, who voiced film protagonist Buzz Lightyear, shared his lamentations with The Associated Press at the movie premier in London, “Yeah, it’s frustrating. It feels good to be a part of something that is making social progress, but it’s with this ribbon of bittersweet frustration that at the same time, there are still places that have not caught up.” According to a recent survey by the Public Religion Research Center, more than half of American Muslims agree with Evans’ statement. They believe that society should approve of homosexuality. So hopefully, we may see a little bit of change and some more acceptance in this world.

Source: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/17b-NdcIvDQMASzwNVZ6XXJqGjX0VuRY2