barbie movie review essay

“Barbie,” director and co-writer Greta Gerwig ’s summer splash, is a dazzling achievement, both technically and in tone. It’s a visual feast that succeeds as both a gleeful escape and a battle cry. So crammed with impeccable attention to detail is “Barbie” that you couldn’t possibly catch it all in a single sitting; you’d have to devote an entire viewing just to the accessories, for example. The costume design (led by two-time Oscar winner Jacqueline Durran ) and production design (led by six-time Oscar nominee Sarah Greenwood ) are constantly clever and colorful, befitting the ever-evolving icon, and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (a three-time Oscar nominee) gives everything a glossy gleam. It’s not just that Gerwig & Co. have recreated a bunch of Barbies from throughout her decades-long history, outfitted them with a variety of clothing and hairstyles, and placed them in pristine dream houses. It’s that they’ve brought these figures to life with infectious energy and a knowing wink.

“Barbie” can be hysterically funny, with giant laugh-out-loud moments generously scattered throughout. They come from the insularity of an idyllic, pink-hued realm and the physical comedy of fish-out-of-water moments and choice pop culture references as the outside world increasingly encroaches. But because the marketing campaign has been so clever and so ubiquitous, you may discover that you’ve already seen a fair amount of the movie’s inspired moments, such as the “ 2001: A Space Odyssey ” homage and Ken’s self-pitying ‘80s power ballad. Such is the anticipation industrial complex.

And so you probably already know the basic plot: Barbie ( Margot Robbie ), the most popular of all the Barbies in Barbieland, begins experiencing an existential crisis. She must travel to the human world in order to understand herself and discover her true purpose. Her kinda-sorta boyfriend, Ken ( Ryan Gosling ), comes along for the ride because his own existence depends on Barbie acknowledging him. Both discover harsh truths—and make new friends –along the road to enlightenment. This bleeding of stark reality into an obsessively engineered fantasy calls to mind the revelations of “ The Truman Show ” and “The LEGO Movie,” but through a wry prism that’s specifically Gerwig’s.

This is a movie that acknowledges Barbie’s unrealistic physical proportions—and the kinds of very real body issues they can cause in young girls—while also celebrating her role as a feminist icon. After all, there was an astronaut Barbie doll (1965) before there was an actual woman in NASA’s astronaut corps (1978), an achievement “Barbie” commemorates by showing two suited-up women high-fiving each other among the stars, with Robbie’s Earth-bound Barbie saluting them with a sunny, “Yay, space!” This is also a movie in which Mattel (the doll’s manufacturer) and Warner Bros. (the film’s distributor) at least create the appearance that they’re in on the surprisingly pointed jokes at their expense. Mattel headquarters features a spacious, top-floor conference room populated solely by men with a heart-shaped, “ Dr. Strangelove ”-inspired lamp hovering over the table, yet Will Ferrell ’s CEO insists his company’s “gender-neutral bathrooms up the wazoo” are evidence of diversity. It’s a neat trick.

As the film’s star, Margot Robbie finds just the right balance between satire and sincerity. She’s the perfect casting choice; it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed stunner completely looks the part, of course, but she also radiates the kind of unflagging, exaggerated optimism required for this heightened, candy-coated world. Later, as Barbie’s understanding expands, Robbie masterfully handles the more complicated dialogue by Gerwig and her co-writer and frequent collaborator, filmmaker Noah Baumbach . From a blinding smile to a single tear and every emotion in between, Robbie finds the ideal energy and tone throughout. Her performance is a joy to behold.

And yet, Ryan Gosling is a consistent scene-stealer as he revels in Ken’s himbo frailty. He goes from Barbie’s needy beau to a swaggering, macho doofus as he throws himself headlong into how he thinks a real man should behave. (Viewers familiar with Los Angeles geography will particularly get a kick out of the places that provide his inspiration.) Gosling sells his square-jawed character’s earnestness and gets to tap into his “All New Mickey Mouse Club” musical theater roots simultaneously. He’s a total hoot.

Within the film’s enormous ensemble—where the women are all Barbies and the men are all Kens, with a couple of exceptions—there are several standouts. They include a gonzo Kate McKinnon as the so-called “Weird Barbie” who places Robbie’s character on her path; Issa Rae as the no-nonsense President Barbie; Alexandra Shipp as a kind and capable Doctor Barbie; Simu Liu as the trash-talking Ken who torments Gosling’s Ken; and America Ferrera in a crucial role as a Mattel employee. And we can’t forget Michael Cera as the one Allan, bumbling awkwardly in a sea of hunky Kens—although everyone else forgets Allan.

But while “Barbie” is wildly ambitious in an exciting way, it’s also frustratingly uneven at times. After coming on strong with wave after wave of zippy hilarity, the film drags in the middle as it presents its more serious themes. It’s impossible not to admire how Gerwig is taking a big swing with heady notions during the mindless blockbuster season, but she offers so many that the movie sometimes stops in its propulsive tracks to explain itself to us—and then explain those points again and again. The breezy, satirical edge she established off the top was actually a more effective method of conveying her ideas about the perils of toxic masculinity and entitlement and the power of female confidence and collaboration.

One character delivers a lengthy, third-act speech about the conundrum of being a woman and the contradictory standards to which society holds us. The middle-aged mom in me was nodding throughout in agreement, feeling seen and understood, as if this person knew me and was speaking directly to me. But the longtime film critic in me found this moment a preachy momentum killer—too heavy-handed, too on-the-nose, despite its many insights.

Still, if such a crowd-pleasing extravaganza can also offer some fodder for thoughtful conversations afterward, it’s accomplished several goals simultaneously. It’s like sneaking spinach into your kid’s brownies—or, in this case, blondies.

Available in theaters on July 21st.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series “Ebert Presents At the Movies” opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

Margot Robbie as Barbie
Ryan Gosling as Ken
America Ferrera as Gloria
Will Ferrell as Mattel CEO
Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie
Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha
Issa Rae as President Barbie
Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler
Hari Nef as Doctor Barbie
Emma Mackey as Physicist Barbie
Alexandra Shipp as Writer Barbie
Michael Cera as Allan
Helen Mirren as Narrator
Simu Liu as Ken
Dua Lipa as Mermaid Barbie
John Cena as Kenmaid
Kingsley Ben-Adir as Ken
Scott Evans as Ken
Jamie Demetriou as Mattel Executive
Alexandre Desplat
Mark Ronson
Greta Gerwig
Noah Baumbach

Cinematographer

Rodrigo Prieto

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Review: ‘Barbie’ is a film by women, about women, for women.

Ryan Gosling, left, and Margot Robbie in a scene from "Barbie."

This essay contains spoilers for “Barbie.”

When we walked into the AMC Lincoln Square 13 in New York City for the Thursday 3 p.m. viewing of “Barbie,” we found ourselves surrounded by pink. Women wore heels and sparkling jewelry, and young girls in sundresses clutched their Margot Robbie Collectible Barbies . We had come prepared—adorned in our own pink outfits, we happily took photos for a friend group in exchange for a few of our own. People laughed and chatted through the trailers, and broke out in whooping cheers as the movie began. Every seat was filled. The positive energy was palpable. It felt like a party.

In a nuanced approach characteristic of the director Greta Gerwig, whose previous projects “Lady Bird” (2017) and “Little Women” (2019) received critical acclaim, the Barbie movie is a hilarious, vibrant tribute to an iconic doll central to decades of imaginative play. At the same time, the film manages to be an exploration of Barbie’s cultural impact—good, bad and in-between. Through on-the-nose commentary on everything from Barbie’s representation of independent female adulthood to her unrealistic, idealized body proportions, Gerwig makes a movie as layered and paradoxical as the reputation of the doll itself.

Greta Gerwig has made a movie as layered and paradoxical as the reputation of Barbie itself.

“Barbie” dives head-first into many controversial topics: consumer culture, growing up, parental relationships, gender dynamics and a multitude of other issues—offering commentary while managing to make the doll look great in the process. Mattel allowed the societal perceptions of Barbie to be examined, though the film ultimately reclaims Barbie, because Barbie can be whatever you want, and Barbie supports all women. Whether Barbie’s feminism is direct or ironic, the movie seemed to say, it is guilt-free to buy her.

But for a project that is arguably an action-packed, 114-minute commercial for a doll, the main thematic takeaway from “Barbie” is that life as a real woman is significantly more difficult but resolutely more worthwhile than “life in plastic” could ever be.

For those who have been anticipating the release of “Barbie,” the sold-out theaters and tremendous box office numbers (Barbie brought in $155 million on its opening weekend) come as no surprise—nor does the vibrant appearance of the audience, a result of Mattel’s marketing campaign, which included pre-film partnerships with brands like Gap and Crocs .

The promotion worked because it tapped into an existing market of people who grew up with Barbie. Created in 1959 as one of the first grown-up woman dolls for children, the affordable toy has been a controversial yet beloved plaything for decades. Like many in the audience, the two of us played with Barbies as little girls, and therefore had firsthand access to the complicated influence that such a doll—who is anything she wants to be while always looking perfect—can have on a young girl.

Using the aesthetic history of the doll as inspiration, the first portion of the movie is set in Barbie Land, where self-proclaimed “Stereotypical Barbie” (played by Margot Robbie) and the other Barbies live in a peaceful paradise, partaking in various occupations and leisure activities. Their counterparts, the Kens, do nothing except “beach” and act as platonic companions for the Barbies (when desired). These scenes are packed with clever humor and nostalgia for those who remember playing with Barbies—just like in our games, the Barbies never use stairs, only pretend to drink liquids, and say “Hi Barbie!” to every other doll in sight.

The Stereotypical Barbie’s blissful naïvete is disrupted one morning when she starts to develop self-awareness and anxiety, accompanied by dreaded flat feet and “thoughts of death.” In order to return to how things were, Barbie needs to venture into the “real world,” where she is instantly sexualized and objectified, accused of being a fascist by teenagers and jailed for assault after punching a man who catcalls her.

The main takeaway from “Barbie” is that life as a real woman is significantly more difficult but resolutely more worthwhile than “life in plastic” could ever be.

