Life in plastic has actually been pretty fantastic.
There’s no doubt that the Barbie movie marketing has gone above and beyond, from collaborations with fashion houses and shoe brands to a literal Barbie Dreamhouse Airbnb. The hot pink Barbie craze is everywhere, and personally I’m having the time of my life. It’s been super heartwarming to rock up at a movie theatre dressed in pink from head to toe, not to mention spotting your fellow Barbies in the streets and greeting them with a courteous: “Hi Barbie!”
How’s that for inner child healing?
The Barbie phenomenon hasn’t just been all hot pink and cute outfits; for many the Barbie resurgence has been a hugely healing experience. If you had a childhood anything like mine, you might’ve grown up with the idea that being girly was a bad thing and wearing all pink? –absolutely awful. Why would a 12-year-old want to be that truly awful thing: “just like the other girls”.
The Barbie movie has moved mountains in undoing the idea that girlhood is something to be ashamed of, at least in my mind. Now that may seem like a small Barbie doll-sized step but it’s still super important. The movie has also broken down some pretty high walls for female directors in Hollywood, it’s become a Box-office success story – earning its director, Greta Gerwig the spot as the first female director to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide as well as the biggest opening weekend that Warner Bros has seen in 7 years.
The Barbie movie’s message though simple, is something that has resonated deeply with so many people across the spectrum of gender but specifically for those who grew up playing with the beloved dolls. While there may be a few qualms with the alleged “base level” approach to feminism, it has still managed to resonate with a lot of people – a few millions to be exact. The movie hasn’t only experienced sunshine and daisies though, due to the film’s content – some upset critics have called it man-hating and downright bizarre.
Well, I beg to differ.
I would argue that the Barbie movie is incredibly kind to men, it touched on all the aspects of patriarchy that needed to be addressed and depicted a story that most, if not all those who experienced growing up as a girl can relate too.
In the end, while Ken had some faults and did quite a few awful things – he too realises that the system of patriarchy isn’t helping him either but rather hurting him and his identity. Definitely not at the same level that it affected the Barbies in Barbieland, of course.
The Barbie movie serves us a critique of patriarchy that’s bite-sized and easy to digest, something that I for one think is an amazing feat in cinema. On top of that, it also served a wealthy and healing dose of nostalgia wrapped up in a heartwarming two hours of film.
And that’s pretty beautiful.