i go to america
welcome to watch mojo and today we're
counting down our picks for the top 10
banned movies of the 2000s you have a
rodeo
you know
i mean once in a while
when i got the entry thing in my pocket
for this list we'll be looking at the
movies released between 2000 and 2009
that have been banned by any government
or have otherwise had distribution
suppressed do you think any of these
bans are justified let us know in the
comments
number 10 lara croft tomb raider the
cradle of life china take us to the
cradle of life sorry
it's your destiny to see what's inside
the second film starring angelina jolie
as video game treasure hunter lara croft
was much less successful than its
predecessor and this wasn't helped by
one country outright banning it in the
film croft travels to china to find a
precious orb needed to recover pandora's
box she manages to get into the country
undetected via hang glider and ride her
motorcycle down the great wall of china
do you ever do anything the easy way
and risk disappointing the country opted
not to allow the sequel into theaters
reportedly due to censors objecting to
the film's portrayal of china
technically it wasn't accurate since the
scenes set in china were actually shot
in wales you're laughing at me no no
it's a fact i used to find you charming
i am charming number nine the kingdom
kuwait and bahrain here's some irony a
film called the kingdom is not allowed
in multiple kingdoms by the way i don't
like your jokes although primarily
filmed in abu dhabi the thriller follows
a team of federal agents who travel to
saudi arabia to find a notorious
criminal at the time saudi arabia
already had a ban on movie theaters but
the film's portrayal of the country
seems to have upset other nations
persian gulf countries kuwait and
bahrain banned the kingdom an official
in bahrain said it vilifies a brotherly
country referring to saudi arabia we
know two things we know he was saudi we
know he was here that's two big answers
in two minutes imagine if we had a
couple of days considering how numerous
critics noted stereotypical
characterizations in the film we can't
be too surprised about these bands
number eight the simpsons movie myanmar
considering how irreverent the simpsons
tend to be it's not surprising to hear
of at least one country banning their
big screen debut i can't believe we're
paying to see something we get on tv for
free if you ask me everybody in this
theater is a giant sucker
especially you but reportedly it wasn't
any of the crude gags that got the
simpsons movie banned from myanmar it
was the film's use of yellow and red
color pairings these happen to be the
colors of rebel organization the
national league for democracy and the
film was subsequently banned
look
those idiots don't even know where we
live
considering that you can't really have a
simpsons movie without the color yellow
we don't know how you could possibly
circumvent this band the simpsons with
blue skin just isn't the same hey my
luck's beginning to turn
number 7 zoolander malaysia and
singapore but why male models
you serious i just
i just told you that a moment ago
zoolander is a very funny movie but it's
not a particularly respectful one and
that lack of sensitivity got it banned
from two countries i became
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what
bulimic
the comedy's plot involves a dim-witted
male model being brainwashed into going
after the new prime minister of malaysia
the film isn't exactly nuanced in its
portrayal of the country so it's
unsurprising that it was banned with the
country's censorship board calling it
definitely unsuitable singapore an ally
to malaysia also banned zoolander though
they did later lift it derek zoolander
might be really really really
ridiculously good looking but some found
his movie just ridiculously offensive
thank you derek zulander for saving my
life
number six battle royale germany and
south korea before there was the hunger
games there was battle royale in this
japanese thriller middle school students
are made to fight to the death by a
totalitarian government
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the film stoked plenty of controversy
for its high levels of violence
involving adolescence for a time battle
royale was banned in germany with the
police confiscating copies of the film
though this ban was later overturned
the film is also reportedly forbidden
from airing on south korean tv due to
the extreme levels of violence
thankfully no battle royale has taken
place in response to these bannings
district 9 nigeria sci-fi thriller
district 9 uses extraterrestrial beings
to make a point about issues like racism
and xenophobia and now after 20 years
public pressure had forced the
government to shift the aliens out of
johannesburg however some found the film
itself to be culturally insensitive the
film features nigerian characters who
were portrayed not only as criminals but
also as cannibals they believed that by
doing so they were ingesting their power
the country was outraged by this with
their information minister calling it
definitely unacceptable and going as far
as saying as it denigrated nigeria's
image they also said they asked for an
apology from sony what is your secret
what did you do
tell me
i wasn't
ultimately district 9 was 86 in nigeria
and there's no word of this ban ever
being lifted
number 4 borat various it's pretty
obvious why kazakhstan banned borat
considering the mockumentary's rather
unflattering portrayal of the country i
get a window from a glass he must get a
window from a glass i get a step he must
get the step i get the clock radio he
cannot afford
great success however they weren't the
only country to not find sasha baron
cohen's antics amusing all arab
countries with the exception of lebanon
and the united arab emirates who
censored it considerably also banned the
film give me a smile baby why angry face
well
what you're saying is very
demeaning do you know the word demeaning
no a dubai sensor referred to it as vile
gross and extremely ridiculous we
definitely agree borat is ridiculous and
we can see how some might have found it
offensive however kazakhstan has
softened its stance a bit using borat's
famous catchphrase as a tourism slogan
all together now betty nice thank you
for watching my film i hope you like
number three persepolis iran and lebanon
my whole life i've lived by religion's
rules my whole life i've prayed i've
worn my veil and i've obeyed
and for what
how can i have faith anymore think
animated films are all pure escapism you
clearly haven't seen persepolis a
stunning adaptation of an
audiobiographical graphic novel set
during the iranian revolution the film
drew praise for both its striking
animation and its emotional storytelling
however as with many acclaimed films
persepolis also drew intense criticism
in your lifetime you're going to meet a
lot of jerks if someone hurts you just
tell yourself it's due to their lack of
intelligence that way you'll never sink
down to their level the film was banned
for a time in lebanon due to some
clerics saying it was offensive to iran
and islam iran itself wasn't too happy
about persepolis either government
officials made claims of islamophobia
against the film and managed to get it
cut from the bangkok international film
festival no one's allowed through i live
down the block
go ahead
we hope to see more politically minded
animated films in the future
number two the departed china you've got
something you wanna
ask me
look
he's 70 years old frank i'm just saying
okay
one of you guys is gonna pop you martin
scorsese's best picture-winning crime
thriller is a remake of a hong kong film
infernal affairs however china issued an
outright ban on the departed officials
portrayed the ban as being due to the
film's general content with a spokesman
saying it would not be suitable for
chinese viewers but others believe it
was specifically due to an aspect of the
plot in which gangster frank costello
sells stolen military equipment to china
for his own good tell bruce lee in the
karate kids none of us are carrying
automatic weapons ultimately the
departed was never legally imported into
the country but it still managed to
score big at the box office and during
award season i have to say your
vulnerability is
really freaking me out right now
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number one brokeback mountain various is
there anything interesting up there in
heaven
i was just saying enough to put our
things
or what
you forgetting to bring that harmonica
and join the peace and cry
cowboy romantic drama broke back
mountain made us cry but it also caused
some significant outcry over its plot
social progress happens at different
rates in different places and even in
the u.s the oscar-winning film's
depiction of a same-sex love affair
upset some critics i don't get you anna
selmar
i'm sorry it was outright banned in
china as well as in multiple middle
eastern countries it was released in
lebanon but in a heavily censored form
and in the united arab emirates but only
on home video positive mainstream
depictions of gay relationships have
increased substantially since the
release of brokeback mountain i wish i
knew how to quit you
why don't you
why don't you just let me be huh do you
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you