The movie follows somewhat of a hero(ine)’s journey arc, complete with a car chase and a rise to leadership, as Barbie tries to rid herself of emotional turmoil—and eventually, as she tries to save Barbie Land from Ken (Ryan Gosling), who had a much more enjoyable time in the real world and decided to bring patriarchy back to Barbie Land with him.

But while the dolls and their conflicts (full of inside jokes from Barbie history) are certainly the most fun, vibrant part of the movie, the human characters in the movie—particularly Gloria, a Mattel employee played by America Ferrera, and her daughter Sasha, played by Ariana Greenblatt—shift the focus away from an analysis of dollhood and toward an exploration of womanhood.

As Gloria and Sasha discover that they are at fault for Barbie’s weird behavior, they attempt to help the doll reachieve stability for herself and her community. In doing so, the audience is privy to a moving exploration of what it means to grow up as a woman, from the perspective of both mother and daughter.

The movie is almost painfully upfront about the struggles women face, giving voice to a certain exasperated frustration that may seem overly explicit, but for many responding to the film, just feels true. After Barbie is ready to give in to self-pity and existential dread, Gloria encourages Barbie to forgive herself for her mistakes and imperfections, expressing all the impossible expectations placed on modern women. “It’s too hard,” she says about womanhood, “It’s too contradictory.” Stereotypical Barbie stares at her wide-eyed, and Gloria’s daughter gives her a surprised smile. In giving voice to the emotions that started this journey, Gloria empowers the Barbies to reclaim Barbie Land.

The movie is for everyone to see and enjoy, but ultimately “Barbie” is truly a film by women, about women, for women.

In the end, Barbie, having seen the gendered challenges of the real world for herself and heard from Gloria the exhaustion that comes with them, still decides to become a human—a woman.

In an emotional scene between the ghost of Ruth Handler, the creator of the doll, and Barbie herself, they discuss what it would mean for Barbie to leave dollhood behind. Handler holds Barbie’s hands and tells her to “feel.” The scene fades into a montage of videos of young girls and grown women, laughing, talking, playing and enjoying their lives. The videos feature women involved in the process of making the movie. When Barbie opens her eyes again, she has tears on her face (so did many in the audience).

For us, this felt very reminiscent of St. Ignatius Loyola’s Contemplation on the Incarnation , which asks the retreatant to imagine the three Divine Persons gazing down on the earth full of people and considering what stimuli imbue their senses. These scenes, of so many different people and emotions, flash before Barbie, and she is overwhelmed with the joys and sufferings of the world, with women at the forefront.

The movie ends with Barbie, newly human and clad in her designed-for-the-partnership pink Birkenstocks, going to the gynecologist. This joke wraps up all the references to dolls not having any genitals (which Barbie ostensibly receives when she makes the choice to become human), while, we think, stressing the importance of reproductive health and bringing to the big screen public discourse about a taboo topic. Like every part of the movie, Gerwig pushes boundaries of conversation through humor that is written to make women, in particular, feel seen.

At its core, the Barbie movie is a much needed tribute to womanhood. This is evident in one of the most subtle but moving scenes from the film, which occurs early in Barbie’s trip to the real world, when she sits at a bus stop, crying because nothing seems to be going her way. She looks over and sees an old woman, played by the famous costume designer Ann Roth (aging doesn’t exist in Barbie Land). Barbie smiles at her and says, “You’re beautiful.” The woman smiles serenely and replies simply, “I know.” In retrospect, this deeply humane and moving encounter prefaces Barbie’s decision to join the real world. It seems as if Barbie is recognizing the magnitude of everything a real woman is, and everything she later chooses to be.

The female characters Barbie meets in the real world show her that women manage to exist in a world that is so often against them, and do so best when working together. The movie is for everyone to see and enjoy, but ultimately “Barbie” is truly a film by women, about women, for women. It is a film we certainly will be seeing again.

Brigid McCabe was an editorial intern at America Media in 2023. She studies History and American Studies at Columbia University.

Laura Oldfather was an editorial intern with America Media in 2023. She studies Theology and Journalism at Fordham University.

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Review by Brian Eggert July 19, 2023

When Greta Gerwig signed to direct Barbie , she faced a myriad of challenges. How do you make a movie that does justice to the venerable brand, carefully overseen by Mattel? How do you make the doll, first introduced in 1959, feel relevant given today’s multifaceted discussions of gender and feminism? Can you make a movie about Barbie without it being about more than shimmering pink surfaces? How do you speak to the doll’s promotion of unrealistic and consumerist beauty standards, the perpetuation of gender stereotypes, and its damage to self-esteem? Moreover, how does making a movie about a Barbie not inadvertently carry on those negative effects? And how do you address these issues in a $100 million production without becoming a sociopolitical soapbox, and should you even address these issues? Assuming you do, who’s the audience for this movie? Will it be geared toward the same target market as the dolls, young girls between 3-12 years of age? Or a more specialized audience? Beyond all of that, Gerwig had to make a movie that somehow tackles these questions about the rather precarious icon but also connects with the summer movie crowd.

Not surprisingly, Gerwig delivers a sublimely optimistic, glittering production—until reality truncates what become complex characters. The result is a clever satire, with a riotous sense of humor and existentialism that springs from its relatable emotions—all contained in a formally ambitious candy-colored product. Barbie ends up about as good as it could be, largely thanks to Gerwig’s self-awareness as a filmmaker and storyteller. She may not adequately address every question listed above, and the plot meanders at times, but the director of Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019) leaps into a big-budget studio project with a defiant energy and unmistakably personal stamp. Given that the Barbie movie could have been a plastic and hollow commercial with no human identity, designed to unabashedly reinforce the toy brand, it’s refreshing to see a filmmaker apply her critical perspective. Gerwig treats the titular character not as an aspirational ideal but as someone whose journey represents the many challenges and contradictions of being a woman.

The screenplay by Gerwig and collaborator-partner Noah Baumbach borrows a page from The LEGO Movie (2014), telling the story that links the toy, who inhabits a land of make-believe beholden to the almighty toymakers, and the player with said toy in the real world. Helen Mirren narrates, introducing Barbie Land, where the so-called stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) believes, “All problems of feminism and equal rights have been resolved.” Barbie lives in a blissfully idealized matriarchal world, with an all-female President and Supreme Court. Some initial gags find Barbie waking up in her dreamhouse, on a picture-perfect day, where she pantomimes showering and eating before greeting the other women in Barbie Land—all named Barbie, save for the pregnant Midge (Emerald Fennell). The male dolls, all named Ken, save for the odd Allan (Michael Cera), vie for the Barbies’ attention—none more so than the fragile-egoed alpha Ken (Ryan Gosling). Gerwig gives us a typical day-in-the-life view of Barbie, complete with a drive to the beach in her pink Corvette, only to have her interrupt an impromptu dance number by impulsively asking, “Do you guys ever think about death?”

Gerwig explores the imaginative limits of Barbie with her production, offering inspired asides like the opening’s ode to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), where a clan of young girls toss aside their baby dolls for an adult woman toy, which is bound to destroy their self-image for years to come. Gerwig has clearly let her creative impulses run wild to inspired effect, conjuring dance sequences inspired by The Red Shoes (1948) and Singin’ in the Rain (1952), with marvelous, bubblegum-colored imagery shot brightly by cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto. Another sequence through a gray-walled Mattel office feels ripped from the drab cubicle underworld of Brazil (1985), therein the opposite of Barbie Land’s pink paradise. Production designer Sarah Greenwood brings all the artistry Hollywood can muster, delivering an “A” level treatment to what looks like a more expensive version of that “Barbie Girl” music video by Aqua. Costume designer Jacqueline Durran draws from actual Barbie-brand merchandise, giving well-versed fans a knowing wink of Barbie garb throughout history and underscoring the oddities for everyone else (2009’s Sugar Daddy Ken, anyone?).

Most impressive is how Gerwig and Baumbach’s script gives these characters dimension. Robbie’s version of the doll has profound conversations that challenge simplistic notions of womanhood, questioning her role as a doll with the help of some real-life humans, Mattel employee Gloria (America Ferrera), and her adolescent daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt). Although Barbie thought she was a role model, Sasha calls her a “professional bimbo,” forcing her to reassess everything. Gloria gives more than one speech about what it means to be a woman, and it’s an inspirational rallying cry for the others—almost an extension of Saoirse Ronan’s Little Women monologue: “Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty.” But even the supporting characters feel like they have more depth than their surfaces imply. Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Dua Lipa, Hari Nef, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Alexandra Shipp, Sharon Rooney, and the rest of the ensemble appear on the same wavelength as Gerwig, perfectly aligning with the unique band of humor and message about gender equality.

Not everything about Barbie works. When our hero faces the all-male executive team behind Mattel, she meets the company’s CEO, played by Will Ferrell, who behaves like, well, Will Ferrell—albeit unleashed as a destabilizing force in the movie. Along with the other executives, the CEO chases after Barbie to put her “back in her box,” propelling much of the second act. Yet, this conflict is never satisfyingly resolved; the CEO just sort of goes away at the end, presumably returning to his office to look over fourth-quarter projections. However, the chase leads to an overwrought scene where Barbie meets her inventor, Ruth Handler (Rhea Perlman), in a white void—rather like Neo confronting the architect of The Matrix, with equally mind-bending implications. Moreover, the film never reconciles how, in the real world, Barbie continues to represent an unrealistic ideal for young girls. Sure, Gerwig makes inclusionary strides by showcasing Barbies of various races, hair colors, and body sizes, offering several Barbies who don’t look like the blonde-haired, blue-eyed “stereotypical” Barbie. Even though Gerwig addresses how not everyone looks like this or feels like they belong in Barbie’s idealized world (thanks to some well-timed criticisms by the narrator), the overall critique feels toothless in reality. So while Gloria comically suggests there should be an “Irrepressible Thoughts of Death Barbie” or “Cellulite Barbie,” don’t expect Mattel to release those dolls anytime soon.

