This summer's must-watch movie "Barbie" premiered on July 20, earning a global box office of $70 million USD on its opening day. This makes it the film with the highest box office and premiere screening revenue of 2023. But this movie is not just for kids; it explores numerous topics including feminism and the meaning of life. Let's delve into the concepts that Barbie is trying to convey in this film!
"Barbie World: A Pink Paradise Dominated by Female Barbies"
In the film "Barbie," the character Barbie, as interpreted by Margot Robbie, takes on the familiar image of the "classic Barbie" - blond hair, blue eyes, and a slim, beautiful figure - living in a pink wonderland. This place is not only home to her, but also to numerous Barbies of different skin colors, appearances, and body types, along with other residents like Ken and Allan. They all live harmoniously together.
Unlike the real world, Barbie's paradise is a realm ruled by female Barbies. There's President Barbie, Doctor Barbie, Lawyer Barbie, Mermaid Barbie, and even a Barbie who has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. They each reside in their own dreamy Barbie houses and are respected and admired by everyone. The male Ken in this world is merely an admirer of Barbie. When asked, "Where does Ken live?", even Barbie herself doesn't know, symbolizing Ken's status as a mere decorative character.
This Barbie World is reminiscent of the famous quote from Barbie's creator Ruth Handler: "My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices."
Basically, everything that men do in your world,
women do in ours.
Barbie is a doctor, and a lawyer,
and so much more than that.
Because Barbie can be anything,
women can be anything.
"Does the classic Barbie represent a stereotype of 'beauty'?"
In the film, the classic Barbie is the protagonist, living in a perfect Barbie world. Every day, she gets out of her pink shell bed, exchanges warm smiles with other Barbies, eats heart-shaped pancakes, drives a pink car, looks stunning from head to toe, goes to play volleyball at a sunny beach, and attends grand parties every night. Her life is nothing but joy and goodness, constant and unchanging.
Barbie thought she represented happiness and goodness, bringing dreams to all little girls. She believed that people in the real world would react with surprise and fanaticism at her sight, just like towards a celebrity. However, men were filled with lust towards her, and even a little girl named Sasha said, "Barbie, you've set back feminism by 50 years. Every woman feels bad about herself when they see you. You're a fascist!" This comment left Barbie in tears.
Why is she seen as a noble being in the virtual world but disrespected in the real one? The answer lies in the symbolic meaning of Barbie.
Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, emphasized that modern Barbie represents diverse values, and aimed to show girls that there are countless possibilities in the future. She encourages girls to have different styles and make their own choices about where to go and what occupations to pursue. However, much like Margot Robbie's experiences in a patriarchal real world, Barbie has become a stereotype.
When the 'classic Barbie' was created, it aimed to satisfy little girls' longing for beauty through her carefree appearance. However, she inadvertently reinforced societal stereotypes of 'beauty', turning unrealistic body proportions into a source of pressure for women to conform to a certain body image. As a result, sixty years later, with the rise of female autonomy and the elevation of women's intellectual status, the image of 'classic Barbie' began to be seen as 'negative'. Margot Robbie, living in a dream world, was oblivious to this.
“[Barbieland is] where all problems of feminism and equality can be solved.”
– Narrator
"The real world is not perfect, but you inspire me."
– Gloria
“You’ve been making women feel bad about themselves since you were invented.”
-Sasha
"Ken is Ken, not anyone's accessory."
Director Greta Gerwig's "Lady Bird" and "Little Women" indeed depict the challenges and growth women face in life from a female perspective. However, in "Barbie," she presents the story in a surreal, humorous style, allowing the audience to reflect on gender issues with a humorous perspective and deeper contemplation.
In the movie, Ken experiences a world dominated by men after coming to the real world. He discovers the respect and treatment he can receive as a man is vastly different from the Barbie world, where his existence revolved solely around Barbie. This leads him to challenge and change gender hierarchies in Barbie Land after reading numerous books about patriarchy.
