First ban for the best film of 2023: it was only a matter of time

A few days before its scheduled theatrical release, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is now banned in the United Arab Emirates. This is not a surprise and it is to be expected that there will be bans in other countries. For example, a year ago Disney’s “Lightyear” was banned not only there, but also in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Egypt and Malaysia because of two homosexual characters. “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” also features LGBTQ+ content, angering censorship in the United Arab Emirates.

Transgender heroine Gwen Stacy?

The local censorship authority in the United Arab Emirates is particularly bothered by the character Gwen Stacy. There has long been speculation on the internet whether Gwen should be a transgender figure. The colors accompanying Gwen Stacy’s performances speak for this. Here the color scheme of the trans flag is very often used: white, light blue and pink.

It is also speculated that Gwen’s father wears a pin on his uniform to express his support for trans rights. It may be a police badge, using only very similar colors.

But this is a very clear signal and was probably the deciding factor for the ban in the end: In one scene, a poster reading “Protect Trans Lives” can be seen in Gwen Stacy’s room in the background.

By the way, many fans are celebrating online that Gwen Stacy can at least be read as a trans heroine. She’s (also completely regardless of whether the upcoming “Beyond The Spider-Verse” movie will confirm, deny, or pick it up at all) is a figure I can relate to – especially with her story.

In the end, she feels compelled to hide an important part of her life (her Spider-identity) from others and finds acceptance only with a group of people who understand this very well (other Spider-People). In one of the film’s best and most moving scenes, she talks candidly about how hard it was for her to hide her true self from the person she loves most.

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”: The Movie Highlight of 2023

With the first ban now in place, by 2023 many millions of people will not have access to an absolute movie highlight. Not just for us (4.5 out of 5 stars) the brightly colored, over-the-top but also moving comic adaptation “Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse” is the best movie of the first half of 2023 so far.

In fact, in the case of the major movie fan community, letterboxd, “Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse” currently tops the list of the greatest movies of all time – yes, you read that right “all time”, not just from 2023 That’s where the comic scores spectacle currently on average better than films such as the anti-war classics ‘Come and See’, ‘Parasite’, ‘The Godfather’ or ‘The Seven Samurai’.