A Mattel commercial insists that “When a girl plays with Barbie, she imagines everything she can become.” But at least one scholarly study from 2014 suggests, no matter how ingrained the you-can-be-anything message, most young girls don’t learn that from Barbie; instead, they learn about a gendered world where women are valued for their sexualized appearance. That said, it would be absurd, and wishful thinking, to imagine that Gerwig could ever make a takedown movie about Barbie with the full cooperation of the corporation—even if Mattel seems to be a good sport, given how the company and its leadership are represented onscreen. Rather, what Gerwig offers is a clear-headed assessment of the doll, with equal measures of nostalgia and playful critique; an acknowledgment that, in reality, gender discrimination is very real; and a concession that Barbies represent a fantasy world. Barbie is also just a lot of fun, amounting to one of the year’s best comedies. It may not resolve the conflicts between Barbie the capitalist entity, the sexualized object, and the powerful feminist icon, but it doesn’t have to. Gerwig uses Barbie as a way of accessing real-world themes of womanhood in a delightfully entertaining way.

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Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is often good and sometimes great, but it always feels like it’s fighting to be itself rather than the movie Warner Bros. and Mattel Films want.

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

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A smiling, blond woman standing with her arms outstretched in front of a group of girls who are facing her. The woman is wearing a cowboy hat, a neckerchief, a denim vest, and jeans — all of which are hot pink.

Barbies might “just” be toys, but Barbie™ is an impossibly perfect paragon of glamorous femininity who’s had as many specialized professions over the course of her 64-year-long existence as she has bespoke outfits. There are few pieces of corporate-owned IP that are truly as Iconic (in the pre-social media sense of the word) as the doll that put Mattel on the map and taught children of all genders — but especially little girls — to long for hot pink dreamhouses. That’s why it isn’t all that surprising to see Mattel Studio’s brand protection-minded influence splashed all over Warner Bros.’ new live-action Barbie movie from writer / director Greta Gerwig.

Valuable as the Barbie brand is, it makes all the sense in the world that Mattel would want Gerwig’s feature — a playful, surreal adventure that does double duty as a deconstruction of its namesake and her technicolor, dreamlike world — to play by a set of rules meant to protect their investments. But as well meant as Mattel’s input presumably was, Gerwig clearly came with a bold vision built around the idea of deconstructing some of the more complex realities of what Barbie represents in order to tell a truly modern, feminist story.

Watching the movie, you can often feel how Mattel and Gerwig’s plans for Barbie weren’t necessarily in sync and how those differences led to compromises being made. Thankfully, that doesn’t keep the movie from being fun. But it does make it rather hard to get lost in the fantasy of it all — especially once Barbie starts going meta to poke fun at the studios behind it in a way that seems to be becoming more common .

Along with celebrating innumerable pieces of Mattel’s history, Barbie tells the story of how the most Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) in all of Barbie Land gains the tiniest bit of self-awareness one day and starts to find her growing sense of complex personhood so alarming that she sets off for the Real World to find out what the hell is going on. Like the vast majority of Barbies who call Barbie Land home, all Stereotypical Barbie knows about her own world is based on the picture-perfect, idealized experiences she and her friends are able to breeze their ways through solely using the power of their imaginations.

Things don’t just happen to Barbies. They’re very much the arbiters of their own wills who’ve worked hard to become people like President Barbie (Issa Rae), Dr. Barbie (Hari Nef), Lawyer Barbie (Sharon Rooney), and Pulitzer Prize-winning Writer Barbie (Alexandra Shipp). But life for Barbies also isn’t especially difficult or complicated, partially because they’re all dolls living in a plastic paradise. Mainly, though, it’s because Barbie Land’s an expressly woman-controlled utopia reminiscent of Steven Universe ’s Gem Homeworld , where neither misogyny nor the concept of a patriarchy exists because that’s not what Barbie™ is about.

As an unseen Helen Mirren — who seems to be playing a version of herself as Barbie ’s narrator — points out who’s who in the film’s opening act, you can see how Mattel’s willingness to let Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach’s script poke fun at Barbie™ led to some extremely good world-building.

Barbie Land isn’t just a predominantly pink pocket dimension where Life-Size -like dolls live in life-sized, yet still toy-like dream homes. It’s the embodiment of the easy-to-digest, corporate-approved feminism and female empowerment that Mattel and many other toy companies deal in. Only in Barbie Land, the idea of a predominantly female supreme court or construction sites full of nothing but hardworking women aren’t just dreams — they’re a regular part of everyday life. And all the Barbies are better for it because of how it reinforces their belief that they can do anything.

But outside of the Stereotypical Barbie-obsessed Ken whose job is to stand on the beach (Ryan Gosling), none of the other Kens (Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, and John Cena) are ever really given personalities to speak of. It’s clearly a purposeful decision meant to reinforce the idea that Ken dolls, which were invented after Barbie dolls, are the Eves to their Adams — accessory-like beings created to be companions rather than their own people. But as solid as the idea is, in practice, it has a way of making the Kens of color feel like thinly-written afterthoughts hovering around Gosling and like Barbie isn’t sure how to utilize its entire cast — a feeling that intensifies more and more as the movie progresses.

Long before Barbie even starts to have her existential crisis and seek guidance from Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), it becomes painfully clear that there was a strong desire on either Mattel or Warner Bros. parts for audiences to be spoon-fed as much of the film as possible before actually sitting down in theaters. If you’ve watched even a couple of Barbie ’s lengthier ads or the music video for Dua Lipa’s (who plays Mermaid Barbie) “Dance the Night,” you’ve seen a significant chunk of this film and its more memorable moments.

What you’ve seen less of is how often Barbie slows down to have characters repeat jokes and belabor points as if it doesn’t trust the audience to catch beats on their initial deliveries. Some of that can be attributed to the PG-13 movie trying to make sure that viewers of all ages are able to engage because as existentially heavy and slightly flirty as Barbie gets at times, it’s a movie about Barbies, which is obviously going to appeal to a bunch of literal children. But once Barbie’s in the real world being harassed by lascivious men, ruthless teen girls, and a bumbling, evil corporation that the movie goes to great lengths to make fun of, you also get the sense that more than a bit of the movie’s unevenness on the backend stems from Mattel putting its foot down about how it, too, needed to be a part of Barbie’s live-action, theatrical debut.

There’s a time and a place for corporations to try getting in on the fun of events like this by way of meta humor that acknowledges their own existence and the role they play in bringing projects like movies about Barbie dolls into being. But rather than creating the necessary conditions for those kinds of jokes to land, not need explanation, and add substance to Barbie, both Mattel and Warner Bros.’ self-insert jokes work more to remind you how the movie is ultimately a corporate-branded endeavor designed to move products.

That doesn’t keep Gerwig’s latest from being an enjoyable time spotlighting a decidedly inspired performance from Robbie. But it is going to make the rabid Barbie discourse even more exhausting than it already is when the feature hits theaters on July 21st.

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Barbie review: life in plastic, it’s fantastic.

The film is at once a journey of self-actualization and a testament to female solidarity.

From the early, lo-fi days of her career as something of a muse for the mumblecore movement, Greta Gerwig has been interested in messy tales of nascent adulthood. And from her partnerships with now-husband Noah Baumbach, most notably 2012’s Frances Ha , to her own solo directorial work (2017’s Lady Bird and 2019’s Little Women ), her films have continued to bear the mark of a storyteller who understands the ways that modern adults, but especially women, are burdened by the weight and expectations of responsibility.

Gerwig’s Barbie is partially inspired by psychologist and author Mary Pipher’s Reviving Ophelia , a 1994 bestseller about how adolescent girls lose their identities while navigating a looks-obsessed, media-saturated culture. That should be enough to quell expectations of the film playing out as a show of allegiance to one of the most recognizable brands in the world. And if it doesn’t, the subversive streak of Gerwig and Baumbach’s script certainly will.

At once a journey of self-actualization and a testament to female solidarity, Gerwig’s film is here to explain how the patriarchy is an all-inclusive, regressive force. Which isn’t to say that this film, which very smartly sees girlboss feminism as a way for the patriarchy to hide itself better, is a bummer. It certainly helps that the filmmakers are getting their message across with live-action Barbie and Ken dolls. Gerwig and Baumbach make an explicit point of targeting the unrealistic expectations that the Barbie doll has set for generations of kids while also upholding its promise as an object of a young child’s most prized possession: an unabashed imagination.

Riffing on the iconic “Dawn of Man” sequence from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey , Barbie cheekily acknowledges the Mattel brand’s massive cultural footprint by beginning as something of a historical fantasy that retells the story of human evolution as a byproduct of the invention of dolls. It then introduces us to Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie), who’s settled into her dream life in Barbie Land: a pristine matriarchal society that exists somewhere in our collective imagination off the coast of—where else?—Venice Beach, California.

It’s there that Barbie’s boyfriend, Ken (Ryan Gosling), trades innocuous, homoerotic banter with another Ken (Simu Liu) while at the same time doting on Barbie, whose mostly content to spend the majority of her days and nights hanging out with her unequivocally supportive best friends, among them President Barbie (Issa Rae), Physicist Barbie (Emma Mackey), and Doctor Barbie (Hari Nef). And though Gosling’s Ken wishes that he received a bit more affection from his girlfriend, for him, too, life in plastic seems pretty fantastic.

Then, one day, the idyllic, semi-autonomous world of Barbie Land—smoothly designed by Sarah Greenwood to mimic the plasticity of the real-life toys, and in a mind-boggling array of bubblegum pinks and cotton-candy blues—experiences a disruption: During a dance break (shades of Vincente Minnelli), Barbie asks her friends if anyone ever thinks about dying.

The rupture of Barbie Land’s utopia takes Barbie on an Oz-like journey of reckoning that’s kicked earnestly into motion by a consultation with Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), a stretchy, clownish doll who doesn’t move right, because, as Helen Mirren’s voiceover tells us, she was played with “too much.” Turns out, Barbie’s “irrepressible thoughts of death” are due to a break in the space-time continuum, and she has to venture into the real world to fix it before she’s in danger of such ghastly things like cellulite. But Gosling’s Ken crashes her trip, and the two are gobsmacked by the realization that sexism and inequality is very much alive in our world.

Then, another disruption. While Barbie is excited to gaze upon a world of complex relationships and simmering contradictions, Ken is mostly attracted to how it’s very clearly ruled by patriarchal prerogative. Soon he takes news of this universe that’s built by and for people that look exactly like him back to the other Kens in Barbie Land, which faces the problem of being completely overrun with fascism. Barbie, meanwhile, is hunted and ogled by men across Los Angeles, as Mattel’s CEO (Will Ferrell) and his all-male executive board try to, quite literally, put her back in a box before the world discovers that she’s escaped.

