Censorship strikes again, and this time, it's in the form of Kryptonite against Superman.
In the latest Superman film, there are two brief romantic scenes between Superman and Lois Lane. In the first scene, in the first half of the movie, the couple briefly kisses on screen. Later in the film amid action sequences, the pair kiss again, though this time, Superman holds onto Lois Lane and flies into the air, and their mid-air kiss lasts for approximately 33 seconds.
You can see the Superman trailer here, which includes a clip of the big aerial kiss.
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India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) decided that James Gunn's Superman is not suitable for its audiences in its current state and cut the two kissing scenes from its country-approved version of the film. They cited these two scenes as "overly sensual."
What's infuriating to audiences is the perceived inconsistency. While deeply intimate and sexual scenes might be understandable, these are two kissing scenes, whereas there are frequent features online, in commercials, in Bollywood television programming, and in music videos that contain much more explicit content.
Though it involves different countries, this incident is reminiscent of 2022, when the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait censored out a scene from Lightyear, which featured Buzz Lightyear's friend and her wife very briefly kissing.
Because this scene "promoted" same-sex relationships, marriage, and acts, the scene was censored out, and the internet was not happy when they found out about it.
Similarly, in the case of Superman, the two scenes are not explicit and simply display love between two people through a simple kiss, though the Superman kiss lasts longer.
Just like the Lightyear incident, fans of the Superman franchise were not happy about the decision.
India's Central Board of Film Certification has not responded to these critiques, or their audience's broader concerns about censorship in general, but it seems people are done being quiet about it.
Involve a superhero that they love, like Buzz Lightyear or Superman, and they're only going to be louder about their concerns.
