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Marvel movie "Thor: Love and Thunder" failed censorship guidelines and was not screened in Malaysia after the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia (LPF) did not approve the film due to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) elements, according to Malaysiakini.
Malaysia’s Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin revealed the reason during the question-and-answer session in the upper house of parliament on Aug. 11, which was the first time the film's no-show was explained publicly, Says reported.
"Lately, there was a movie that failed to pass censorship, and that was the latest Thor movie," he said.
"(The movie) mentioned LGBT but we see right now there are many films with LGBT elements that slip past the censorship."
Before this, there was no official reason given for the Marvel Studios' movie ban in Malaysia.
Ahmad Yahaya, a senator from PAS, had asked Zahidi if his ministry is looking to enhance the law to prevent a growing number of movies that promote ideologies that are not in line with the religions and cultures of Malaysia.
Ahmad earlier lauded the ministry for its firm stance in banning movies, such as "Lightyear", which is also from the Walt Disney Company.
LGBT influence getting more subtle
Zahidi noted that films promoting LGBT elements are becoming more subtle in their approach, CNA reported.
“Now there are many films on TV which passed (censorship) that are full of LGBT elements. So if there are those that slipped past censorship, we ask the community to help us,” he added.
He gave the example of a film about the historical figure Alexander the Great, which he said he watched as a youth, according to Says.
A scene in the movie showed Alexander and his confidant return together with tired faces, implying that the duo had "done something".
Will take action against those who spread LGBT culture online
Zahidi also said his ministry will take action against those who promote LGBT culture on platforms, such as TikTok
"We have taken action against such people but they have run to another country," said the UMNO leader without mentioning names, but he was assumed to have been referencing Nur Sajat.
"They are number one in promoting (LGBT). But we can't capture them. So, with a joint effort of the religious departments and the government, we will prevent LGBT culture from spreading."
Don't have control over Netflix
Zahidi added that it is not easy to take action, especially for online content.
Earlier, Zahidi said the Malaysia government does not have control over companies with online streaming and over-the-top (OTT) platforms based abroad, such as Netflix, Says also reported.
He said the current laws do not cover censorship of such content.
He added: "In addition, OTT services, such as Netflix, are not like public broadcast services or private institutions in the country that are answerable to existing laws involving licencing and censorship in the country."
Top photo via Marvel & YouTube