Over 80% Say Religious Beliefs Are Cause for Banning of Lightyear

Disney Pixar’s movie ‘Lightyear’ has been banned by 14 countries ahead of its June 17 release for showing LGBTQ scenes. Studios have often redacted films, and cut out such scenes and characters to release films in these countries. However, Disney carried on with its stance of not editing its films.

Very timely, the controversy comes during the annual Pride Month, which sees commemorations of the movement for LGBTQ rights that vary on geographical location, local culture, and individual backgrounds. Hence, Real Research launched a survey on Buzz Lightyear, banned in 14 countries for the LGBTQ scene. Here are the results.

Highlights:

• 81.29% know about ‘Lightyear’ banned by 14 countries.
• 63.94% think LGBTQ content on movies can influence young minds.
• 63.72% agree with Chris Evans’ statement showing his frustrations.

67% Are Aware of the LGBTQ Community

The survey starts by asking the respondents if they know about the banning of ‘Lightyear’ in 14 countries for containing LGBTQ scenes. As a result, 81.29% say they are and only 18.71% are not.

Following that, the survey asks the respondents if they agree with the decision of Disney’s production team. Technically, they refused to cut scenes of homosexuality to make it culturally acceptable for all audiences. Likewise, 49.09% strongly agree and 18.66% agree with their decision. Meanwhile, 20.23% have remained neutral. However, 5.76% strongly disagree and 6.26% disagree with it.

Furthermore, the survey asks respondents if they are aware of the LGBTQ+ community. In reply, 67% are aware while 11.84% are not, whereas 21.16% remain unsure.

Should All Media Be Conservative and Traditional?

So far, 14 countries, mainly Muslim-led, have banned the film under laws prohibiting homosexuality depicted onscreen. The survey then asks respondents their opinion on what could be the main reason for their banning of such films that target children. A majority of 63.94% think that such content can influence young minds. 10% think western media can propagate their culture in young minds, 8.76% believe it goes against religious beliefs, and 8.25% say homosexuality, or sexuality itself, is not yet widely discussed.

In addition, survey respondents react to how they think characters in movies, like Buzz Lightyear, can influence young minds. Most choose highly likely at 45.45%, likely at 18.06%, while 4.05% choose highly unlikely. Meanwhile, 20.15% choose neutral and 8.91% remain unsure.

Moreover, the survey asks respondents of their opinion if all media content should be censored and edited to be culturally appropriate and acceptable. Here, 43.41% strongly agree and 21.63% agree. Whereas 5.40% strongly disagree and 6.44% disagree. Others at 23.11% remain neutral.

It’s the Vitality of the Scene

Since the film carried on without redacting any of its scenes, claiming it was vital to the plot of the story, the survey asks respondents for suggestions on what movie producers should do in situations where cutting off LGBTQ scenes is done due to censorship. In response, 58.15% agreed with what the producers did on portrayals of LGBTQ content since it was vital to the story. On the other hand, 16.76% suggest that they should not include LGBTQ content in the story. Others (12.45%) suggest not to include homosexual content specifically in children’s movies.

Finally, in connection with Chris Evans, who voiced the lead character, Buzz Lightyear, the survey asks whether respondents agree or disagree with his statement showing his “frustration” with the LGBTQ scene being a “topic of discussion.” It turns out that 63.72% agree with him while 14.06% disagree, and 22.22% are left unsure.