'Barbie,' Like Life, Is What You Make It
For a movie that’s based on dolls, Barbie sure has riled some people. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro railed against the movie, saying that the theme was, “Either you’re a third wave feminist who hates men, truly hates men, or you’re brainwashed.” Bill Maher, a liberal commentator, found some common ground with Shapiro, calling Barbie “man-hating.” While some articles insist that the dislike for Barbie is all right-wing disgust, Shapiro and Maher prove that the movie sparks debate across party lines.
Here’s the thing with Barbie: You could go into the movie expecting a lighthearted romp featuring your favorite Barbie (and Ken) dolls, and you wouldn’t be disappointed. Or you might expect a message that inspires you, and you could get that, too. Finally, if you are looking to hate on women who are hating on men, you can probably eke out that message, but it would be a reach.
Yes, the movie does show Mattel board members as a bunch of white men assuming they know what nine-year-old girls want in a doll. They also are goofy and hapless, and it’s not until they cross paths with the real-life Barbie crew that they realize how silly they’ve been. This portrayal of the Mattel board is obviously fictionalized for comedy’s sake. In real life, at least according to one former employee, the C-suite at the company is male-dominated but not without female influences. Her essay also concurs with the rather good-natured aspects of Mattel that are captured in the movie.
As for woman-haters, they don’t really exist in the movie. Stereotypical Barbie and her friends do have to rally against the Kens when they take a naive trip into machismo, but the end result is not women hating men or vise-versa. The whole movie is about stepping away from other people and the way the world seems to insist things should be and find who you truly are.
Scenes featuring Ruth Handler (played by Rhea Perlman) reinforce this theme. Stereotypical Barbie (Morgot Robbie), her love-struck Ken (Ryan Gosling) and the rest of the Barbies successfully blend fantasy and reality to create a seamless journey for moviegoers. America Ferrera as Gloria represents all of us who played with toys as children and grew disillusioned by the world as adults. The end result isn’t to tear down the world in a rage; it’s to be realistic about life and fashioning your place within it. In Barbie, empowerment without anger is the lesson learned for dolls and humans alike.
Then again, Barbie is magical, silly, humorous, emotional, fun and a great “chick flick.” If that’s all you get out of this movie, that’s fine. After all, it’s what you make it that really counts.
At first I was skeptical about seeing a Barbie movie, but then I changed my mind because I wanted to see something funny...and indeed it was! We laughed quite a bit. The first part reminded me of how I wasn't too enamored playing mom with baby dolls, lol! Although I did own Malibu Barbie, a Skipper and a Ken, my favorite dolls to play were Dawns because they fit inside my dollhouse. I recommend the movie, but definitely not for younger kids not tweens.
I went because my granddaughter invited me. Here in TX we are experiencing 20 days of triple digit heat, 30 days of no rain, and I just wanted some temp relief from it all including a respite from all the political noise. I was looking for fun and light fluff and that's what I saw. Frankly, a majority of men do not accept this kind of glass ceiling financial success from women, esp when it's an all woman collaberation.. I heard Jesse Waters complete dismissal of Taylor Swift last week. Said he doesn't care about her, doesn't want to know anything about her and does not want to discuss her. What an arrogant ass. She has changed economies in Philadelphia, CA - every city she visits, huge donations to their food banks. This is very similar to what the Philadelphia Fed said two weeks ago: "Taylor Swift shows at Levi's Stadium boosted Silicon Valley economy by $33M. Pop star Taylor Swift is undeniably a money magnet, with new financial figures show a massive boost for Silicon Valley's economy from the artist's two-day stand at Levi's Stadium."