Strangely, I was the one who brought them to the theatre. I rarely go to the movies, covid or no covid. Why would I pay $15 for a show I can watch on Netflix four months later?
Even more unlike me, I took my wife and daughter on opening night. By accident, of course. We only realized it when the pre-movie promo announced today’s date. Now I understood why it was so hard to buy a good seat. Yes, my fellow non-movie goers, one is advised to now purchase and reserve one’s seat prior to entering the theatre!
But here’s the real kicker: I took them to see Barbie. Not Oppenheimer, the theatrical masterpiece about the developer of the atomic bomb. Barbie. I’m not a fan of chick flicks (one might call it that). Not a fan of Barbies (never played with one, honest). Not a fan of feminism (kidding!!) Yet there was something that appealed to me when I watched the trailer...
Perhaps it was the appearance of Will Ferrell, the best Saturday Night Live cast member ever, and of course, Kate McKinnon, the second-best SNL cast member ever (nothing to do with gender, I swear). But that was only part of it.
Barbie is more than a Mattel product promotion. Barbie is a philosophical, existential juggernaut. It will turn your world upside down. No longer will you view this plastic doll the same.
Pre-Barbie, I knew her as a white, blonde, perfectly shaped thing that placed exceedingly high expectations on young girls. You may have heard about the study where girls who played with Barbies were less likely to take on high-paying careers. Turns out the study was faulty on many levels but got picked up in the news and even in a book I read. The study played into a popular Barbie narrative. But there may be another.
What if... Barbie Land is completely different than our world? At least in this movie’s portrayal, the Barbies call the shots. And, yes, to my surprise, there are many of them. They run the presidency, control the Supreme Court, and own all the prime property. And Ken, poor Ken, is more of an... accessory.
Just a glimpse of this imaginary world is enough to cause American conservatives to start burning their Barbies in protest. And they have.
Because in Barbie Land, Ken goes home disappointed every night, wondering when Barbie will fall for him. (Spoiler alert: she doesn’t.) Your typical My Fair Lady damsel in distress does not exist in this alternate universe.
Barbie has the looks, but also the power. And more than anything, she strives for knowledge. After ruining her own party with thoughts of dying – the single funniest moment of the movie – she is driven by a quest to understand what real women feel, even if that means shedding some tears.
Through a mother-daughter relationship in the real world, we get to see different views of womanhood – including those critical of Barbie herself – and the restrictions our culture subtly imposes. The mother’s speech is the apex of the movie, where the pressures of being a woman in today’s world are laid bare.
I know, it’s heinous. Burn your Barbie, if you have one! Or if you’re Elon Musk, Tweet from your man cave about how many times “patriarchy” is mentioned in the movie. To be fair, it is mentioned a number of times, to hilarious effect. If he actually watched the movie, Musk should realize this was but a light-hearted jab at the world he and his male cohort dominate.
The real joke is that the mere portrayal of women in power – even in a make-believe parody – is enough to move some men (and women) into a state of fabricated rage.
But that’s not funny.
Watch the movie to really laugh. Movies like Barbie send a message without even trying.
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