Our librarian gets into the secrets of the church and symbolism following Tom Hank's mane around Paris and England!

Banned

2006
- Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Philippines all banned it for "blasphemous content."
- Samoa - Church leaders screened the film and filed a complaint with the censorship
- Solomon Islands - Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said it "undermines the very roots of Christianity in the Solomon Islands."
Reports of simular banning in China, Egypt, Peru, Singapore, and Sri Lanka

Sources

Beany, Howard. "Controversial Cinema: Top 10 Banned Films." Berlin Film Journal. Retrieved 2018 December 16 from http://berlinfilmjournal.com/2014/09/controversial-cinema-top-10-banned-films/

Howard, Ron (dir.). Da Vinci Code. Starring Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno. Columbia Pictures Corporation, 2006.

Pacific Islands Report. "SOLOMON ISLANDS TO BAN ‘THE DA VINCI CODE.'" Retrieved 2018 December 16 from http://www.pireport.org/articles/2006/05/24/solomon-islands-ban-%E2%80%98-da-vinci-code%E2%80%99

"Dances and Dames." Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Banned

1959

Jordan - Banned for actress Haya Harareet's nationality (Israeli) and because Jordanian officials traditionally banned films perceived to be pro-Israeli.
China - Banned under the regime of Mao Zedong for containing "propaganda of superstitious beliefs, namely Christianity." (Never given permission to screen)

Sources

Ben-Hur. Directed by William Wyler, Performances by Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, and Stephen Boyd, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1959.

"Ben-Hur (1959)." Internet Movie Database. Retrieved December 6, 2018 from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052618/

Yingjin, Zhang (1999). Cinema and Urban Culture in Shanghai, 1922–1943. Stanford University Press.

"Dances and Dames." Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/