Written by Eva Gilchrist Loxley
Graphic by Aiyana Mullens
No matter your age, ethnicity, gender, or occupation, there was no conceivable way you could escape the Barbie fever that has plagued us in the past two years. Love it or hate it, it’s undeniable that Barbie has been one of the most talked-about movie movements of the decade and has made a serious splash in the world of pop culture. Barbie is confident, Barbie is intelligent, and Barbie became the highest-grossing live-action-comedy film of all time. Today, I want to take Barbie under a magnifying glass because lately, I’ve found it difficult to find a consensus on the general impressions of the film, particularly for the modern-day “radical” feminist. What was filmmaker Greta Gerwig’s point, and what was she trying to do as she painted our world pink again?
The commercialisation of Barbie.
Do you feel like suddenly, women aren’t just reclaiming the colour pink but have rather painted the entire world in its hottest shade? Well, you wouldn’t be far off. Barbie has been everywhere; Barbie received an extensive marketing campaign. In the months leading up to its release, Mattel entered into several Barbie-themed promotional partnerships and collaborations with various brands – I’m sure the pink-themed diaries, beauty blenders, phone cases, and PJs come to mind for you. Now, I believe there is something to be said about this explosion of Barbie fever; the hot pink, sparkly merchandise I cannot deny entices and thrills me. Although I’m careful not to generalise here, pink has historically come with connotations of being young, girly, and essentially feminine. As a young child, I feared this stereotype, unable to commit deeply to it. Now, pink screams to me – confident, loud, and fun but from an entirely new feminist perspective. Barbie fever only compliments this. The nostalgic pride that women, non-binary people, and even men have taken in displaying their Barbie hoodies, shirts, and merch may not so much reclaim what Barbie means but simply embrace its admirable qualities. Fun, confident, and overall serving – besides, isn’t this the meaning of the movie? This leads to my next discussion topic…
What the hell was the Barbie movie about?
Now, I’ve heard a lot of critiques and praises of the Barbie movie so far – none of them consistent. Some say the Barbie movie “let them down with its basic feminist message,” some found it “groundbreaking and deep about the troubles of femininity,” some found it to be about “humans and existentialism” (cough cough my philosophy girlies) – and some interpreted it as “everything that’s wrong with feminism” – but honestly, I think the incels were bound to have this opinion on the movie no matter its content. I indeed found the Barbie movie a whirlwind of multiple themes and genres; my ADHD had a field day trying to skip between the obsessive amount of pink, the many famous cameos (did anyone else just see Jason Momoa as a mermaid?), Gosling’s hilarious depiction of “Ken,” the insane soundtrack, feminist takedowns, and existential crises – so for the sake of all of you, I’m going to break down the movie into two sections, which I have decoded as key moments that help us understand from a modern feminist lens what Gerwig was trying to say.
It is impossible to be a woman. – America Ferrera’s monologue.
America Ferrera’s monologue – sighhhhh. This has to be the most talked-about, most mixed review price. Now, I would just like to say – that this monologue in which Ferrera’s character expresses her frustration and tiredness with female expectations is incredibly realistic – the double standards for women are not a relatively new concept. Even Kyle Smith of The Wall Street Journal stated: “Its script is like a grumpier-than-average women’s studies seminar”. Although his harsh words may criticise the effect of Ferrera’s words, there is no denying this monologue speaks to real-world truths. Now, as someone who has worked and been involved in feminism for years, I found the monologue echoed the slam poetry I used to adore in year 9 – doesn’t mean I don’t find it powerful – just a little on the nose and perhaps cliché. A lot of women have this response, too – finding it true but not exactly revolutionary.
However, is this my internal misogyny talking? When I label a woman “cringe” or “basic” for simply stating a very true reality. Glamour magazine released an article, “Reading America Ferrera’s Barbie Monologue Will Make You Feel Things”, and truly, who am I to deny women of accepting and understanding feminism – isn’t that what a good feminist should stand for? Frankly, I don’t think Greta was making this monologue for me; I don’t think she made this movie for me or the radical feminists. I mean, let me be honest: if Greta wanted the radical feminists’ attention, it wouldn’t have been that hard. Instead, as we already discussed, she spent billions hyping this movie to the general public, mums, businessmen, and kids – the everyday people who needed this sprinkle of healthy feminism.
Billie Eilish’s – What was I made for the montage scene?
Now, don’t despair if you thought I was overly critical in the last paragraph – this scene, THIS SONG, is like crack to me. I couldn’t get enough of it; It brought me to tears – in fact, it brought a lot of my friends to tears. “What Was I Made For?” which Gerwig places perfectly during the film’s climax moment. The scene accompanies a beautiful montage of women in numerous moments of their lives, experiencing what looks like a plethora of emotions. This scene does not talk about the struggles of womanhood but displays a wonderfully nostalgic montage of the pure emotions that we, not just women but humans, get to experience. This montage speaks to an almost optimistic response to Billie Eilish’s song about the true beauty women get to experience outside of a patriarchal hold. Billie Eilish’s song “What Was I Made for” questions what it means to be a human being; she then sprinkles feminist themes to place the cherry on top – questioning those stereotypes that add to the weight of self-discovery. OK, YOU CAN’T SAY THAT’S NOT GENIUS by Gerwig. This isn’t about being a woman necessarily but being a human and the social constructs we have put on it.
A pink sparkly sum up.
Even as I sum up this conclusion – I’m still not sure if this is the right answer and how I should feel about the Barbie movie. But what I can conclude is this… Barbie was never going to be the radical feminist movie some of us may have been expecting – Gerwig didn’t have outrage and shock in mind when writing; she had world domination in mind. Whether you like it or not, the pink feminist undertones of Gerwig’s Barbie are seeping through into our society – a plan I believe she carefully calculated well in advance – and if all Barbie has done is allow me to buy a pink drink bottle and feel proud of it – I commend her for it.
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