In the movie, Ken symbolizes many real-world women who lack a sense of self and exist in reliance on others. Many male characters, such as executives at Mattel, are portrayed as ignorant and superficial, satirizing the suppression and stereotyping of female images.
After a series of nearly mad satires, the film ultimately brings the focus back to the meaning of everyone's existence. When Ken thinks he and Barbie can finally be in love, and the perfect combination of 'Barbie and Ken' seems to be the ending, Barbie tells him, "You need to be yourself. You're 'Ken', not 'Barbie and Ken'."
All male Kens then have the opportunity to work in the government, though President Barbie states they must start from the bottom, satirizing the fact that there are still few female leaders in the real world.
In the new Barbie world, everyone has the opportunity to live their own value. The path to true equality is still a long way off, but it's a start.
"I’m a man with no power,
does that make me a woman?"
“I’m a liberated man, I know crying’s not weak.”
– Ken
"I’m trained to stand confidently here."
- Ken
"Bravely fighting for rights, while retaining kindness."
In the movie, when Barbie returns to the Barbie world, she finds that her dream Barbie house has been usurped by Ken, and the other Barbies have been brainwashed by Ken, serving him by washing his feet and pouring him drinks. Barbie's first reaction is to "give up." She takes off her hat and accessories, sits on the ground, and cries, saying, "We need to wait for other more leadership-qualified Barbies to change all this." She then becomes the Ugly and Depressed Barbie, but the Barbie world remains unchanged.
Later, when Sasha and her daughter return to encourage Barbie, the Classic Barbie becomes the planner to reclaim the Barbie world. She lays out many steps, including kidnapping other Barbies, awakening the brainwashed Barbies, and gradually persuading all Barbies. Or, using the masculine nature of always loving to show off, boast, and compete, she lets the Kens destroy themselves by competing to play the guitar, teaching investment, and explaining "The Godfather," to demonstrate their omnipotent charm.
This teaches everyone that when faced with the unfairness and injustice of the environment, we shouldn't feel powerless or think we can't change anything. If we don't stand up, perhaps this world will never change. The seemingly ordinary Classic Barbie also plays a very important role. These sequences of reclaiming Barbie's paradise also provide a possible way to challenge and subvert the traditional power structure. Even "reasoning" with the surrounding female Barbies is an effective method.
“You are so beautiful and so smart and it kills me that
you don’t think you’re good enough.”
“You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line.
It’s too hard, its too contradictory, and nobody gives you a medal and says thank you.”
“Giving a voice to the cognitive dissonance required to being a woman under the patriarchy robbed it of its power.”
– Barbie
"Becoming a meaningful human being, not a manufactured product."
After the Barbies reclaim the Barbie world, everyone seems to have their roles, but Classic Barbie doesn't have any specific skills, and she doesn't know what her ending should be.
Then, the CEO of Mattel says Barbie's ending is: "Falling in love with Ken." This idea is booed by everyone. In the past, all Disney fairy tales ended with "the prince and the princess live happily ever after," but what the movie wants to convey is that "marriage" is not the end of life's journey. Instead, becoming the person you want to be in your heart is the goal. This can be being a president but not a mother, being a mother but not a president, being both a president and a mother, or being neither a president nor a mother. It depends on "what each person wants."
When the ghost of Barbie's creator, Ruth Handler, visits Barbie in Barbie World, they walk towards a blank world. She tells Barbie, "Humans will die, but ideas won't." This also signifies that although Ruth has passed away, the Barbie she created still influences the world today. Classic Barbie is the only Barbie without a purpose or occupation, and she chooses to become a real human being.
When Barbie asks Ruth, "Do you allow me to become a human? Because you created me." Ruth answers her, who you want to become doesn't require anyone's permission.
“She’s not dead,
she’s just having an existential crisis.”
“I want to do the imagining,
not be the idea.”
“Humans Only Have One Ending.
Ideas Live Forever.”
Thank you very much for reading; I am RosyArts.
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