There are few movies in recent memory as incomparably high-profile as Barbie (2023). Due to the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, as well as the involvement of industry darlings such as Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and, of course, the beloved director of “girly movies” Greta Gerwig. It quickly went down as one of history’s most significant cinematic moments, becoming the 14th highest-grossing film of all time.
From the onset of the pink-covered press, the Barbie team pushed a moral of female empowerment, synonymous with the Barbie toy brand. However, when it came to the actual content of the movie, many viewers felt that there was plenty left to be desired when it came to Barbie‘s feminist messaging. While there is plenty to applaud about Barbie, notably its stellar production design and brave comedy, one must consider the impact that such a confused movie with such a distinct social responsibility will have on generations to come. Here is (just the surface of) why Barbie is not quite a feminist manifesto:
A Confusing Feminism 101
In the 2023 Variety Actors on Actors between Margot Robbie and Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy, Robbie shares with Murphy a bit about the Barbie creative process. Specifically, Robbie believes that Gerwig and Noah Baumbach mostly figured out the script as they went along. They did not know where it would end when they began the script. This is reflected in not only the film’s plot (after leaving Barbieland, the whole thing sort of devolves into chaos), but its teachings.
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It is quite difficult after watching Barbie to discern exactly what you are meant to takeaway, other than perhaps a general forced idea of “women can do anything,” but even that feels told, not shown. Barbie feels like a gumbo of a bunch of random, disconnected feminist sentences that lose their salience one after the other. The script preaches empowerment in loose statements that are barely connected to an already jumbled story. Within said story, women end up brainwashed and idle multiple times. Assuming that the goal of such a movie is to educate audiences who may be unfamiliar with the ideas of feminism (or resistant to them), the pure lack of clarity that Barbie possesses in making any points is a cause for concern.
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For example, one of the most lauded moments of Barbie is a monologue given by America Ferrera toward the end of the film in which she lists various experiences that make it “literally impossible to be a woman.” Though this grocery list is true, it is also rather simplistic and, for the average woman, arguably falls flat and feels rather elementary. This could constitute “Women Deserve Rights 101.” For the uneducated viewer, perhaps this would serve as some sort of doorway to understanding. However, this becomes confusing when, within the same movie, you have elevated quotes like “We mothers stand still, so our daughters can look back and see how far they’ve come” and “By giving voice to the cognitive dissonance required to be a woman under the patriarchy, you robbed it of its power.”
Not to mention, there is also a simultaneous insane road trip plot mixed with a weird self-aware capitalistic tone that ends up feeling entirely pro-Mattel in the end. Considering Gerwig has gone on record about her myriad inspirations in making Barbie, including things like Paradise Lost, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and The Planet of the Apes, it is not bold to say there might have been too many ideas at play. The one important idea, empowering women in a clear way, got lost. Barbie is not streamlined at all and simply contains too much information for anyone to make sense of anything.
He’s Not Just Ken
During the 2023 Oscars season, Barbie received eight nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Gosling. In what was considered quite a notable “controversy,” Robbie herself did not receive an Acting nomination for the titular role. Robbie was wonderful in the role, there is no doubt about that, as there is no question at this point in her career that she is a deeply talented and capable actress. That being said, one does not have to reach to figure out why she might have been “snubbed” in this way. Robbie and Barbie were doomed from the start, because they were never clearly about women.
The Barbie script is not one in which Barbie herself is an especially compelling or clear character. Regardless of who donned the pink shoes, you cannot create something substantial enough for award recognition or, more importantly, mass emotional resonance out of thin air. Still, there is a character in the Barbie script that is given nuance, complexity, and clarity: Ken. The main male character of the film has the most digestible, most classic character arc, which makes him the most relatable. This allows Gosling (who is also utterly fantastic on average) to give the standout performance in the film,mainly because Ken’s character is better written.
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Ken is the primary comedic relief of the film (all the Kens are). This is super enjoyable at the start. As the film continues and in hindsight, one starts to consider the implications. The Kens are meant to be emblematic of the patriarchy and the reality that women face. The bulk of the examples it gives of that reality, however, are trivial inconveniences, like having to listen to a guy play guitar (admittedly, funny). It makes no attempt to acknowledge the real threat the patriarchy poses to women. This implies that the situation is much less violent, unjust, and complicated than it is.
Arguably, one could say Barbie is attempting to be a family movie and thus should not incorporate too much ugly truth. Barbie does incorporate ugly truths, it just does it rather flippantly (for example, when Barbie is sexually harassed on the boardwalk, and it is pretty much only chalked up to a cheeky joke). This creates a confused picture of what women deal with that ultimately feels harmful, especially to young, impressionable audiences.
- Release Date
- July 21, 2023
- Director
- Greta Gerwig
- Runtime
- 114 Minutes
- Cast
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Margot Robbie ,
Ryan Gosling ,
Simu Liu ,
Ariana Greenblatt ,
Helen Mirren , Nicola Coughlan ,
John Cena ,
Will Ferrell , Ritu Arya ,
Michael Cera ,
America Ferrera ,
Alexandra Shipp ,
Kate McKinnon
