The 2023 movie that reminded me of what it means to be a woman.
By: Valerie Tonn
Contextual Convo
Glitter, shine and pink divine, technology and talk combine to showcase how Barbie has appeared beyond the DreamHouse onto your screens. In the past few months, taking control of the modern world. Through the selective casting of popular actors like Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, and more, the movie caught popular attention almost immediately upon its production announcement. When the trailer dropped for the Greta Gerwig-directed movie over the beloved Barbie doll, the movie shook the world, showcasing the movies funny nature.
Despite this hype continued to grow for the movie, with the soundtrack listed to feature many popular artists Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice, Charli XCX and Tame Impala being revealed. Even Ryan Gosling himself had a number, “I’m Just Ken” which would drop a snippet to become one of the film’s most hyped songs. Even the usage of Mark Ronson, well-known music producer, to develop the album was smart play for the movie to bring hype.
Beyond movie casting and hiring choices, the marketing campaign for Barbie which cost over $100 million has been largely applauded for its ability to garner press and utilize brand partnerships to promote the movie. From a pink Xbox, makeup lines, accessories, clothing, to utilizing other companies for advertisements like Progressive. Even a Barbie selfie generator became popular on Instagram months ago, the term Barbiecore arose, a Barbie Dreamhouse popped up in Malibu, California for Airbnb; the movie and Bumble hosted a dating event with tips Barbie and Ken. Unexpectedly, the creation of the term Barbenheimer for those watching both the Barbie movie and Oppenheimer movie that comes out the same weekend, has even brought more media attention.
So, without much context what is the Barbie movie about? How does a highly anticipated movie lack an actual understanding of a plot? How does a marketing campaign, released songs and trailers failed to completely identify what the movie was about? Even actors suggested the trailer offered a different image of what the movie was about. How can a movie with a humorous trailer even be able to provide limited content and still surprise you? This was the intent of Gerwig and Warner studios, who hoped to keep the plot under wraps to draw more attention. Now having watched the movie, I can understand why the movie was kept under wraps. Let’s dive into the movie and get into the bright themes of what Barbie and Barbie Land really entails.
Be warned now, SPOILERS lie ahead.
Movie Muddled
When thinking about Barbie, you think about the classic blonde hair blue eyed doll with fabulous outfits and lots of pink. Which is apparent through the set’s massive amount of pink causing a paint shortage and the elaborate outfits worn by Margot Robbie. The movie is more than just lighthearted adventure but a introspective commentary on the political statement of patriarchy and matriarchy in the roughly two hours of screen time it consumes.
While the Barbie movie has received a 90% Rotten Tomato rating, there has still been some backlash for the movie’s tones. Many people have pointed to the movie being feminist, with patriarchy pointing towards man-hating behavior. Others praised the movie for showcasing issues between genders, motherhood and sexism.
Barbie lives a normal content life in Barbie Land where all the Barbie’s live in a dreamhouse, with girls’ night every night. The Ken dolls follow the Barbie’s striving to get their attention and primarily “beach” meaning are at the beach constantly. After Barbie starts to have strange thoughts, she notices mishaps start to occur in her daily life: her waffle burning, spoiled milk and flat feet. After visiting Weird Barbie, Barbie is sent to the real world to reconnect with the child who is playing with her, to bring happiness back into the child’s life. She learns that this will cause the mishaps to stop occurring in her life, which will go back to normal.
Barbie Breakdown
As a woman myself I have faced some of the points brought up within the Barbie movie growing up and in current times. As suggested in the movie when Barbie was upset about patriarchy taking control of Barbie Land. Women as brought up in the movie are often told they aren’t doing enough but yet doing too much and are constantly compared to other women. I have witnessed this myself in my own life. I am not doing enough to secure my job in the future, yet I am working two internships and a job as of this moment. I am not going to the gym constantly, yet I face issues with fatigue and have health constraints. I am not as the girl next to me in school who has a boyfriend and fits the stereotypes, yet if I alter my photos, get plastic surgery or where too much makeup; I am a fraud. I am not focusing on my career enough yet if I do, I am not experienced enough with dating and able to take care of children like a mom is supposed to. There is always a juxtaposition that follows women no matter what they do, or I have done, with every choice I have made growing up. It makes a bar set not only too high but simply grows higher every time you get too close to it.
