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As part of its efforts to set itself as a liberal identity that is accommodating to foreigners, the United Arab Emirates has made a decision to no longer censor films according to Islamic guidelines. Instead of completely abolishing bits of the movie—which tends to cause major plot loopholes—movies with obscenity will be screened under a new 21+ age rating.
The Media Regulatory Office announced the inscribed of the 21+ for the age classification categories for cinema films. pic.twitter.com/NO5WxZveZy
— مجلس الإمارات للإعلام (@uaemediacouncil) December 19, 2021
The country’s Media Regulatory Office said on Twitter that a new 21+ age category will be added to its motion picture content rating system, instead of cutting scenes out parts of the movie to stay within the 18+ rating. “According to this classification, the movies will be screened in cinemas according to their international version, and the classification is given based on the standards of media content in the country,” the Media Regulatory Office announced on twitter.
With a ratio of nine foreigners for every one local, the UAE is putting its best foot forward to socially liberate its residents. As part of this liberation movement, the ban for unmarried couples to cohabitant has also been lifted, loosening restrictions on alcohol consumption, and introducing a new Saturday-Sunday weekend in alignment with foreign markets.
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