Barbie
starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrara, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman and Will Ferrell
written by Greta Gerwid and Noah Baumbach
directed by Greta Gerwig
Rating: ♦♦♦◊◊
Based on the girls’ Barbie doll from the Mattel corporation, Barbie tells the story of how a generic Barbie doll (Margot Robbie) enters the real world from her fantasy Barbie Land world in order to find the girl whose unhappy thoughts are affecting Barbie’s life in Barbie Land. She gets advice about how to do it, how to cross that great divide, from Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), an aberrant Barbie who was mutilated by too much play, and who subsequently occupies an iconic, mythical status in Barbie Land. One of the Ken dolls, Beach Ken (Ryan Gosling) tags along to keep her company on the adventure. But in the real world, Ken is corrupted by toxic masculinity, which he takes back with him to destroy Barbie Land’s perfect, girly dream world.
The Barbie doll has been alternately reviled and praised by different groups. Some feminists reject her because, they say, the body image of Barbie champions external value over internal value, acting as an insult to feminism. Femininity and body image are very much linked, as slenderness is associated with elegance and attractiveness, regarded as desirable attributes for young women in western cultures.
On the other hand, Barbie’s advocates say that the doll teaches a much more valuable, body-positive lesson. Mattel tries to inspire girls to test social limits and reach for their dreams, not conform to society. Mattel has even made Barbies of other races, to prove that it doesn’t matter what background you come from.
Similarly, right now Barbie is under attack from American political and social conservatives who say that the movie promotes man-hating, woke propaganda, and that it ignores family values and faith communities. (That is literally a quote from Casey Black, the wife of Conservative Florida Governor and Republican Party Presidential candidate Ron Disantis). The opposition is a diverse group, however. Feminist and right-wing criticisms have nothing at all to do with each other. Political conservatives are shouting to the wind, trying to create something out of nothing. That’s their playbook.
Barbie was invented in 1959 by American businesswoman and inventor Ruth Handler (played by Rhea Perlman in the movie). She named the toy after her own daughter, Barbara. Handler’s motivation was that in the 1950s, only baby dolls were available to girls to play ‘mommy.’ But she saw her daughter and her friends imitating adult women in their play. So, Barbie was designed as an adult figure (albeit with a very unrealistic body) who could do everything that most women of the time could not do. Barbie was an active girl. She drove a car; she assumed every job imaginable; she came in different hair colors and races; she even had a credit card long before real human women were allowed to have their own credit cards.
I tend to favor the pro-Barbie position, because the anti-Barbie position just takes a plastic toy way too seriously and uses her in their ideological arguments in a manner that lacks credibility. It’s stupid (and dull), and I regard intelligence over stupidity.