After years of making a meal out of small budgets, it’s mesmerizing to see what Gerwig does with something much more substantial. Barbie deliriously draws inspiration from a wide range of cinematic sources, with references to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg , Groundhog Day , The Matrix , Toy Story , and, most hilariously, The Godfather . The breadth of these references constitutes a kind of metalanguage for Gerwig and Baumbach, through which they ask us to both respect Barbie’s place in popular culture as well consider the complex relationship society has had with the doll—that is, all of the implications of its massive cultural impact.

In a wonderfully naked moment in the film, one that articulates a certain kind of anxiety that we all have about how we make our mark in a world that expects us to be perfect, Robbie’s Barbie wonders what she’s supposed to do if she isn’t special. Gerwig and Baumbach clearly understand that at some point children throw away their Barbies, but that, by then, these dolls have already done their damage by reinforcing, among other things, gender roles.

Overeager though it may be to proclaim its progressive bona fides, the film sharply understands that the patriarchy represses not just women, but everyone and everything, right down to the environment, and that dismantling it is a liberation for all. And it argues this point through biting satire and the journey that the Barbie and Ken dolls take toward self-awareness. The latter is made especially indelible by Robbie and Gosling, both of whom seamlessly shuffle between the Chaplin-esque comedy of their plastic movements to the sincerity of the film’s pathos as Barbie and Ken travel further down the road of self-discovery.

Barbie is a parody with a morally and politically righteous core, both in dialogue with, and a necessary departure from, the world that Mattel’s Barbie stands behind. In the world of Gerwig’s film, whose detail-rich, forceful vision is the antithesis of the Barbie brand’s vague messaging and sense of trendsetting, not everything is equal. But the film makes you believe in the possibility of that equality—that it can be more than just a beautiful promise. And it does so by refining the doll’s intended message by suggesting that kids aren’t really free to imagine the possibilities of their future if they’re also being forced to conform to expectations.

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Despite the (otherwise great) filmmakers’ efforts, this movie is and will always be, unavoidably, a doll ad. Just as the Lego movie is unavoidably a toy ad. “It doesn’t really matter what the filmmakers wound up doing with the material” should perhaps have been the text of the movie in lieu of all its pop culture self-reflexivity because, in the end, this picture will bolster sales and erect superstores and erode film and film-going, continuing the latter down the theme park/product movie path, as much as any Lego or Marvel movie has. It’s a real waste of time for filmmakers who could just be doing something else.

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Barbie review: A near-miraculous achievement from Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie

While it’s impossible for any studio film to be truly subversive, this mattel-approved comedy gets away with far more than you’d think was possible, article bookmarked.

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Barbie is one of the most inventive, immaculately crafted and surprising mainstream films in recent memory – a testament to what can be achieved within even the deepest bowels of capitalism. It’s timely, too, arriving a week after the creative forces behind these stories began striking for their right to a living wage and the ability to work without the threat of being replaced by an AI. It’s a pink-splattered manifesto to the power of irreplaceable creative labour and imagination.

While it’s impossible for any studio film to be truly subversive, especially when consumer culture has caught on to the idea that self-awareness is good for business (there’s nothing that companies love more these days than to feel like they’re in on the joke), Barbie gets away with far more than you’d think was possible. It’s a project that writer-director Greta Gerwig , co-writer (plus real-life partner and frequent collaborator) Noah Baumbach, and producer-star Margot Robbie were free to work on in relative privacy, holed up during the pandemic away from the meddlesome impulses of Warner Bros and Mattel executives.

The results are appropriately free-wheeling: There are nods to Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Jacques Tati’s Playtime , deployment of soundstage sets and dance choreography à la Hollywood’s musical Golden Age, and a mischievous streak of corporate satire that calls to mind 2001’s cult classic Josie and the Pussycats . But while the absurdity of its humour sits somewhere between It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Pee-wee’s Big Adventure , its earnest and vulnerable take on womanhood is pure Gerwig, serving as a direct continuation of her Lady Bird and Little Women .

The fact that all of this is tied to one of the most recognisable products in existence – and that any success it enjoys will undoubtedly boost Mattel’s stock prices – underlines the fact that it’s largely impossible to embrace art without embracing hypocrisy. Capitalism doesn’t always swallow art whole; occasionally it thrives in spite of it. And that’s a complexity that feels particularly on brand for a director who had her Jo March, in Little Women , declare: “I am so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for. I’m so sick of it! But – I am so lonely.”

Barbie contains another Gerwig-ian speech, delivered beautifully by an ordinary (human) mum played by America Ferrera, about the hellish trap women have been forced into. Caught between girl-boss feminism and outright misogyny, women now have to be rich, thin, liberated, and eternally grateful without ever breaking a sweat – because when Barbie promised little girls that “women can be anything”, those words got twisted to mean “women should be everything”. Gerwig’s movie begins by playing a brilliant trick on its audience: Helen Mirren’s opening narration is self-congratulatory, a bit of canned PR about Barbie’s “girl power” legacy that grows increasingly tongue-in-cheek. “Thanks to Barbie,” she concludes, “all problems of feminism and equal rights have been solved”.

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We’re then introduced to our Barbie – ie “the Stereotypical Barbie” – who is chipper, confident, blonde, and, most importantly, looks like Margot Robbie. She is eternally adored by Ken ( Ryan Gosling ), whose job is “beach”. Not “lifeguard”, but “beach”. Barbie’s friends all have high-powered jobs: president (Issa Rae), author (Alexandra Shipp), physicist (Emma Mackey), doctor (Hari Nef), and lawyer (Sharon Rooney). Every morning, she steps into her shower (there’s no water), sets out her breakfast of a heart-shaped waffle with a dollop of whipped cream (she doesn’t eat), and then sets off in her pink convertible (she doesn’t walk downstairs, but merely floats). All is perfect. Then Barbie starts having irrepressible thoughts of death.

Barbie’s bid to fix that sudden, scary attack of humanity sees her visit “the Real World”, where she meets the all-male executive board of Mattel (among them Will Ferrell and a wonderfully dorky Jamie Demetriou), who think themselves qualified to determine what little girls like and need because they once had a woman CEO (or two, maybe). Meanwhile, Gerwig uses, through a hysterical farce centred around Gosling and his fellow Kens, the implicit matriarchy of Barbieland to explore how power and visibility shape a person’s self-perception. Gosling gives an all-timer of a comedic performance, one that’s part-baby, part-Zoolander, part-maniac, and 100 per cent a validation for anyone who ever liked him in 2016’s noir comedy The Nice Guys . There are (naturally) some exquisite outfits designed by Jacqueline Durran, some very funny references to discontinued Barbies (have fun reading up on the backstory behind Earring Magic Ken), and a few unexpected pops at fans of Duolingo, Top Gun , and Zack Snyder’s Justice League .

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’

Barbie is joyous from minute to minute to minute. But it’s where the film ends up that really cements the near-miraculousness of Gerwig’s achievement. Very late in the movie, a conversation is had that neatly sums up one of the great illusions of capitalism – that creations exist independently from those that created them. It’s why films and television shows get turned into “content”, and why writers and actors end up exploited and demeaned. Barbie , in its own sly, silly way, gets to the very heart of why these current strikes are so necessary.

Dir: Greta Gerwig. Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell. 12A, 114 minutes.

‘Barbie’ is in cinemas from 21 July

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‘Barbie’ May Be the Most Subversive Blockbuster of the 21st Century

By David Fear

It’s tough to sell a decades-old doll and actively make you question why you’d still buy a toy that comes with so much baggage. (Metaphorically speaking, of course — literal baggage sold separately.) The makers of Barbie know this. They know that you know that it’s an attempt by Mattel to turn their flagship blonde bombshell into a bona fide intellectual property, coming to a multiplex near you courtesy of Warner Bros. And they’re also well aware that the announcement that Greta Gerwig would be co-writing and directing this movie about everyone’s favorite tiny, leggy bearer of impossible beauty standards suddenly transformed it from “dual corporate cash-in” to “dual corporate cash-in with a very high probability of wit, irony, and someone quoting Betty Friedan and/or Rebecca Walker.”

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Except, in the middle of one of their regular super-cool and totally awesome sing-alongs, Barbie blurts out, “You guys ever think about dying?” No one, least of all the shiny, happy person who said it, has any idea where that random bummer came from. The next morning, Barbie’s imaginary shower is cold. Her imaginary milk has curdled. The collective perkiness of her friends and neighbors only seems to highlight her inexplicably bad mood. Her stiletto-ready arches suddenly fall flat. And then, she comes face to face with what can only be described as the Thanos of the Barbie Cinematic Universe: cellulite.

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Once in our world, Barbie will encounter sexual harassment, gender inequity, the benefits of crying, the CEO of Mattel ( Will Ferrell ) and the mother (America Ferrara) and daughter (Ariana Greenblatt) who’ve introduced such morbid thoughts into her brain. Ken will discover horses, Hummer SUVs, and toxic masculinity . She returns with her new human friends to Barbieland in a state of dazed enlightenment. He comes back as a full-blown Kencel, spreading a gospel of full-frontal dude-ity.

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Critical thinking isn’t mind corruption, of course. Nor is pointing out that you can love something and recognize that it’s flawed or has become inflammatory over time, then striving to fix it. It’s definitely not a bad thing to turn a potential franchise, whether built on a line of dolls or not, into something that refuses to dumb itself down or pander to the lowest common denominator. And the victory that is Gerwig, Robbie, and Gosling — along with a supporting cast and crew that revel in the idea of joining a benefic Barbie party — slipping in heady notions about sexualization, capitalism, social devolution, human rights and self-empowerment, under the guise of a lucrative, brand-extending trip down memory lane? That’s enough to make you giddy. We weren’t kidding about the “subversive” part above; ditto the “blockbuster.” A big movie can still have big ideas in 2023. Even a Barbie movie. Especially a Barbie movie.

