“Godhood is just like girlhood: a begging to be believed” -Kristin Chang
“Always an angel, never a god” -boygenius
Since her inception in 1959, Barbie has truly been everything. A doctor, a teacher, a babysitter, a physicist, an astronaut, and more. Barbie has been the voice for feminism and female empowerment and also a symbol that put the feminist movement back fifty years. She went to the moon before women could have their own bank accounts, but still only weighed 110 pounds and had a book on how to lose weight. (One tip from this controversial barbie: don’t eat!)
Acclaimed director Greta Gerwig gives her take on the Barbie mythos and brings Barbie to the big screen in a more meaningful way than Bibble (from Barbie: Fairytopia) ever could. Margot Robbie stars as a stereotypical Barbie in Barbieland, living her best life every single day in her perfect pink dreamhouse with all the other Barbies in a world run by women. But one day, everything starts going wrong, from cold showers to burnt waffles to *gasp* flat feet, Barbie’s perfect life is unraveling. Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) tells Barbie she has to travel to the real world in order to repair the rift between their worlds and regain her perfect life. With the help of Ken (Ryan Gosling), and two humans Gloria (America Ferrera) and Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) Barbie embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
Every piece of Barbieland is perfectly designed with an aesthetic of pink and femininity. Barbie doesn’t actually drink because the milk carton is plastic, there is no water that comes from the shower, and Barbie doesn’t need to use stairs because you simply pick her up and put her where she needs to be. Fans of the toy line will recognize that many of Barbie’s accessories, houses and vehicles were or are real plastic toys ripped from store shelves.
Another standout element in immersing the viewer in Barbieland is the incredible soundtrack. Featuring artists such as Ice Spice, HAIM, and Charli XCX, the soundtrack not only has the expected bubblegum pop soundtracks but also some more introspective tunes such as Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” The standout song, however, is “I’m Just Ken” performed by Gosling. Not only is this song the perfect window into the character’s mindset, it’s also a certified bop.
Barbie is here to critique the patriarchy, but it is not without self-awareness of the toy’s own role in creating and conforming to the same male-centered societal norms. At the end of the day, the message of Barbie is not exclusively female empowerment nor is it misandry. Barbie is about discovering who you are, without the boundaries and limitations set by society. The film does come off as preachy at times, but when women have been holding back these feelings of frustration for so many years, maybe it’s about time a film just comes out and says what we’re all thinking.
4.5/5 STARS