As someone who has multi-managed a lot of different activities over the years and prioritized them as a forefront in my life, I have finally entered a period in my life where I have opened up to the possibility of dating. Yet I have been met with hookup culture and men who suggest I am everything they want and extremely talented but can’t be with me. In a survey, it found that men are into smart women with careers but if they can’t be the provider in the relationship at the time, they walk away from these relationships. A lot of this attributes to gender norms and patriarchy with the expectation that men should be more successful financially in relationships. Peer pressure and societal norms often result in men feeling emasculation, and as a result walk away from the relationships.
Barbie has many different careers as mentioned in the movie, over 200 actually, as a hope to inspire young girls to pursue any career they want to. Whether it be a doctor, journalist, or veterinarian Barbie has a long history of working even in male dominated industries. However, Barbie realizes upon going into the real world that this reality is much different, as women are often unable to achieve success in a patriarchal world. The realization that Barbie herself hasn’t done what she was set out to do, with the executives at Mattel wanting her to get back in a box and essentially “sit still and look pretty”. Often successful women have made men feel inferior and emasculated.
With being a woman, there is still an expectation of success and as a result we struggle with self-confidence frequently. With a study finding one in two women facing more self-doubt in comparison to self-love for themselves, it makes combating societal pressure a difficult task. Arguments may point to a woman growing the confidence to practice more self-love yet 60% of these women say they wish they respected themselves more. Often confidence is used as a weapon to deflect gender issues like pay if a women does not achieve success within her career and goals. This claim of more need for confidence only furthers the self-worth issues women face and the need for more support for women.
Feminism Not a Fix All
While the idea of a matriarchal world might be a thought to solve these issues, in Barbie Land it also how matriarchy can fail men. Men in Barbie Land matriarchy are pushed to blend in with other men, only enjoying beach and trying to get Barbie to date them.Ken is an accessory just like in the real-world women are accessories to men. When Ken is exposed to patriarchy just like women in Barbie Land he becomes a horse loving, truck driving, “mojo dojo casa house” owner who doesn’t want anything committed with Barbie. It showcases how men are often raised to place their worth in how a woman views them and how they can dominate them sexually, with society taking their vulnerability away.
As a result, Barbie became depressed while the other Barbie’s accepting to cater their entire personality to men. Eventually, after Barbie gets a pep talk and helps motivate the other Barbie’s to take back their jobs, Ken reveals that patriarchy is not all what he wants, rather he wants to be with Barbie. Barbie reiterates that she still is not interested in him, but that he is worth finding out who he is as he doesn’t know how he is without Barbie.
The reality is that there needs to be a balance between matriarchy and patriarchy. Not a world where men or women dominate over each other but one where women and men are offered the same treatment and opportunities. The real world already benefits men in this way, so it’s time to let it benefit women too. Emphasizing that you need to have your identity be about other people doesn’t help find you get to know who you are and what you like. Being in a society that pushes for you to blend in like others can also attribute to this. Not everyone is for patriarchy that are men, not every woman is for feminism. Not everyone is for a career centered life and not everyone wants a family. So, finding an understanding of everyone has different priorities and interest is important.
Idea or Individual Identity
The Barbie Movie, while it does emphasize that women do struggle in the real world heavily, it still highlights that people need to find out who they are, gender aside, so they can determine who they want to be themselves and not because other people tell you to do so. This is seen again with the pushing of Barbie and Ken together and their individual personalities within the movie. Just because society tells you to be someone or have an interest in someone in this case doesn’t mean that you must. As seen with Barbie even, who chooses to go to the real world so she can feel human emotions, despite the challenging men-dominated environment. Barbie decides that she wants to no longer be an idea that people create, rather the person imagining the idea. This meaning, that she doesn’t want to have to be the image of whom everyone wants her to be but decide for herself who she is. This concept is applicable to any gender, when you put the matriarchy and patriarchy war aside, but yet still emphasizes the need for more equality amongst women in the real world.
No, the real world is not as glittery and fantastic as both Barbie and we thought it would be, but the sparkle of memories and human emotion can still make your life fulfilling. That being said, a step or roller-skating stride in the direction of less patriarchy would help alleviate societal pressures and allow for more equality. While we can’t live in that colorful, innocent, plastic Barbie DreamHouse, we can still brighten our world and live a little less pressured, and with a little more of a happy glimmer on our faces, with these efforts.
About the Author
Valerie Tonn is an aspiring public relations professional in Denton, Texas. She is attaining her bachelor’s degree in journalism with a concentration in public relations and minoring in marketing. Tonn intends to graduate Dec. 2023.
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