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<i>Barbie</i> Is Very Pretty But Not Very Deep

Barbie Is Very Pretty But Not Very Deep

T he fallacy of Barbie the doll is that she’s supposed to be both the woman you want to be and your friend, a molded chunk of plastic—in a brocade evening dress, or a doctor’s outfit, or even Jane Goodall’s hyper-practical safari suit—which is also supposed to inspire affection. But when you’re a child, your future self is not a friend—she’s too amorphous for that, and a little too scary. And you may have affection, or any number of conflicted feelings, for your Barbie, but the truth is that she’s always living in the moment, her moment, while you’re trying to dream your own future into being. Her zig-zagging signals aren’t a problem—they’re the whole point. She’s always a little ahead of you, which is why some love her, others hate her, and many, many fall somewhere in the vast and complex in-between.

With Barbie the movie —starring Margot Robbie, also a producer on the film—director Greta Gerwig strives to mine the complexity of Barbie the doll, while also keeping everything clever and fun, with a hot-pink exclamation point added where necessary. There are inside jokes, riffs on Gene Kelly-style choreography, and many, many one-line zingers or extended soliloquies about modern womanhood—observations about all that’s expected of us, how exhausting it all is, how impossible it is to ever measure up. Gerwig has done a great deal of advance press about the movie, assuring us that even though it’s about a plastic toy, it’s still stuffed with lots of ideas and thought and real feelings. (She and Noah Baumbach co-wrote the script.) For months now there has been loads of online chatter about how “subversive” the movie is—how it loves Barbie but also mocks her slightly, and how it makes fun of Mattel executives even though their real-life counterparts are both bankrolling the whole enterprise and hoping to make a huge profit off it. The narrative is that Gerwig has somehow pulled off a coup, by taking Mattel’s money but using it to create real art , or at least just very smart entertainment.

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Is Barbie a feminist icon? It's complicated

Rachel Treisman

The 50th anniversary of Barbie, in 2009, was commemorated in New York by a lineup of Barbie dolls from different eras, starting with the original in a black-and-white swimsuit. Craig Ruttle/Associated Press hide caption

The 50th anniversary of Barbie, in 2009, was commemorated in New York by a lineup of Barbie dolls from different eras, starting with the original in a black-and-white swimsuit.

The Barbie movie has smashed box-office records , brought dress-up back and put feminism in the spotlight.

Specifically, it has many asking: Has a doll long criticized for perpetuating outdated gender norms and unrealistic body image become a feminist icon? Has she always been one?

For context: The movie takes place largely in Barbieland, a candy-colored, women-centered utopia where Barbies hold the positions of power (all of the jobs, really, except for "beach") and Kens are essentially peripheral. That's painted in stark contrast to the "real world," of course.

M.G. Lord, the author of Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll and co-host of the new Barbie podcast LA Made: The Barbie Tapes , describes it as an angry movie made palatable through the lens of childhood products.

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"It's almost shocking, in a way, to see such a powerful message in a highly stylized, campy movie with all that pink," she tells Morning Edition 's Leila Fadel.

And the film has stoked strong emotions, both from fans who feel seen by its takedown of the patriarchy and critics who have slammed it as overly woke (including conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who set fire to two dolls in a widely panned protest ).

Director Greta Gerwig, who has built a devoted following for such female-forward movies as Lady Bird and Little Women , has labeled Barbie "most certainly a feminist film." Mattel executives, on the other hand, have said the opposite .

Fittingly, the Barbie doll itself has been at the center of such a debate pretty much since its debut in 1959.

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Ruth Handler co-founded Mattel and created the doll — which has held over 200 jobs, from astronaut to executive to president — to show girls like her own daughter that they could be anything.

But Handler would not describe herself as a feminist, says Lord, who once asked her that directly.

And Barbie has faced plenty of backlash over the years. Much of it has focused on the dolls' unrealistic body image: Researchers have found that if Barbie were a real person , she would have to walk on all four because of her proportions. Studies have linked playing with ultra-thin dolls to negative body image and increased risk of eating disorders in children.

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There have also been protests focused on Barbie's embrace of traditional gender norms. In 1972, feminist groups gathered outside a toy fair to protest dolls that they said "perpetuated sexual stereotypes by encouraging little girls to see themselves solely as manniquins, sex objects or housekeepers." Decades later, in 2013, topless women's rights activists protested the opening of a life-size Barbie Dreamhouse in Berlin , burning a doll on a cross and chanting "pink stinks."

While Lord says the new movie is "incredibly feminist," she hesitates to apply that word to Barbie herself. Instead, she sees the doll as its own sort of Rorschach test.

"People who hate Barbie for one reason or another, one might say that they project their fears and prejudices onto the doll. And people who irrationally adore this hunk of plastic are also puzzling to me," Lord says. "I think that may be the secret to why she's endured so long: That she weathers the projections and the conflicting projections of so many people."

The rise of Barbie — and the feminist movement

Astronaut Barbie dolls (from left) from the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in 1995. Greg Gibson/AP hide caption

Astronaut Barbie dolls (from left) from the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in 1995.

The iconic toy has its roots in a similar-looking but differently regarded German doll: Bild Lilli , which Lord describes as a highly sexualized and lurid gag gift for men (that eventually became popular with children), based on an off-color tabloid comic strip.

Handler came across the doll in a toy store window during a vacation to the Swiss Alps in the 1950s, after years of trying to convince her male colleagues of the appeal of a fashionable adult doll. Mattel eventually based Barbie off of Bild Lilli, tweaking some of her features (and ultimately settling a lawsuit with her manufacturers).

Lord says Barbie's message was "proto feminist" from the outset, as she came with the paraphernalia for a self-supporting career — a portfolio of fashion sketches, in the case of the original Barbie.

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"So she's got that body, no husband, and the ability to make a living in a real field," Lord says.

She draws a connection to Helen Gurley Brown's 1962 book Sex and the Single Girl , which made the case for women's financial and sexual autonomy.

The Ken doll was introduced in 1961. And Barbie got her first Dreamhouse in 1962 — more than a decade before most single women in the U.S. would be able to own their own home, let alone bank account.

The problem, Lord says, was that second-wave feminists of the 1960s didn't really see all of Barbie's career props and ensembles: "They just saw that thing underneath and protested."

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The National Organization for Women accused Mattel of gender stereotyping boys and girls in 1971, a year before its members participated in the toy fair protest.

Over time the feminist movement — and the people who identified with it — changed.

"I think the second-wave protests were probably important, but third-wave feminism, the kind that took hold in the 1990s, was kind of less judgmental than the feminism of the 1970s," Lord says.

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Lord says the movie's production and costume design directly reference the Barbies of the early 1990s — the ones Gerwig herself would have been exposed to growing up — and mirror the messages of those later iterations of feminism (the third wave in the 1990s and the fourth wave in 2012).

As ideas of feminism and womanhood changed over the years, so did Barbie herself.

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For example: The first Black and Latina Barbies debuted in 1980. Barbie first ran for president in 1992. In 2016, Mattel introduced new Barbie body types: petite, curvy and tall.

Today, its online store boasts Barbies modeled after inspirational female figures — from Jane Goodall to Naomi Osaka to Laverne Cox — and people with disabilities, from a doll with Down Syndrome to those that come with props like hearing aids and wheelchairs.

Lord says modern-day feminism's focus on intersectionality paved the way for "big-tent Barbie," adding that the dolls and products "always both reflect and shape the marketplace."

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The body positivity movement surfaced around this same time. Lord believes that had an influence on many companies, whether that meant retailers working with a more diverse range of models or Mattel finally tampering "with what had been both the controversial and yet winning formula" of the doll's proportions.

"The idea was you could still be a Barbie, a highly valued commodity or whatever, but you didn't have to look a certain way as much as perhaps one did in the past," Lord says.

More than a doll — or a label

Barbie Careers Assortment dolls are displayed at the New York Fair in 2016. Diane Bondareff/Diane Bondareff/Invision/AP hide caption

Barbie Careers Assortment dolls are displayed at the New York Fair in 2016.

The dolls are more than what the manufacturers make for children, Lord says.

For one, writers and visual artists have been using Barbie as an image and metaphor for years. And they hold special significance to the kids that play with them.

"You can't constrain a child's imagination based on the availability of certain products," she says.

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She says the movie reflects how young girls play with Barbies, from the marker-covered, shorn-haired doll played by Kate McKinnon to the all-female makeup of Barbieland's Supreme Court — and the relative unimportance of Kens.

"Then there's the ugly awakening that, in fact, in the world, men are entitled in ways that I think maybe little girls in their imaginative worlds can't anticipate," Lord says.

So what does all this mean for Barbie's contested feminist identity? Lord says the label itself carries a lot of weight.

For example: Barbie launched a female empowerment ad campaign in 1985, featuring an anthem in which girls sing "We can do anything, right Barbie?" It was rousing and uplifting and well-received, she said.

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And yet, Lord said, executives at Mattel and at Ogilvy & Mather, Barbie's ad agency, refused to identify as feminists. It was a stigmatized word at the time, Lord explained in a recent newspaper column .

Lord says she's puzzled that executives behind the movie are treating that word as "radioactive" even decades later — though acknowledges it's still not without backlash.

"Maybe you don't want to offend the kind of people who incinerate dolls because the movie involving them is perceived as being anti-male," she says.

The broadcast interview was produced by Kaity Kline and edited by Phil Harrell.

barbie movie

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Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is a Fascinating, Spectacular Philosophical Experiment

Barbie literalizes the abstract and abstracts the literal in an engaging, thought-provoking inquiry into the female experience.

Do you remember the scene in Singin’ in the Rain where Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse dance a romantic, longing modernist-ballet number? That scene is a dream sequence within a dream sequence. Gene Kelly’s character, an actor in late 20s Hollywood, is pitching a movie to a studio head and the film allows the viewer to watch the description he is conjuring. In this imaginary scene, a “young hoofer” comes to Broadway with dreams of being a star, and has them stymied for a while, along the way meeting a beautiful woman—Cyd Charisse—who is dating a gangster. He imagines falling in love with her anyway, and so the film takes us to that fantasy, which takes the form of a windy dance on a blue-and-pink-tinted soundstage.

