Barbie is a movie that confirms that growing up is realising that womanhood isn’t all pink, pretty and possibilities – and that it is one of the most difficult times to navigate through without losing your inner self in the middle of it all.
With Greta Gerwig at the helm of this pink, joyous ship, the script winds through a thoughtfully curated meta-story about gender roles, self-identity, existentialism and self-worth. At the start of the film, I was nervous of how it would progress if it had stayed in the fantastically plastic Barbieland for too long but after it expanded into the real world, the film became more layered and emotional than I had expected. The opening scene was one of my favourites as it explored the idea of girls giving up acting in the role of mother, by playing with baby dolls to playing with the grown-up, all woman doll that is as feminised as Barbie. The recreation of the infamous 2001: A Space Odyssey scene was a nice touch.
Despite the fact that I think most people would agree any frame taken from the film could be hung in a museum, I think it is easy for people to dismiss its value and longevity due to the fact it has been majorly well received and widely loved by many. The Barbies' overinflated sense of importance in believing that they had created an equality or feminist paradise in the real world soon comes crashing down as Barbie experiences their failure for the first time. This is one of the main points of the film, illustrated in plain sight that feminism in the form of a doll or a film can’t resolve these issues and that a doll will only ever reflect to us what we project on them.
With comments saying that Gerwig’s monologue spoken by American Ferriera’s character is fruitless or redundant is missing the major moment that Gloria is introducing feminism to the Barbies in order to liberate us via the dolls. The simple truth is that the film could never touch on all the intricacies as life as a woman is more complicated than the representation a plastic emblem of womanhood could ever be.
Barbie doesn’t hit every mark on the checklist but I don’t think it should be expected to - I think the film is a starting block for mainstream blockbusters to progress to a point where they truly reflect the troubles and issues of the real world and don’t always wrap it with beautiful cinematography. As this was a film made for everyone - it wasn’t curated solely for people with an in-depth understanding of feminism and all of its nuances.
Another nuanced theme throughout is Ken’s commentary, that the patriarchy exists because of men’s dependence on women, this is one of the most open secrets in the world and in the film, the focus on Ken’s anger as he doesn’t quite know who he is without Barbie works because despite our society, men still depend on women silently keeping the wheels turning behind the scenes. Allan’s role is also effective in backing this up as he represents the fact that the patriarchy does in fact hurt men as well. I don’t think that it’s necessary for the feminist movement to need that to create a pull effect to get men on board to dismantling the patriarchy, although it remains important. One of the most real exchanges happens between Ken and a random business man (in the real world), where Ken comments he doesn't think they’re doing the patriarchy right, while the man responds with “We’re doing it really well. We’re just better at hiding it”
I can admit that during the movie I laughed, ached and cried as the nods to girlhood brought back memories and a credible amount of existentialism. I loved it as a girl, a woman and a feminist and I think the film truly is one for the ages. Despite some of the characters and relationships being underdeveloped, Barbie’s journey to self-discovery is told in such a meaningful way that it’s hard to imagine waking out of the cinema without a full heart. I will say that Greta Gerwig was a genius in luring people to watch Barbie under the guise that it is branded as a kid’s fairytale when it really is an existential dystopia. In spite of its campiness, meta-commentary and satire I feel the film never loses sight of its goal.
Like Barbie, women can and should be more than one thing. She is everything and so are you
Rating: 4.5/5
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