“Barbie,” the 2023 fantasy comedy film starring Margot Robbie and directed by Greta Gerwig, is more than just a pink live-action doll film.
“Barbie” has grossed more than 1 billion worldwide dollar, marking its spot as the highest-grossing film directed solely by a woman and the 17th-highest-grossing film of all time. It has also been highly praised for its feminist themes woven into a heartfelt and humorous story.
Upon its release, it seemed that the consensus among the public audience was that it was unclear what the movie was actually about. It was obvious from the trailer that the movie would indeed be bringing to life the perfectly pink Barbie world, but it was still left ambiguous what the storyline would entail.
With the original Barbie dolls having anticipated feminist goals, it was natural its movie version would also discuss feminism and related themes. However, the movie also acknowledged the criticism Mattel, the multinational toy manufacturer in ownership of Barbie, received regarding the toys’ contributions to the magnifying of gender stereotypes.
The “Barbie” movie attempts to empower both men and women as it undoes the previously done destructive categorizing. The film begins with Stereotypical Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, going through experiences that go against the conventional “doll” experience. Beginning with sudden worries about death and extending to the appearance of stretch marks and feeling of pain when wearing high heels, Stereotypical Barbie’s struggles as she goes through essentially what is the human female experience of matching gender expectations is presented. Realizing this glitch can only be fixed by finding the child that is playing with her in the real world, Stereotypical Barbie heads out on a quest to the real world of California, United States.
In the movie, the Barbies are initially unaware of the realities of the real world. Barbies live in a matriarchal society, where females are predominant in positions of power. Males, on the other hand, are less in the spotlight and often looked over. It is only after Stereotypical Barbie, with the accompaniment of Ken (Ryan Gosling), visits the real world that the dolls find out about the concepts of gender hierarchy, stereotypes, and inequality.
Once exposed to these concepts, the Kens attempt to convert the Barbie world into a patriarchal society, thus presenting to the audience the Barbie world as both extreme representations of a matriarchy and patriarchy. This juxtaposition allows the film to show the problems we face in the real world regarding gender roles in their opposites. It also stages both the errors of a total matriarchal society and a total patriarchal society, proving that both extremes are certainly far from just.
The film displays the objectification and sexualization that females mainly experience in our world targeted toward the men of the Barbie world. It also shows a world where males do not fret about fragility or vulnerability. While it can at first seem to simply be a female- focused story highlighting women’s empowerment, it also includes scenes that acknowledge male struggles and magnify the way certain traits are frowned upon by our society when exhibited in men.
The “Barbie” movie exposes how under the expectations our society puts on females, it is, just as one of the characters Gloria expresses in her monologue, literally impossible to be a woman. It reminds the audience of the lack of discourse regarding the unhealthy expectations society projects upon men. It better emphasizes the feminist principles the original Barbie dolls have originally intended to. Ultimately, it serves as a reminder that feminism does not only consist of emphasizing female rights but more so equality as a whole.