What we’re watching is so far removed from the plot of the actual Singin’ in the Rain —which is about the Hollywood community adjusting after the advent of sound technology—but it doesn’t matter. It is a beautiful scene, a stunning bodily representation of desire and passion in the brief moment they are allowed to manifest. Movies don’t exist just to relay plots; they have tools and qualities all their own that permit experimentation, and even allow the visual exploration of abstract things like feelings, thoughts, and ideas.

It is known, via a Letterboxed profile curated by the writer-director-Greta Gerwig, that her new film Barbie takes some inspiration from Singin’ in the Rain , as well as other musicals from Hollywood’s Golden Age, including Kelly’s even more abstract An American in Paris . Gerwig’s Barbie, a dramatically hyped mainstream film about the famous Mattel doll that was created in 1959 and went on to become one of the most influential pop cultural forces in history, shares an essence with these movies.

It is an inventive, highly wildly conceptual thought experiment—not merely about the doll Barbie or even her complicated legacy and what she represents, but also about what it means to be a woman. It takes place in a similar kind of space as “the movie musical” writ large, a genre of alternate reality in which emotions and thoughts can be explored through music, song, dance, and other stuff that doesn’t happen in real life.

Barbie combines the rules of the movie musical’s imaginary netherworld with the investments of a Beckett or a Ionesco play. We’ve all seen plays where human actors play unwieldy concepts like “the city of St. Louis” or “polio” or even real material things like “bullets.” That’s the variety of inquiry Barbie is; yes, it explores the complex figure of the Barbie Doll through cinematic conventions of faux-documentary, movie-musical, and traditional Hero’s Journey narrative, but it also is simply an unreal experiment, a highly symbolic exercise where theoretical entities get to speak for themselves, and where real people get to tell anthropomorphized theoretical entities what effects they have on the human experience. The whole movie is a mise-en-abyme-heavy dream sequence, a fantasy of a dialogue between real women and womankind’s evolving, go-getting golem plaything.

I was fascinated by Barbie , which was written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, and which earnestly takes on a lot of hard work and mostly pulls it off. Compellingly, Barbie literalizes the abstract and abstracts the literal as it progresses. Gerwig’s own (presumed) thoughts and research into three-score years of Barbie frame the story, especially via the movie’s opener, a 2001: A Space Odyssey pastiche in which little girls discover the Barbie doll for the first time; the narrator (Helen Mirren) reminds us that, before Barbie, little girls could only play with baby dolls, pretend to be mothers; Barbie was the first grown-up doll. She was the first major girl-marketed cultural signifier insisting that a girl could be someone other than a mother. And not only that, but that she could be someone glamorous and exciting.

After this, the film follows a day in the life of a blonde Barbie, the main Barbie, the “Barbie you think of when someone says ‘think of a Barbie,'” the film calls her. She is played by Margot Robbie, who also produced the film. She lives in Barbie Land, a realm where the souls? subconscious minds? astral projections? of literal Barbie Dolls live and interact together. While their doll-bodies are being played with in the Real World, their selves live here, though they take on the characteristics of the things happening to their doll-bodies in play. This means that Barbie Land is kind of magic; outfits change spontaneously depending on the activity, Barbies float from one level of their Dream Houses to another—as if they are being played with by invisible hands.

Barbie Land is a paradise of female empowerment. The narrator reminds us how Barbie has taken on many more meanings and identities since her debut in a bathing suit in 1959, and that the Barbie concept is diverse in terms of representations of female excellence and perfection. Barbie is all women, the narrator reminds us, and she is a reminder that women can do anything. In Barbie Land, the Barbies—beautiful, accomplished, happy in all their different appearances and jobs and roles—run a supportive, productive world. There are also Kens, who do not have jobs or purposes. Barbie’s Ken (Ryan Gosling) lives for her, longs to unite more with her, wants her to love him. In interviews, Gerwig has noted that Barbie, and not Ken, is the main draw of Mattel products, and analyzed its fascinating implications: “Ken was invented after Barbie, to burnish Barbie’s position in our eyes and in the world. That kind of creation myth is the opposite of the creation myth in Genesis.”

Gerwig notes the potential for Barbie’s incredible progressiveness and takes advantage of it—telling a story about a Barbie who discovers that, in actual life, women are seen as the accessories. For the record, I don’t think the film advocates that people of any gender should be accessories to those of another gender, but Barbie still allows us to revel in the delight of an all-female paradise for a while.

Anyway, one day, our Barbie begins to experience an existential crisis—she begins to wonder about dying and freak about about “forever” and stasis. Her feet loosen from their arched position and land flat on the floor. Panicking, she goes to see an oracle-style Barbie known as Weird Barbie, maimed with crayons and perpetually in a split position after her doll self got “played with too hard.” Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) explains that Barbies are psychically connected to the children playing them, and so in order to correct these out-of-place crises, Barbie has to travel to the Real World and find that girl and help her assuage her concerns.

Barbie heads on a journey to the Real World, accompanied by Ken, who longs to prove himself to her. But when they arrive in the modern world (Los Angeles), they discover something jarring: the world is not, in fact, a feminist society in which women get to exercise (and be celebrated for) their skills and aptitudes, but… the opposite. Barbie herself grows very depressed, while Ken feels empowered, by this rift. Ken runs back to Barbie Land to tell the other Kens that “men rule the world” in reality while Barbie discovers that she’s unwittingly something of a villain there. She discovers, from a group of tween girls, that not only is Barbie not a feminist hero, but is also a controversial and outdated toy who has contributed to and participated in the creation of impossible, unhealthy, and problematic standards for women, not to mention the glorification of capitalism and the mass production environmentally-poisonous plastic. And she discovers Mattel, an FBI-style entity determined to keep the existence of the Avalon-like Barbie Land a secret.

While evading the Mattel G-Men, Barbie winds up meeting her playmate, who turns out not to be a child, but the mother of a child. She, Gloria (America Ferrera), has always loved Barbie, but her love for Barbie cannot override the frustrations and problems of her regular life, including a lack of professional and creative fulfillment (she’s a secretary at Mattel). But something happens when they’re together, and Barbie decides to bring her new friend and her Barbie-hating preteen daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) back to Barbie Land to help empower them. But when they get there, they discover that Ken has brought the idea of male supremacy back, taken over the paradise, and brainwashed all of the brilliant, accomplished Barbies into serving them and ornamenting their spaces.

Barbie isn’t a subtle movie, and that’s okay! Subtlety is overrated. It’s clear now, if it hasn’t been before, that Barbie slings many, many metaphors about the state of female existence in its current moment. Barbie is about a jealous, women-hating current that runs deep in male perspective. Ken is ultimately a bit of an incel (even though he’d be called a Chad BY the incels), and in Barbie we watch as all the progress, works, dreams of women are dismantled and erased and destroyed by men who need to feel like they control powerful women in order to feel powerful, themselves. It’s a movie that feels like it’s about Abortion Bans and the January 6th insurrection and our Post-Trump society just as it feels (sadly) timeless.

But even more insightful is what happens to Barbie when she realizes her world is a disaster. She grows depressed, begins to hate and doubt herself. She feels unattractive, unimportant, like a failure. Gerwig was influenced in writing the screenplay by the 1994 nonfiction book Reviving Ophelia, about the sudden, mass self-confidence and depression crisis that hits girls around puberty. “They’re funny and brash and confident, and then they just—stop,” she explained of the phenomenon to Vogue . “…All of a sudden, [girls think], Oh, I’m not good enough .”

Watching Barbie , this moment (when Robbie’s Barbie collapses into despair, feeling like a failure because she can’t fix the horrible things happening around her), was one of the most intuitive moments I’ve ever seen on film. Even more so is when Gloria comforts her, by acknowledging the horrible double-standards that make women feel this way, universally, delivering a heart-rending, passionate soliloquy that provides the film’s heart as well as its thesis statement. I cried a lot during the Barbie movie, but I really cried here.

Barbie not only understands what it’s like to be a woman, but has a lot of love for women, which is refreshing. It also has a lot of love for childhood, but it doesn’t allow the nostalgia for girlhood to muddle the empowerment of adult women. Barbie is a genuine masterpiece for its studies in making the intangible tangible , and this is epitomized by its magnificent production, set, and costume design.

The Barbie Dream Houses don’t have walls, just like in life. The Barbie World doesn’t come with food, just adhesive decals and plastic pieces. There is an extroardinary tactility, solidity to this world that is so reminiscent of playing with Barbies, like how McKinnon’s defaced Barbie almost always has her legs split apart. Watching the film, I remembered the feel and movement of these toys. There’s a Proust joke in Barbie , but I’m not joking when I’m saying that if Proust saw Barbie, he’d write another 1,000 pages. That’s how evocative Gerwig’s direction is. There are whole scenes in the movie that seem intended just to allow the audience to feel .

Robbie, who demonstrates tremendous physical comedy skills while also relaying depths of humanity, is wonderful as this torn Barbie. Gosling, whose relentless commitment to his character is astonishing, would be the film’s scene-stealer if Robbie wasn’t such a strong anchor. But Ferrera is the best part of the star-studded cast, a phenomenally real woman.

Barbie is so insightful in its symbolic intervention that when it returns to its Hero’s Journey/Barbie-vs. Mattel plot, it becomes a lot less satisfying. Mostly because, after watching ideas come to life, becoming reminded about the tethers to branding and commercial interests feels irrelevant and almost contradictory and even occasionally unpleasant. There’s a little too much humanization in the end, actually, partially of entities who might not deserve it, in a story that is, ultimately, about women . Things get messy and very, well, imperfect.

Still, I spent the nearly two-hours of Barbie noting how thoughtful and ambitious it was. Personally, I felt very seen and understood. I was moved and even felt a little appreciated, in a universal way. And that’s not an easy to do with a main character who is essentially a lump of plastic shaped like a person. But there is nothing fake, nothing false about Barbie . To Barbie , life may be plastic, but it’s also profound.

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Olivia Rutigliano

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Let’s Never Stop Questioning What Barbie Is Really About

As the secrets of the film are slowly stripped away, there’s a case for maintaining the debate over Barbie ’s true intentions.

ryan gosling and margot robbie in barbie

So—wait. Do we know what Barbie ’s about? Maybe we should keep debating?

The text below is from the original article, published July 11, ahead of Barbie ’s release:

For months, the Barbie movie’s vast unknown has been one of its greatest assets. What little we understood amounted to a pair of highlighter-yellow rollerblades, dangled aloft by the spray-tanned arms of a bleached-blond Ryan Gosling: nostalgic, symbolic, a triumph of marketing honed along a (plastic) razor’s edge. Every new set photo, character poster, and teaser trailer that collected over the months leading up to Barbie ’s July 21 release has been received and dissected with the self-serious thrill of an 8-year-old planning their themed birthday party. Which, to be clear, is exactly as it should be. Questioning Barbie , like assembling an identity as a child, is a necessary pursuit. This is what movies like Barbie —and icons like the doll herself—are made for: both the indulgent pleasure and the outrageous nuance of mythologizing.

The secrets of director Greta Gerwig’s long-anticipated film are, in fact, starting to dissolve: The Los Angeles premiere prompted a round of spoiler-free first reactions (mostly positive), and the official critic review embargo is reportedly up soon. But even with the film finally accumulating eyeballs, there’s still a collective sense of protectiveness over the Barbie brouhaha. We don’t want the mania to break, not yet. There are still ample dopamine deposits to be discovered in deliberating what, precisely, Barbie has to say. After a promotional music video dropped yesterday featuring Gosling’s Ken serenading his second-rate status, one particular TikTok comment best summarized this feeling: “Every time I see a trailer for this movie I am more confused but I also want to see it more.”

Even Barbie star Issa Rae has enjoyed the opacity. As she shared in a December 2022 Hollywood Reporter story , she was perplexed when Gerwig first presented the story to her. “I’ll be 100 percent honest, when she was talking, like, it was entertaining, but I didn’t get it.” she said. “I was like, ‘I don’t know what the fuck she was talking about, but whatever it is, I’m excited she’s behind it.’ And then reading it was, like, ‘Oh my God, I love her even more.’”

So, then, what is Barbie about? My hope is that actually watching the plot play out will only heighten the debate. The film’s IMDb logline encourages that possibility: “Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence.” If Barbie’s questioning herself, why would we not want to do the same?

Thus far, we’ve had such fascinating theories on the objective of her eponymous film:

1) It’s about having an existential crisis (and also, death).

Here’s what we know for sure: In Barbie , our protagonist finds herself losing her grip over her inherent Barbie-ness. “Do you guys ever think about dying?” she asks during one of her classic blowout parties, earning stunned, judgment silence in response. Dolls don’t die ! Matters only worsen from there: Suddenly, her fake shower is freezing; she falls, rather than floats, from her rooftop into her convertible; her feet slump from their iconic arch. To remedy this imperfection, she’s instructed to explore the “real world,” so she can know “the truth about the universe.”

The problem with the “truth about the universe” is that it’s a hot mess, and people die. Barbie is not a mess, nor does she ever die. She doesn’t even age. This supposedly irreconcilable truth seems to be Gerwig’s entry point to dissecting the artifice we’ve built around Barbie as a symbol of idealized femininity. What about perfectionism remains so enticing, even when we know and acknowledge its fruitlessness? And what about the changelessness of Barbie makes her seem like the perfect woman?

2) It’s about Ken becoming a villain. Or something.

The logline attached to the full Barbie trailer lays out an intriguing path for Ken, Barbie’s eternal boyfriend: “To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken.”

One TikTok theory posited that Ken didn’t belong in Barbie Land because he’s “an imposter,” owing to the unexpected casting of Gosling in the role. The “Just Ken” music video further establishes that Ken can’t extricate himself from Barbie, though she finds him only ancillary. If Barbie were to cozy up to Don’t Worry Darling , the film might depict Ken growing resentful over his lesser billing beside a more successful female partner. He might even discover the real world is a rather agreeable place for cis, white, supposedly heterosexual men like himself. (Of course, we shouldn’t assume Ken’s sexuality isn’t fluid. Or that he has a sexuality! He’s a doll!) Might he then want to stay?

Even if Barbie doesn’t lay out its “men are problematic” bent quite so literally, it’s already clear Gosling’s performance is one of the best of the film. If that’s the case, there’s one hell of a debate to be had over why Ken’s character arc is so essential to our understanding of Barbie herself.

3) It’s about the inescapable clutch of corporations.

We can’t talk about Barbie without talking about the marketing of Barbie . It is everywhere: on Krispy Kreme donuts and Ruggable rugs and OPI nail polish and GAP T-shirts and toothbrushes and luggage and pool floats and ice cream and frozen yogurt and makeup and cars and blankets and hairbrushes and heels. Her Dreamhouse is on Airbnb. Every publicist pushing sunglasses or sex toys has retooled their strategy around “Barbiecore” for the summer. I have never worn so much pink in my life.

The problem with all this consumerism is jarringly obvious, even (and perhaps especially) when it’s a great deal of fun. And with fervor comes backlash, as witnessed in critiques that Barbie is little more than a flashy commercial for toy brand Mattel. These critiques, by the way, are correct . At the same time, the Mattel CEO is an actual character in Barbie (played by Will Ferrell), and all signs point to him as a primary antagonist. Therein lies the rub: Barbie is a brand, and is therefore about branding, and is then a critique of branding, in the same breath as it further establishes that branding. You see? We could keep talking about this! Forever!

margot robbie winking as barbie in the barbie movie

4) It’s about feminism.

Well, yeah. Duh.

5) It’s about the swan song of girlhood.

[Young girls] are “funny and brash and confident, and then they just—stop,” Gerwig told Vogue in May. “How is this journey the same thing that a teenage girl feels? All of a sudden, she thinks, Oh, I’m not good enough .” It’s clear that a big chunk of Barbie ’s aim is to explore why girls abandon not only their Barbie dolls, but some of the positive beliefs associated with them.

“We haven’t played with Barbies since we were, like, five years old,” a group of teens tell Margot Robbie’s Barbie in the film trailer. Her face falls. If girls don’t need Barbie, what does she exist for? And who (or what) do they turn to instead? What happens to a girl to make her abandon what was previously such a source of enrichment? What does it mean to age, when Barbie herself cannot?

6) It’s about ... Barbie.

Barbie is a plastic paradox. She is a narrow vision of womanhood, and she is also an everywoman. She has hundreds of jobs and has never worked a day in her life. (She is also, importantly, not alive.) She is more than 60 years old and eternally, vaguely 20-something. (Past reports indicate Mattel claims she’s 19 .) She is sexy but sexless. She’s a child’s plaything, with influence felt widely on adults.

“If you love Barbie, this movie is for you,” reads the copy in the Barbie trailer . “If you hate Barbie, this movie is for you.” There is no clearer case for why the Barbie discourse should continue long past the film’s ecstatic release. She is— as the memes tout —everything! Her movie is all of the above! We need not agree on every one of Barbie ’s precise intentions; we need only recognize why there’s so much more to dissect than an endless onslaught of pink.

Lauren Puckett-Pope is a staff culture writer at ELLE, where she primarily covers film, television and books. She was previously an associate editor at ELLE.

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Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Barbie — Exploring Identity and Cultural Reflections in the Barbie Movie 2023

Exploring Identity and Cultural Reflections in The Barbie Movie 2023

Categories: Barbie Film Analysis

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Published: Oct 25, 2023

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Introduction, gender, identity, and cultural shifts: a screenplay’s influence, challenges and triumphs: bringing barbie to life, beyond the screen: societal impact and cultural significance.

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A Feminist Analysis of the Barbie Movie

Last Updated on July 16, 2024 by Karl Thompson

Barbie lives in Barbieland, which for some is a feminist utopia in which women can do anything: be president, have highly professional careers (the entire Supreme Court are female) as well as wear high heels and throw all night parties.

However all is not well in Barbieland: Barbie starts having nightmares and thinking about death, because the people in the real world are sad. So Barbie, accompanied by Ken, visits the real world to find her human family and solve their problems.

In the real world, Barbie is shocked by ‘the patriarchy’. She finds herself subjected to objectification and harassment. When she finds her family, the teenage daughter thinks Barbie is nothing more than a professional bimbo who makes women feel bad about herself.

It turns out this teenage girl is the source of sadness. She has stopped playing with her Barbie dolls because she blames them for men hating women and women hating women.

Ken, on the other hand, feels empowered by ‘the patriarchy. In contrast to his emasculated life on the beach in Barbieland, in the real world He ends up thinking he can do anything just because he is a man. At one point he barges into a hospital thinking he can perform surgery, without any qualifications or experience.

Back in Barbieland Ken changes things. The Supreme Court are demoted to a cheerleading squad, the president ends up serving men drinks. Every night is a ‘boys’ night and every barbie exists just to be ogled for male pleasure.

In a hideous postmodern/ commercial twist Barbie meets with the spirit of the Mattel founder. She finds out she is uncertain of her role in the world because there is no set role. The film ends with Barbie returning to the real world: her story carries on ‘evolving’.

Barbieland: Analysis

This is also a movie about male as well as female roles. It is about how Kens (men) struggle to cope with increasing female power, many falling back on toxic masculinities.

It seems to fit in well with postmodern feminism .

Barbie (2023) Film – Empowerment & Authenticity Explored

“Barbie” (2023) is a captivating live-action fantasy comedy helmed by director Greta Gerwig and co-written by both Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. The film boasts an impressive production team, including David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner as producers. Inspired by the iconic Barbie doll from Mattel, the movie stars the talented Margot Robbie in the titular role of Barbie, with Ryan Gosling charmingly portraying Ken. Additionally, the film features a stellar supporting cast, including America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell.

Released by Warner Bros. Pictures, “Barbie” made its theatrical debut on July 21, 2023, captivating audiences with its imaginative storytelling and delightful performances. This much-anticipated adaptation of the beloved doll’s universe brings the world of Barbie to life like never before, taking viewers on a journey filled with laughter, magic, and self-discovery.

Plot Synopsis – What’s the movie barbie about?

Characters analysis, the meaning, themes and significance of the movie, ending explained.

The film “Barbie” takes a unique and self-aware approach, presenting a heartwarming yet humorous story of a doll named Barbie who ventures into the real world in search of meaning in life. The movie opens with a narration by Helen Mirren, who provides a voiceover about the inception of Barbie and how the iconic doll has influenced generations of little girls around the world.

Barbie, voiced by Margot Robbie, embarks on a soul-searching journey as she discovers her purpose and identity in the real world. Throughout the film, Greta Gerwig artfully blends comedy, emotional depth, and tongue-in-cheek dialogue to explore the complexities of being a teenage girl and the various challenges and aspirations that come with it.

As the story unfolds, Barbie encounters a range of experiences, including finding unexpected friendship, dealing with self-doubt and societal expectations, and coming to terms with her own uniqueness. The film’s emotional rollercoaster is complemented by its wit and cleverness, making it an enjoyable experience for audiences of all ages.

The movie showcases an impressive display of visual and technical brilliance, with meticulous attention to detail in costume design and production, paying homage to Barbie’s iconic evolution over the years. The cinematography, led by Rodrigo Prieto, adds a glossy and vibrant touch to the overall presentation, capturing the charm of Barbie’s universe and its inhabitants.

Critics and audiences have lauded “Barbie” for its subversive and refreshing take on the classic doll character, making it one of the most anticipated and talked-about blockbusters of the year. Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Barbie has been praised for its charisma and charm, while Ryan Gosling’s comedic performance as Ken has garnered considerable attention.

While “Barbie” does have moments of melancholy and emotional resonance, it ultimately leaves viewers with a sense of hope and inspiration, celebrating the power of embracing one’s individuality and finding meaning in life’s journey.

Overall, “Barbie” (2023) stands as a delightful and innovative addition to the world of live-action adaptations, offering a fresh and empowering perspective on the beloved doll character that has captured the hearts of millions for decades.

In the 2023 film “Barbie,” directed by Greta Gerwig, there are several characters who play significant roles in the story. Here are some of the key characters and brief descriptions of each:

Barbie (Voiced by Margot Robbie): The titular character and the heart of the film. Barbie is a beloved doll who embarks on a journey from her fantastical world to the real world in search of meaning and purpose. Throughout the film, Barbie discovers her individuality, navigates self-doubt, and learns to embrace her uniqueness. Voiced by Margot Robbie, Barbie’s portrayal brings charm, charisma, and vulnerability to the character.
Ken (Played by Ryan Gosling): Ken is Barbie’s iconic companion and love interest. In the film, Ken is portrayed as a hilarious “himbo,” a man who may be attractive but not particularly intelligent. Ryan Gosling’s performance brings humor and wit to the role, making Ken a memorable and endearing character.
Helen Mirren (Narrator): Helen Mirren lends her voice to the film as the narrator. She provides insights into the history and significance of Barbie, offering a thoughtful and reflective perspective on the character’s cultural impact.

America Ferrera: Known for her roles in “Ugly Betty” and “Superstore,” Ferrera plays a character who befriends Barbie in the real world, helping her navigate the challenges she encounters.
Kate McKinnon: A versatile comedian known for her work on “Saturday Night Live,” McKinnon brings her comedic talents to the film, portraying a quirky and humorous character.
Issa Rae: An acclaimed actress and writer, Issa Rae’s character adds depth and nuance to the story, contributing to Barbie’s emotional journey.
Rhea Perlman and Will Ferrell: Both actors bring their comedic prowess to the film, adding laughs and humor to the narrative.
Other Cast Members: The film features an array of other characters who interact with Barbie during her adventure, each playing a unique role in her growth and self-discovery.

It’s worth noting that Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” is characterized by its self-awareness and clever humor, which extends to the portrayal of these characters. They contribute to the film’s subversive and refreshing take on the iconic doll, making “Barbie” a memorable and entertaining cinematic experience.

“Barbie” (2023) directed by Greta Gerwig carries several layers of meaning, symbolism, and significance that contribute to its overall impact and reception. Here are some key aspects to consider:

Self-Discovery and Identity: At its core, “Barbie” explores the theme of self-discovery and identity. Barbie’s journey from her fantastical world to the real world represents a quest to find her true self and purpose. This mirrors the journey many individuals go through in adolescence and young adulthood as they navigate their identities and aspirations.
Empowerment and Individuality: The film celebrates the power of embracing individuality and authenticity. Barbie’s character evolves beyond the stereotypical image of the doll, breaking free from societal expectations and embracing her unique qualities. This message promotes self-empowerment and encourages viewers to be true to themselves, regardless of external pressures.
Feminism and Female Empowerment: As an iconic symbol of femininity, Barbie has often been criticized for perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards and gender roles. Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” addresses this criticism head-on, subverting traditional tropes and presenting Barbie as a complex and empowered character. The film challenges societal expectations and promotes a feminist perspective on female representation and empowerment.
Social Commentary: “Barbie” is self-aware and includes social commentary on various themes, including consumerism, pop culture, and the impact of media on body image. The film acknowledges Barbie’s historical significance and addresses the complexities of her cultural impact, both positive and negative.
Humor and Satire: The film’s humor and satire add layers of entertainment and commentary. Through tongue-in-cheek dialogue and comedic situations, “Barbie” pokes fun at societal norms and expectations, offering a fresh perspective on a well-known character.
Cultural Iconography and Nostalgia: “Barbie” is rich in cultural iconography, featuring nods to various eras of Barbie’s history and the impact she has had on generations of fans. This nostalgia appeals to audiences who grew up with Barbie and fosters a sense of connection and familiarity.
Visual and Technical Brilliance: The film’s production design, costume design, and cinematography play a significant role in the storytelling. The attention to detail in recreating Barbie’s world and her iconic looks showcases the significance of the character in popular culture.

The ending of the movie “Barbie” (2023) is a poignant and emotionally resonant conclusion to Barbie’s journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Throughout the film, Barbie, voiced by Margot Robbie, ventures from her fantastical world to the real world in search of meaning and purpose. As the story unfolds, she grapples with self-doubt and societal expectations, ultimately learning to embrace her uniqueness and authenticity.

In the climax of the film, Barbie faces a crucial moment of decision. She must choose between returning to her original world, where she was initially created as a doll, or remaining in the real world, where she has discovered her true self and found meaningful connections with others.

This decision becomes a symbolic representation of personal growth and empowerment. Barbie’s choice to stay in the real world signifies her embrace of her individuality and her willingness to face the complexities and challenges that come with it. It highlights the importance of authenticity and staying true to oneself, even when it may be easier to conform to societal expectations or revert to a familiar but less fulfilling existence.

The emotional weight of the ending is amplified by the heartfelt performances of the cast, particularly Margot Robbie, who infuses Barbie’s character with vulnerability and strength. The audience witnesses Barbie’s growth from a seemingly perfect doll to a multidimensional and empowered individual.

In the concluding moments, the film leaves viewers with a sense of hope and inspiration. Barbie’s journey is not just about self-discovery, but also about finding her voice and becoming an agent of change. The movie shows that embracing one’s uniqueness can lead to a profound impact on the lives of others, inspiring them to do the same.

The movie’s visual brilliance and attention to detail in recreating Barbie’s iconic looks showcase the character’s cultural impact and nostalgic significance. The clever blend of humor and emotion in the film makes it a captivating and thought-provoking cinematic experience.

In the climax, Barbie’s choice to stay in the real world symbolizes personal growth and her acceptance of her true self. This poignant ending leaves audiences with a sense of hope and inspiration, reminding them of the importance of embracing uniqueness and empowering others to do the same.

“Barbie” (2023) is a delightful cinematic celebration of empowerment, individuality, and the journey of self-discovery. Greta Gerwig’s vision and the stellar performances of the cast bring a fresh perspective to the iconic character, making the film a memorable and empowering addition to the world of live-action adaptations.

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‘Hannah Gadsby: Woof’ Review: A Comic’s Pet Themes

In a soul-baring new show at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Australian stand-up leans once again into fears, anxieties and mental health worries.

A person wearing dark clothes holds a microphone on a darkened stage.

By Houman Barekat

Reviewing from Edinburgh

The title of Hannah Gadsby’s new stand-up show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is “Woof,” but the Australian comic has a very specific type of dog bark in mind. It sounds like something between a burp and a cough. It’s impossible to spell, but if you had to, it might go something like “peuh.” Gadsby says it typically signals that the animal is about to go into a frenzy. As a metaphor for Gadsby’s state of mind, it’s inauspicious. Should we be concerned?

Well, yes and no. For the most part, Gadsby’s new routine, at the Underbelly through Aug. 25, is a chill affair. Gadsby is on genial form, taking acerbic pot shots at Taylor Swift (“a can of Coke masquerading as a sorority cult”) and social media (“where neurotypical people go to experience the worst of autism”). There’s some pleasingly risqué material about the sex lives of lesbian soccer players that is too graphic to discuss here.

But when the focus turns inward, the vibe shifts. Gadsby describes a sense of discombobulation and a kind of existential vertigo that comes with having achieved fame and fortune relatively late in life.

“My bed is so comfortable,” Gadsby says, “and that keeps me up at night.”

This is, of course, nothing new — there is always a lot of Hannah Gadsby in a Hannah Gadsby show. “Nanette,” the 2018 Netflix special that catapulted Gadsby from relative obscurity to stardom, drew heavily on harrowing personal experiences of gendered violence. “Douglas” (2020) explored Gadsby’s autism diagnosis. An online run-in with Netflix bosses , over a routine by Dave Chapelle that critics described as transphobic, cemented Gadsby’s status as a culture war lodestar, and inspired the 2024 comedy showcase, “Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda.”

The story of that career trajectory is inextricable from the oeuvre itself, making Gadsby something like the Rachel Cusk of comedy. This inevitably brings a certain anxiety about shelf-life, and the specter of demise haunts this set. Gadsby, who uses they/them pronouns, notes that this is their first Fringe appearance in seven years, and playfully suggests that returning to the festival — known for showcasing up-and-comers — is a fall from grace. Later, Gadsby imagines angry Swifties ending their career. “There’s nothing more feminist,” they quip, “than getting canceled by other feminists.”

Gadsby also fears they might be too low-key, or too idiosyncratic, to command sustained attention. “I’m not the right person for this success,” they say — but most famous people have felt this way at some point. Besides, that whimsical nature is precisely what people like, and in our increasingly fragmented mass culture it doesn’t really matter if your material doesn’t work for everyone. There are many publics.

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COMMENTS

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